Calculating a life: classification, valuation and compensation in the British abolition of slavery
研究1833年英国奴隶补偿委员会如何通过计算技术对奴隶进行估值以补偿奴隶主，揭示了会计在稳定战略行动场域中的关键作用，对理解人类生命估值实践有贡献。
Purpose This paper examines the calculative practices used by the Slave Compensation Commission to value a slave for the purposes of compensating slave owners on the abolishment of slavery across the British colonies in 1833. It contributes to accounting research in the field of valuation, particularly to understanding the practices of valuing human life. Design/methodology/approach The methodology is primarily archival and draws on the records of the Slave Compensation Commission held at the British National Archives (Kew). Findings The paper makes two contributions to the literature. Firstly, it contributes to the valuation studies literature by suggesting the significance of understanding the practice of valuation as a product of the dynamics of strategic action fields (Fligstein and McAdam, 2012). Secondly, it contributes to the theory of strategic action fields by revealing the role of calculative technologies in supporting the organizational apparatus of valuation within the Slave Compensation Commission, and therefore suggests the powerful role of accounting in stabilizing a strategic action field. Originality/value The paper provides novel insights into the monetary commensuration of life and the role of calculative technologies in that valuation process.