The Objectification of Risk, the Langage of Certainty
Since the 1910s, the production of socio-professional statistics is performed by a specialized body of the Argentine State. In this article, we analyze some instruments of quantification applied by experts from the National Statistics Division of the Department of Labour to formally express the vulnerability of the worker’s situation in Argentina during the period 1930-1943, while exploring the social networks that use these quantifications. Even in the absence of solid consensus, statistical categories have informed political debate focused on government initiatives concerning the social protection of workers. This article seeks to determine the influence of quantitative tools in these discussions, their incorporation in the political practices of corporate organizations and the role they played in establishing links between them and the state.