Value is not inherent in things but achieved through capitalization practices.
Evidence
This means that it is important to understand how the valuation of firms is and can be made by financiers, which brings me to the capitalization process. Here I draw on a long tradition in political economy stretching from the work of Thorstein Veblen to more recent work on capitalization and finance (e.g., Veblen 1908a, 1908b; Nitzan and Bichler 2009; Muniesa 2012, 2014; Palan 2012). An emerging literature on the borders of STS and other disciplines integrates this tradition in their analyses of technoscience. For example, work by Fabian Muniesa (2012, 2014) is based on the notion of capital and value as social practice—that is, achievements of capitalization and valuation rather than as things (cf. concepts like ‘‘lively capital,’’ as in the research in Sunder Rajan 2012). Consequently, this approach problematizes the notion of value as immanent or latent in material things (e.g., commodity) and/or discursive claims (e.g., hope); that is, there is no inherent or internal characteristic that constitutes value. Rather, capitalization necessarily entails a set of valuation practices bound up with monetizing knowledge in specific organizational forms and financialized business models, as well as the governance and management of the assets of those entities (cf. the production of commodities). — Kean Birch, Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy, 28
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the core thesis of the assetization debate: value as social achievement rather than latent property.
- DEEPTHINKING: Paradigm-shifting framing that dissolves the immanent/latent notion of value — the conceptual core of the assetization literature.
- XREF: Connects to the assetization debate and Muniesa’s larger program on valuation as practice; also brushes against Marxian use-value critique. — connects to: Capitalization builds the thing being valued at the same time it appraises that thing — Kean Birch, Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy:…, 31; Value emerges from relational valuation practices, not from objects themselves. — Ève Chiapello, Financialisation of Valuation, 23; Value in the bio-economy is produced through valuation practices, not intrinsic to biological matter. — Kean Birch, Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy:…, 1 (+4 more)
Related
- Value in the bio-economy is produced through valuation practices, not intrinsic to biological matter. (similarity 0.91)
- Capitalization builds the thing being valued at the same time it appraises that thing (similarity 0.90)
- Value is constituted by knowledge and practice, not merely hype. (similarity 0.88)
- Bio-economy valuation practices are not peculiar to that sector. (similarity 0.86)
- Understanding value as assetization requires analyzing political economy, not just applying STS to finance. (similarity 0.86)
- Understanding value requires studying the assets underpinning firm valuation, not commodity production. (similarity 0.86)
- Value emerges from relational valuation practices, not from objects themselves. (similarity 0.86)
- Asset value is constituted by active management within organizations, not by biological properties. (similarity 0.86)
- Asset value derives from future earnings rather than intrinsic commodity value (similarity 0.86)
- Value in the bio-economy is better theorized through assetization than commodification. (similarity 0.85)
- Analyzing bio-economy value requires focusing on assets rather than commodities (similarity 0.85)
- Asset value is actively managed, including downward, and its constructedness is obscured. (similarity 0.84)
- Capitalization scholarship often treats capital as a living thing embodied in commodities. (similarity 0.84)
- Value in the bio-economy is managed through asset governance, not product sales. (similarity 0.84)
- Financialisation also colonizes non-economic spheres via valuation techniques. (similarity 0.81)
Broader Connections
- Value emerges from relational valuation practices, not from objects themselves.
#corroborates(0.95) — Ève Chiapello, Financialisation of Valuation, 23 - Value in the bio-economy is produced through valuation practices, not intrinsic to biological matter.
#exemplifies(0.90) — Kean Birch, Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy, 1 - Asset value is constituted by active management within organizations, not by biological properties.
#corroborates(0.90) — Kean Birch, Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy, 47 - Finance creates intangible commodities that exist only through valuation techniques
#exemplifies(0.85) — Ève Chiapello, Financialisation of Valuation, 104 - Value is constituted by knowledge and practice, not merely hype.
#corroborates(0.80) — Kean Birch, Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy, 95