Audit Society, Neorigorism, and Evaluation Machines

Abstract

This chapter furthers understanding of the audit society, which was previously discussed in Chapter 3. The audit society, thus named after Michael Power diagnosed such a society as one where formal accountability is considered as its ruling principle, is more aptly characterized by evaluation machines and neorigorism. This chapter shows that the audit society maintains some form of balance between rationality and autonomy, two main principles that guide the modern social imaginary. This chapter also shows why and how the audit society opens up as a type of social order and how the evaluation machines are applied in this social imaginary.