Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed
- Downloads：2686
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-03-31 14:17:07
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：James C. Scott
- ISBN：0300246757
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
"One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades。" —John Gray， New York Times Book Review
Hailed as "a magisterial critique of top-down social planning" by the New York Times， this essential work analyzes disasters from Russia to Tanzania to uncover why states so often fail—sometimes catastrophically—in grand efforts to engineer their society or their environment， and uncovers the conditions common to all such planning disasters。
"Beautifully written， this book calls into sharp relief the nature of the world we now inhabit。" —New Yorker
"A tour de force。" —Charles Tilly， Columbia University
Reviews
Annette
，
This is the longest love letter to complexity I have ever read。It brought me on a long， involving walk through a great many places I have lived， explaining from an academic perspective the stories they told about themselves and the programmatic context they played （and still， invariably， play） their jazz in。
Abhishek Agarwal
，
This important book dispenses with ideological posturing and tries to explain systematically why it is that states have so often failed in their ambitious projects to engineer society or the natural environment， leading to counterproductive if not disastrous outcomes。
Josh Preuss
，
I really liked the premise of the book obviously， that high modernism and authoritarian tendencies， plus the desire to adequately understand and control governed populations， has had far-reaching and net-negative effects on the world。 "Formal order is always parasitic on informal processes"。 By trying to replace indiginous folk knowledge with imperial scientific knowledge， the workings of any system were made significantly worse。 I find an analogue between scientific knowledge vs folk knowledge， I really liked the premise of the book obviously， that high modernism and authoritarian tendencies， plus the desire to adequately understand and control governed populations， has had far-reaching and net-negative effects on the world。 "Formal order is always parasitic on informal processes"。 By trying to replace indiginous folk knowledge with imperial scientific knowledge， the workings of any system were made significantly worse。 I find an analogue between scientific knowledge vs folk knowledge， and analytical vs intuitive reasoning， however the more I think about it， the more the differences start to become overbearing。 Seeing like a state has been used for justification towards placing more priors in knowledge not proven。 This is good。 There are other recent thought-pieces which have been used as justification for reasoning intuitively vs analytically。 This is also good。 Lots of the same people default to using one to justify the other， me too as of a few weeks ago， and this is not good and not valid。 A closer comparison， which the book itself makes， is between scientific knowledge and observation， vs metis and experience。 This is also close to analysis vs intuition， and flirts with it heavily， but is a different concept。 For example， Scott talks about how wrestling is a discipline laden with experiential knowledge。 This is true， however， I would say that wrestling can be extremely analytical as well， at least when it comes to Jiu Jitsu。 These concepts are easy to confuse， and I think more subtlty could even be demanded of the author。 The author notes， correctly I think， that experiential knowledge is harder to codify。 However， I don't think this is because of inherent complexity， as much as the fact that codifying some things， e。g。 data， pictures， words， is easier than codifying other things， such as tones， feelings， and bodily sensations。 Notably， I don't think that this makes the latter more *complex* than the former！ I just think it's more resistant of society's understanding because us people in the west are so confined to learning things through codified pathways。 When I say the book needs more subtlety， I mean this because other examples the author uses *are* indicative of intuition necessitated complexity， such as the forestry examples。 One other thing I enjoyed about the book is a distinction between knowledge that helps in a single specific event and knowledge that helps in general across a distribution of events。 I think I've personally been liable to think too much about the distribution， and less about specific events， which belies my observational-knowledge tendencies。 This honestly is something I've been needing to hear， that it is necessarily to make every single instance of a thing excellent during the completion of the individual thing， than trying to make the general action of the thing excellent。 。。。more
Keegan Quiroz
，
The arguments Scott makes apply to much more than nation-states and rational planning of social production—the topics that Scott is most immediately interested in。 This book is a critique of modernity and its value lies beyond any kind of 'anarchist vs。 marxist' debates。 The arguments Scott makes apply to much more than nation-states and rational planning of social production—the topics that Scott is most immediately interested in。 This book is a critique of modernity and its value lies beyond any kind of 'anarchist vs。 marxist' debates。 。。。more
Luis Fernando
，
