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I… you know how there are books that you start and then become afraid to leave the house before finishing? Yeah. James C Scott’s “The Art of Not Being Governed”, about #Zomia, is one of those books. So much of the party line I ate up like tripe, that Scott shreds. https://octodon.social/media/jZaraloKf03ONz8dUlI https://octodon.social/media/gR2zLHsuKcnumZhKqzM
“As late as 1740 it took no more time to sail from Southampton to the Cape of Good Hope than to travel by stagecoach from London to Edinburgh.” —James C Scott, “The art of not being governed”
‘Once we entertain the possibility that the “barbarians” are not just “there” as a residue but may well have chosen their location, their subsistence practices, and their social structure to maintain their autonomy, the standard civilizational story of social evolution collapses utterly.’ —James C Scott, “The art of not being governed” 🔥 so much awesome, I’m afraid to stop reading lest I leave one unexamined stupid idea alive.
‘the standard story collapses utterly’—my favorite phrase.