It is a given that any political authority wants to know the subjects under its jurisdiction, whether to provide services or to control them. In the words of Josef Ansorge: “The sovereign hungers for data,” and this requires “a reliable process to identify and sort our visceral, constantly reproducing, dying, and migrating mass of humanity into stable, legally constructed categories and socially meaningful graduations.” (p. 2)
In “Identify and Sort”, Ansorge looks back in history to find three different modalities for identifying and sorting: rituals, archives and digital tools, and how each evolved into its successor. “Each represents a cluster of technical practices and a type of political power.” (p. 3)