Uno de los mejores libros de ciencias sociales que he leído。
Fey
，
In the introduction to this book it is stated that it's not supposed to be an anarchist manifesto or a return to nature testament， albeit it is evident the author of this book is actually Ted Kaczynski。 In the introduction to this book it is stated that it's not supposed to be an anarchist manifesto or a return to nature testament， albeit it is evident the author of this book is actually Ted Kaczynski。 。。。more
Ian
，
The author of this book has said， in another context， that he sees the world “with an anarchist squint”。 This book is a polemic， but within that context it’s well worth reading。 One other general comment – the book was first published in 1998 and I did think it was slightly dated。 I haven’t changed my rating because of that， but it’s something to bear in mind if you’re thinking of reading it。 In a well-written opening section， the author suggests that the move from pre-modern to modern states ca The author of this book has said， in another context， that he sees the world “with an anarchist squint”。 This book is a polemic， but within that context it’s well worth reading。 One other general comment – the book was first published in 1998 and I did think it was slightly dated。 I haven’t changed my rating because of that， but it’s something to bear in mind if you’re thinking of reading it。 In a well-written opening section， the author suggests that the move from pre-modern to modern states can be seen in terms of the “legibility” of society to the central authority。 Many aspects of pre-modern societies might be said to have privileged local knowledge over state knowledge。 The move to a modern society involved a reversal of that privilege， primarily to ensure the state had better information for the purposes of taxation and conscription。There were also good reasons for some of these changes， such as increasing the food supply and preventing disease。 Initially these might be seen as benefiting the state， since they increased the population and thereby the tax base and the state’s armed forces， but as time moved on a better society began to be seen as desirable in itself。 From this laudable aim was born the main target of the author’s criticism， what he calls， “High Modernism”。 Broadly speaking this is the belief that an intellectual and technocratic elite can devise the correct answers to social problems via the application of science and technology。 High modernists have a disregard for the views of ordinary people， whom they see as uneducated and backward-looking。 The author discusses the cities of Brasilia and Chandigarh as examples of high modernism applied to architecture and urban planning。 The visual form of the city， architectural uniformity， vehicular traffic， and separation of function were prioritised over the needs of the population。 He points to Le Corbusier as the high priest of this movement and compares him unfavourably with the campaigner Jane Jacobs。 Le Corbusier may have wanted to redesign the city， but the author’s next target is Lenin， who wanted to redesign the whole of society。 He was a High Modernist who thought that he could create a new Utopia， but only through the exercise of “iron discipline” upon “the masses”， who required direction from the Party hierarchy。 As with the previous chapter， the author contrasts Lenin with another figure， this time Rosa Luxemburg。 Although she shared Lenin’s aim of revolution， she was critical of Lenin’s suppression of free speech， free assembly etc， and accurately predicted how the Soviet Union would turn out。 Soviet collectivisation and the programme of ujamaa in Tanzania are given as examples of High Modernist thinking that went disastrously wrong。 Both were economically catastrophic and of course came with huge human costs， especially in the Soviet case。 The agricultural reforms described above were so inefficient that much of the food supply had to come via illegal black markets。 Although the USSR and Tanzania were extreme examples， the author contends that all centrally imposed rules and processes operate as subsystems of， and are parasitic to， informal systems。 In large companies and organisations， workers invariably adopt informal practices that circumvent the rules， thereby allowing the organisation to operate with at least a degree of efficiency。 The author continues by citing the example of factory workers engaging in industrial action via a “work to rule”。 By strictly following the procedures set down by the company， employees can reduce production to a snail’s pace。The author does concede that there are some circumstances where central planning works best， such as space exploration， or a mass vaccination campaign。The book concludes with an appeal for society to give more weight to “metis”， an Ancient Greek word which roughly equates to “skill” or “craft”， and which my dictionary says is the origin of the French word métier。 Metis （which it seems is pronounced “meetis”） is the knowledge and ability that comes to an individual from years of practice， and which the author argues is superior to formal training。I think that people with differing political views might each take something from this book。 Those on the left would enjoy it， provided their own beliefs were rooted in community activism rather than top-down state socialism。 Meanwhile libertarians might enjoy the takedowns of “big government”。 If you’re an admirer of big government， and you are thinking of reading the book， prepare to have your beliefs challenged。 。。。more
