The politics of innovation: Self-service on the Amsterdam trams

The introduction of self-service on Amsterdam's trams around 1970 meant replacement of conductors with several kinds of machines-and the emergence of fare dodging by passengers. To remedy the weaknesses of the technology, the Amsterdam Transport Company, its customers, and the city council found themselves involved in the politics of innovation. The democratic content of these politics is examined using insights from both political philosophy and actor network theory. The case shows that in most of the issues in the case, the circumstances impinged on a sense of justice for the company, or its customers, or interest groups, while posing a political problem for the city council. However, other issues were barely treated according to democratic principles, due to different modes of depoliticization.