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Just heard the news that the great great James C Scott is no more! A singular figure, who created fields of inquiry all his own.

Reading "Seeing like a state" was one of those worldview-changing works. His idea of "metis" (i.e., experiential and practical knowledge) as opposed to epistemic knowledge (science etc.,) along with "legibility" are still relevant. In a world salivating about AGI etc., etc., metis (as this adaptive, and ever changing knowledge system) tells us something very profound about human societies, and knowledge (ultimately illegible to machinations, thus helping freedom to thrive).

If you haven't read his works, I encourage everyone to. And if you want to want to start somewhere, and know how he writes (and eviscerates), here is a sample:

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v35/n22/james-c.-scott/crops-towns-government

#PoliticalPhilosophy #State #Anarchism #Metis #ComparitivePolitics #Anthropology #Modernism #Knowledge #Politics #Power