The article discusses the origins of modern capitalism, emphasizing that it does not emerge from stock exchanges or factories, but from a collective decision to quantify everything - time, labor, and humanity. Central to this transformation is IBM, originally known as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company before its rebranding in 1924. The company is portrayed as a critical player in providing capitalism with a powerful tool: data management, which allows for organization and control in business practices rather than mere inspiration or vision.

IBM's early identity is rooted not in technology as we understand it today but in creating machines that measure, record, and categorize. The company initially produced cash registers and inventory systems, focusing on converting human labor, time, and money into data. This foundational shift from physical goods to data management underpins the corporate landscape and indicates how IBM’s innovations facilitated the rise of the information age, where data governance became paramount.

The implications of IBM's evolution are significant, as the company lays the groundwork for a new paradigm in capitalism where efficiency, accuracy, and control dominate. This transition not only impacted business operations but also fundamentally altered how societies value and assess human contributions, turning them into quantifiable data points. The narrative positions IBM as a pivotal entity in shaping the contours of modern economic systems through its emphasis on data, ultimately changing the relationship between people and work in the capitalist framework.