Joao Camargo
，
Amazing book！ The author thinks completely outside the box regarding our idea of progress and development。 A must read book for anyone who is interested in politics and economics。
Tessa
，
I got more than I expected to from this book。 I thought I'd absorbed many of its ideas from long book reviews and blog posts that describe this "one of those books that turns you into one of those Silicon Valley types that use （abuse？） the term legibility"。 However， it was another thing to actually read through all the examples of scientific forestry and forced villagization。Two quick examples of ideas I got from this reading， that I hadn't absorbed in prior exposure to this book's ideas: I hadn I got more than I expected to from this book。 I thought I'd absorbed many of its ideas from long book reviews and blog posts that describe this "one of those books that turns you into one of those Silicon Valley types that use （abuse？） the term legibility"。 However， it was another thing to actually read through all the examples of scientific forestry and forced villagization。Two quick examples of ideas I got from this reading， that I hadn't absorbed in prior exposure to this book's ideas: I hadn't previously appreciated what a totalizing metaphor industrialzation was in the early 20th century （similar to how computation / digitization is a very totalizing metaphor at present）。 I hadn't realized how much I had absorbed the idea of thinking of labour， especially working-class and agricultural labour， as fungible， rather than something done by individuals with unique preferences。 （This mistake is related to some of the failures of state collective farms; individual people can just。。。 work less hard， if they are being forced to work。） 。。。more
Matthew Jordan
，
5/5 for the book's thesis。1/5 for the book's length。Why is this allowed？？ Why do thesis-driven books have to be so long？？ 5/5 for the book's thesis。1/5 for the book's length。Why is this allowed？？ Why do thesis-driven books have to be so long？？ 。。。more
Alexander Boyd
，
Utopian， philosophical， scientific。 These three words， when backed by an authoritarian state， are humanities worst nightmare according to Scott， and I agree。 Just a lovely book that brings you inside the state's "eye" （singular， as the states covered in the book often act under the direction of an unrivaled authoritarian ruler）， in a manner I had not quite realized before。 I first encountered the term high-modernism when interviewing Kristen Looney about "village mergers 合村并居，" whereby "natural Utopian， philosophical， scientific。 These three words， when backed by an authoritarian state， are humanities worst nightmare according to Scott， and I agree。 Just a lovely book that brings you inside the state's "eye" （singular， as the states covered in the book often act under the direction of an unrivaled authoritarian ruler）， in a manner I had not quite realized before。 I first encountered the term high-modernism when interviewing Kristen Looney about "village mergers 合村并居，" whereby "natural villages" were razed and villagers relocated into centrally located apartment blocks， in Shandong province this past summer。 Professor Looney mentioned that Chinese authorities， motivated by a high-modernist vision of an orderly and legible countryside， preferred housing blocks and consolidated fields （which in theory can lead to mechanized， i。e。 rational agriculture） over the messy， "impenetrable" （but to whom？）， layout of the natural countryside。 I could barely follow what she was saying， so I left the topic。 Now， thanks to Scott， I'm back。 In the interest of time， I'm going to keep it really short， and discuss the "poverty alleviation resettlement 易地扶贫搬迁" policy in Guizhou province as a potential bookend to the past century's history of high-modernist disaster。 The program is simple， villagers living in "inaccessible" （again， to whom？） settlements are moved into housing apartment blocks near transportation arteries。 Their land in the village， where possible is consolidated into mass agriculture， environmental protection sites， or left fallow。 In the new settlement， local cadres in concert with business interests are responsible for establishing light industry cooperatives that are intended to employ the majority of residents， thereby enticing rural migrants who move seasonally between Guizhou and Guangzhou （for example） in rhyme with planting and harvest cycles on one end and holiday production rushes on the other， to stay in place。Much of this is entirely voluntary on the part of villagers， many of whom are happy to abandon their rural homes in favor of the comforts of township living （Lenin's focus on electricity returns！）。 Some， as one might be able to imagine， are not。 But why does the state feel the need to do this massive transformation of rural society （over 10 million people have been moved）？ I think Scott's argument about the importance of control over efficiency is extremely salient。 I have serious doubts about the economic efficacy of turning 50 year old farmers into light industry craftsmen。 But one thing is clear， the newly restructured villages are fully penetrable by the state。 The imposition of grid management （网格化管理） ， impossible in the countryside （as we saw in the Hebei coronavirus outbreak in April） is best fit for the new semi-urban apartment blocks。 Farmers living in the countryside， speaking literal dialects， are foreign to the cadres imported from Zhejiang tasked with alleviating their poverty。 （obviously desire to integrate the remaining pockets of subsistence farming into the market economy plays a role here too， not just power。） But what happens when the cooperatives fall to the Manichean laws of markets or the exhaustion of a spent state （or spent cadre class）？ I further wonder about the Metis of the Cadres。 Is China training a group of highly knowledgeable， responsive， tough managers destined to guide its future development？ Or is Xi's personal obsession with strengthening oneself driving cadres to a place where they have no use， no desire to be， and nobody to discipline them for their failures？ Only time will tell and I hope to be there when it does。 This has become a long slog on issues outside of the book's purvey。 But these are the sort of questions the book gets one to thinking about。 10/10， would give it 5 stars if I could。 Another must read。 。。。more
Jeremy
，
# 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences1。 High Modernist ideals/philosophy when implemented by the state will inevitably fail2。 It fails because they are faith-based （as opposed to their ostensible claim of being "scientific"） and their faith does not take into account actual human nature3。 Human nature （among other domains， such as agriculture， language， city building） is incredibly complex and can never be fully comprehended by science， as the nature of science is to ignore extraneous variables （which he # 🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences1。 High Modernist ideals/philosophy when implemented by the state will inevitably fail2。 It fails because they are faith-based （as opposed to their ostensible claim of being "scientific"） and their faith does not take into account actual human nature3。 Human nature （among other domains， such as agriculture， language， city building） is incredibly complex and can never be fully comprehended by science， as the nature of science is to ignore extraneous variables （which he claims is a good thing！）。 Also， humans have "Metis"， which is what allows for experience， individuality， and initiative to complement a scientific understanding of human nature （or maybe vice-versa？） and this "metis" is ignored by the High Modernist state at its own peril。 # 🎨 ImpressionsSuper interesting。 Especially impacted by the notion of Metis and how that is relevant for psychotherapy。 Meaning， the project of therapy has been moving in a more scientific direction， which I do believe is good。 However， there is an art to being a good therapist， I think， and that art can be called "metis"。 What I mean by that is therapy， I believe， is best learned by doing and via supervision （apprenticeship type model）。 Via doing and being guided， therapist develop an intuitive sense of what works and how to do a good job with a variety of different clients。 Uch， basically the concept of Metis helps me understand therapist success and fits nicely with the contextual model that I'm currently reading about in Bruce Wampold's The Great Psychotherapy Debate。## How I Discovered ItYehuda/AJ/SlateStarCodex## Who Should Read It？Historians， people interested in central/top down or diffuse and bottom up politics。 Possibly my father。# ☘️ How the Book Changed MeHow my life / behaviour / thoughts / ideas have changed as a result of reading the book。- Read my impressions regarding psychotherapy# ✍️ My Top 3 Quotes- "By constantly observing the results of their field experiments and retaining those methods that succeed， the farmers have discovered and refined practices that work， without knowing the precise chemical or physical reasons why they work。 In agriculture， as in many other fields， “practice has long preceded theory。”" （James C。 Scott， Seeing Like a State）- "Whereas a scientific spirit would have counseled skepticism and dispassionate inquiry into these practices， modern agriculture as a blind faith preached scorn and summary dismissal。" （James C。 Scott， Seeing Like a State）- "This， at any rate， is what I take to be the inner logic of social， economic， and productive de-skilling。 If the environment can be simplified down to the point where the rules do explain a great deal， those who formulate the rules and techniques have also greatly expanded their power。 They have， correspondingly， diminished the power of those who do not。 To the degree that they do succeed， cultivators with a high degree of autonomy， skills， experience， self-confidence， and adaptability are replaced by cultivators following instructions。 Such reduction in diversity， movement， and life， to recall Jacobs’s term， represents a kind of social “taxidermy。”" （James C。 Scott， Seeing Like a State） 。。。more
Andrew Davis
，
As good as everyone says it is。 If you are short on time， read at least the first section （chapters 1 and 2）。
Ernesto
，
