The moral economy of grades and standards.

摘要

This paper presents a set of reflections on the moral economy of grades and standards. First, it examines several theoretical perspectives on standards. It then examines various forms of standards and standardization in the domain of food and agriculture. Next, it examines the various forms of governance for standards creation, enforcement and change. It is argued that standards are a fundamental, although scarcely noticed, part of the moral economy that undergirds contemporary political economy. Keeping grades and standards as a dull matter to be sorted out by standards setting bodies, industry leaders, and purchasing agents, it is concluded, raises fundamental issues about democratic participation in decisions that subtly shape who we are and how we live.