Computing Capitalisms—Part 2

Abstract

Presents the second installment of Computing Capitalisms: History, Business, and Information Technology. This series, introduced in the July–September 2020 issue, is a call to expand the scope of the business history of computing—from its traditional emphasis on IT firms and computing markets toward the broader political-economic and sociocultural forces that dynamically structure their operation. The first issue of the series celebrated new directions in the study of the state as a factor in the business history of computing. It highlighted the state as a site to observe the coproduction of social visions and technological systems and emphasized how the character and deployment of state powers can shape the political economy of IT.1 This second issue offers case studies that expand upon the institutions traditionally taken up in business histories of computing, focusing on a range of organizational settings in which computing plays a part in the coordination and management of economic resources. The three featured articles address computing capitalisms in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States and explore how efforts to computerize work in a range of institutional settings—from hospitals, to banks, to psychological testing firms—triggered complex negotiations about labor, industry structure, and the role of scientific expertise in a corporate setting.