Definitivamente un libro muy interesante。 El tema central es el rechazo de lo que el autor llama high-modernism， que podemos traducir a una arrogancia e imperialismo científico que supone ser la mejor respuesta a todo y se echa ante otras formas de conocimiento。 De ahí el autor describe la evolución del rol del estado a través del tiempo。 El deseo de recolectar mayores cantidades de impuestos llevó a los gobiernos centrales a conocer mejor a sus poblaciones， incluyendo las profesiones de los ciu Definitivamente un libro muy interesante。 El tema central es el rechazo de lo que el autor llama high-modernism， que podemos traducir a una arrogancia e imperialismo científico que supone ser la mejor respuesta a todo y se echa ante otras formas de conocimiento。 De ahí el autor describe la evolución del rol del estado a través del tiempo。 El deseo de recolectar mayores cantidades de impuestos llevó a los gobiernos centrales a conocer mejor a sus poblaciones， incluyendo las profesiones de los ciudadanos， sus salarios， viviendas y geografía local。 Tanto esto， como el impulso para aumentar la producción agrícola y manufacturará， fueron diseñados por científicos que， usando métodos y fórmulas matemáticas para maximizar utilidad， crearon un sistema altamente eficiente。 Sin embargo， estos científicos priorizaban usar el conocimiento que les era más fácilmente accesible， o sea， aquello que pudieran medir。 Por conveniencia， no podían usar otras métricas para incorporar a sus fórmulas， que a la vez， anteponían la ganancia a corto plazo que la sustentabilidad a largo plazo。 Explicando las fallas del approach científico， el autor nos guía a través de grandes proyectos que buscaron mejorar las condiciones para millones y fallaron precisamente por esta arrogancia científica。 La colectivización rusa， la urbanización en Tanzania， los bosques artificiales， la ciudad de Brasilia。。。 todos son ejemplos de grandes proyectos que pretendían mejorar la condición humana， de maximizar ganancias y de reducir ineficiencias。 Pero el approach científico no fue capaz de tomar en cuenta factores naturales y humanos difíciles de medir。 La arrogancia científica ignoró la dificultad de planear minuciosamente el comportamiento humano， o del mundo natural， y fracasó ultimadamente porque no dejó espacio para accidentes， cosas aleatorias， irracionalidades humanas。 Homogeneizó a la población y supuso la racionalidad de todos y este， entre muchos otros supuestos equivocados， llevaron a estos grandes proyectos a fracasar。 。。。more
Sam
，
I was told about this book in graduate school and it took me a number of years to finally pick it up and read it。 Though I'd gotten out of academic reading， the thrust of the book， that highly planned projects do not easily succeed， is an engaging one。 He takes many sides （politically） to task for planning too far into the future and not listening to those who will be impacted the most by said plans。Read if you are interested in: Discussions of planned cities， collective/large scale agriculture， I was told about this book in graduate school and it took me a number of years to finally pick it up and read it。 Though I'd gotten out of academic reading， the thrust of the book， that highly planned projects do not easily succeed， is an engaging one。 He takes many sides （politically） to task for planning too far into the future and not listening to those who will be impacted the most by said plans。Read if you are interested in: Discussions of planned cities， collective/large scale agriculture， Soviet history， Brazilian history， East African history。Don't read if you aren't interested in: highly academic writing， keeping a dictionary （or phone to look up words） near by， long sentences。 。。。more
William Wallo
，
This should be considered a must-read across all social science （and， quite frankly natural science） disciplines。
Jane Pontiñela
，
This book explains how large-scale social engineering attempts created by the state in designing a homogenous and flawless society was doomed to failure。 Reading this is no easy task and made me question why I chose to pursue this in the first place; however， in the end， it made me see things in a new light。 I'm not saying it in an epiphanic way， but more of deeply understanding the processes behind the creation of our present enterprise。 Studying the nomadic primeval life of humans up to its or This book explains how large-scale social engineering attempts created by the state in designing a homogenous and flawless society was doomed to failure。 Reading this is no easy task and made me question why I chose to pursue this in the first place; however， in the end， it made me see things in a new light。 I'm not saying it in an epiphanic way， but more of deeply understanding the processes behind the creation of our present enterprise。 Studying the nomadic primeval life of humans up to its organization of societies was celebrated as one of its feat that led later on to the creation of civilizations。 But， what were the prices paid just to create the present situation were all in？ Simplification and abstraction became the most important tools of the state to identify and make things organized in the wide-scale scope of human society。 With the standardization of measurements， surnames， language， landowning， design of cities， survey and population register up to transportation -- everything was invented to employ a system of order。This is a gargantuan project。 It includes the historical， political， economic， and social aspects of society that would be too much to take without much background knowledge。 But this is worth a read。 This is one of the books I'd like to recommend reading and discuss later on with someone of same interest。 。。。more
Josh
，
Well there's 16 hours of my life I'm not getting back :） This was an interesting listen on Audible。 The concepts of metis and techne from Greek philosophy were new to me as were many of the case studies。 I think the author came down a bit heavy on the side of metis being a solution to a great many social ills。 I'm not sure that's entirely the case。 Well there's 16 hours of my life I'm not getting back :） This was an interesting listen on Audible。 The concepts of metis and techne from Greek philosophy were new to me as were many of the case studies。 I think the author came down a bit heavy on the side of metis being a solution to a great many social ills。 I'm not sure that's entirely the case。 。。。more
