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Eve Chiapello (2019)In: Vera King, Benigna Gerisch &#38; Hartmut Rosa  (eds.) Lost in Perfection. Impacts of Optimisation on Culture and Psyche. London: Routledge, pp. 11-23.Introduction. "My reflections on the importance and role of the concept of optimisation in our society will start from a conventionalist viewpoint, taking a particular interest in the calculation operations required for optimisation and the associated conventions used, especially for quantification (Diaz-Bone and Salais 2011; Diaz-Bone and Didier 2016). Optimisation is originally a branch of mathematics and computer science that seeks to model, analyse and solve problems analytically or numerically. Its aim is to determine which solution(s) will satisfy a quantified objective under certain constraints. I, therefore, seek to understand and decode the content of optimisation techniques. The concept of the convention draws attention to the many choices made to produce an optimisation technique. These choices consist of setting conventions: conventions for valuation, classification, calculation, for example. Every single operation is marked by the seal of some partly arbitrary choice between several possible options. Other choices could have been made, other conventions selected. Optimisation is indeed a quest that may take various forms. It all depends on what is being optimised and the kind of modelling adopted. I also consider that quantification systems have a history and that it is possible to sketch out that history by identifying some major turning points in our calculation methods. Desrosières (2003), for example, analyses the relationships between conceptualisations of the state’s role in economic affairs and certain statistical tools. I consider that forms of optimisation evolve in response to changes in capitalism."Link to the chapter