Introduction. Political arithmetic: old and new

ABSTRACT The articles in this Special Issue arose from a workshop in June 2021 (https://peoplelikeyou.ac.uk/activities/people-like-you-a-new-political-arithmetic/) which considered whether we might understand the enormous variety of calculations we encounter today as a political arithmetic. Our proposal was that the term provides a powerful way to understand the political nature of calculations of economic and social value. In this introduction we showcase how contributors address the proposal in studies of personalisation, competitive test formats, algorithmic profiling, YouTube personalities and the significance of information as an increasingly important medium of ‘the social. We suggest that, together, these developments are transforming relations between the individual and society today in ways that both intensify inequalities and provide the basis for new forms of individual and collective identity.