Strong Extraordinary Dreams
，
This book reached me， deep inside。 If you'd ever felt that there was something similar between （stupid） communism and （stupid） capitalism and （stupid） scientific development of primitive men and （stupid） well meaning for-the-greater-good government schemes 。 。 。 well there is。 Modernism。 A belief in stupid modernism。 Modernism: Stupid white men with effectively no ability to listen or to learn but a love of being programmed and a violence or monetary ability to force their ignorance on the wise。 This book reached me， deep inside。 If you'd ever felt that there was something similar between （stupid） communism and （stupid） capitalism and （stupid） scientific development of primitive men and （stupid） well meaning for-the-greater-good government schemes 。 。 。 well there is。 Modernism。 A belief in stupid modernism。 Modernism: Stupid white men with effectively no ability to listen or to learn but a love of being programmed and a violence or monetary ability to force their ignorance on the wise。 This is a book sketching the outlines of stupid modernism。 This should be the idea of the century。 The stupidity of modernism should be taught in high schools and be a degree course at university。 This book。 This is a great book。 。。。more
Doug
，
I'm really tempted to give this book 5 stars because: it's something that is an uncompromising must-read for everyone serving in leadership over an organization or as a public servant in a government organization。 If you make or enforce rules that affect the lives of people around you， it seems unethical to do that without having read some kind of study like this about how well-meaning organization plans have gone astray and caused wide-spread destruction， suffering， and even death。 Filled with I'm really tempted to give this book 5 stars because: it's something that is an uncompromising must-read for everyone serving in leadership over an organization or as a public servant in a government organization。 If you make or enforce rules that affect the lives of people around you， it seems unethical to do that without having read some kind of study like this about how well-meaning organization plans have gone astray and caused wide-spread destruction， suffering， and even death。 Filled with citations of studies to support the main claims。 The author feels very well balanced in his approach。 This is certainly not the political polemic that perhaps I'm making it sound like。But I'm also tempted to give the book 3 stars because: it's dry in stretches， goes into way too much detail， feels repetitive， and is very wordy。 Only the truly motivated reader will be willing to plow through， but honestly you can get the main idea by reading Chapters 1 （Nature and Space）， 7 （Compulsory Villagization in Tanzania）， 9 （chapter on Metis）， and 10 （Conclusions）。If the publisher would only provide an updated edition that was half as long， then I would lobby for 6 stars。 :-）I guess because of the importance of the topic and the possibility of saving various societies around the world from accidental destruction， I'll give it 5 stars despite the taxing style。 。。。more
Noe Pion
，
The central idea of the book is groundbreaking， but it hammers this nail in your head for so long that I could not get myself to read through all the book thoroughly。 The examples on which he shows his theory of state organization of systems are insightful， but lack conciseness and sometimes depth。 The book suffers from much the same problems of Acemoglu's Why nations fails。 I may just not be ready for super long， one key argument， economists books ？Read the first 3 chapters， the conclusion， and The central idea of the book is groundbreaking， but it hammers this nail in your head for so long that I could not get myself to read through all the book thoroughly。 The examples on which he shows his theory of state organization of systems are insightful， but lack conciseness and sometimes depth。 The book suffers from much the same problems of Acemoglu's Why nations fails。 I may just not be ready for super long， one key argument， economists books ？Read the first 3 chapters， the conclusion， and skim through the middle。 。。。more
Darnell
，
I'm on a 4。5 fence with this one。 It does have a reasonably strong new idea， which makes it more memorable than most。 The supporting evidence makes some strong points， though I felt those points could have been more closely tied to the central thesis。 It also went into a few topics in some depth （city planning， collectivized farming）， which is worthwhile for those topics， but I think a broader range might have been more interesting。 I'm on a 4。5 fence with this one。 It does have a reasonably strong new idea， which makes it more memorable than most。 The supporting evidence makes some strong points， though I felt those points could have been more closely tied to the central thesis。 It also went into a few topics in some depth （city planning， collectivized farming）， which is worthwhile for those topics， but I think a broader range might have been more interesting。 。。。more
Jillian
，
Last two chapters strong synthesis of overall argument against high modernism
Nicolas
，
At times very painful。 But the ideas communicated are important for understanding high modernity。
Tove
，
Amazing book！ If you find it hard to follow - don't worry。 James C。 Scott will make the same point about five times， so you will be able to receive the message， for sure。 Read it now！ Amazing book！ If you find it hard to follow - don't worry。 James C。 Scott will make the same point about five times， so you will be able to receive the message， for sure。 Read it now！ 。。。more
Alex Zakharov
，
While there are many sweeping accounts of world's history， there are only a select few that are simultaneously compact and supremely powerful。 Notable examples include Bertrand de Jouvenel who views history as an irreversible ratcheting of state Power， Joe Henrich who looks at societal development as a breakdown of kinship-based institutions， and of course Rene Girard who identifies mimesis as the fulcrum of all cultures。 In "Seeing Like a State" James Scott describes evolution of statecraft as While there are many sweeping accounts of world's history， there are only a select few that are simultaneously compact and supremely powerful。 Notable examples include Bertrand de Jouvenel who views history as an irreversible ratcheting of state Power， Joe Henrich who looks at societal development as a breakdown of kinship-based institutions， and of course Rene Girard who identifies mimesis as the fulcrum of all cultures。 In "Seeing Like a State" James Scott describes evolution of statecraft as a never-ending increase in legibility。Broadly， any state intervention requires a degree of legibility into its resources （land， people， property）， and as interventions become more ambitious the degree of legibility must also necessarily increase。 Many such interventions are quite familiar to us， and some are more objectionable than others depending on your political orientation: taxation， conscription， labor mobilization， wartime production， vaccinations， literacy campaigns， public health measures。 For such interventions to work the state must have insight into its resources， and the more homogenized these resources are， the more effective the interventions can become。 Historically， state techniques to increase legibility included introduction of universal measures （e。g。 metric system）， cadastral maps， city redesign to enable synoptic view， centralization of traffic for the nation， imposition of imperial language， imposition of surnames etc。 James Scott refers to these legibility-increasing techniques as a "project of internal colonization"。James Scott of course recognizes that many victories of modernity （e。g。 public health， literacy， economic growth） required this "internal colonization"。 But there is a price to be paid。 After all， increased legibility also enabled Soviet and Chinese Collectivization， Nazi's efforts to identify and locate the Jews， and sterilization campaigns in Germany， Scandinavia， America， China， Latin America， and Japan。 James Scott identifies High Modernism as a stage where optimization for legibility is particularly likely to turn awry。 In his framework， High Modernism is characterized by a transition from descriptive legibility to a prescriptive one。 During this transition a state shifts from merely enumerating its resources to a prescriptive project of how society must be remade （on scientific principles of course）。 Such projects no longer attempt to improve upon the past， but instead reject it in order to "begin anew"。 The historical record of such attempts， when applied to society at large， is abysmal。Finally， a surprising quality of the book is that it is both political and， on the net， non-partisan: there is plenty to like and dislike for any political orientation， be it conservative， liberal or progressive。 More importantly， even if you disagree with Scott in some particulars， once you see the world through the prism of legibility you won't be able to unsee it。 。。。more
Conor Hilton
，
This is a dense， fascinating look at all the ways that 'high modernism' influenced a wide strain of efforts from various 'states' and continues to influence their efforts today。 Not for everyone， but I found the work that Scott does quite insightful （and cemented some of my anti-state/anarchist tendencies）。 This is a dense， fascinating look at all the ways that 'high modernism' influenced a wide strain of efforts from various 'states' and continues to influence their efforts today。 Not for everyone， but I found the work that Scott does quite insightful （and cemented some of my anti-state/anarchist tendencies）。 。。。more
Valencia W
，
not impressedI understand how some may rate this book highly however， this book didn't provide any more revelations that you'd find taking a graduate class on state building。 but if you don't have a deep knowledge of politics and IR I can see how this book may be of use。 not impressedI understand how some may rate this book highly however， this book didn't provide any more revelations that you'd find taking a graduate class on state building。 but if you don't have a deep knowledge of politics and IR I can see how this book may be of use。 。。。more
Jeffreyalpert
，
Foundational book in the theory of government。 You can read half of it and get the idea - like most nonfiction books， it beats you over the head with the concepts， but the concepts are interesting and sound。 Helps a lot if you read the book knowing that the author is an anarchist， but helps to brightly explain self-organization and the complexity of small groups。
Viola
，