Art of Not Being Governed

James C. Scott (1936–2024) was Sterling Professor of Political Science and Professor of Anthropology Emeritus at Yale University. His many books include Seeing Like a State, Agrarian Studies, and Against the Grain.

“James Scott has published a book making a far more ambitious argument: Zomia, he says, offers a sort of counter-history of the evolution of human civilization. . . . What Zomia presents, Scott argues . . . is nothing less than a refutation of the traditional narrative of steady civilizational progress, in which human life has improved as societies have grown larger and more complex. Instead, for many people through history, Scott argues, civilized life has been a burden and a menace.”—Drake Bennett, Boston Globe“This book may well become a cult classic.”—Sanjay Subrahmanyam, London Review of Books“Scott’s panoramic view will no doubt enthrall many readers. . . . One doesn’t have to see like a Zomian nor pretend to be an anarchist to appreciate the many insights in James Scott’s book.”—Grant Evans, Times Literary Supplement“For those who live in states, savages are those who do not. Yet since the Enlightenment, there have always been Western intellectuals who want to find a critical role for the savage to play. The general idea has been to harness the otherness of indigenous or stateless people as a means of interrogating . . . the modern state. In the past twenty years or so, this project has dropped off drastically. . . . Scott has found a creative way to revive the tradition of critical thinking about the savage—and to highlight the social goals of equality and autonomy embodied in the Zomian social order that states routinely fall short of realizing.”—Joel Robbins, Bookforum“While The Art of Not Being Governed makes an important contribution to the larger field of uplands studies (and not only the study of the Southeast Asian uplands), its merits lie ultimately in the questions that it raises and the trenchant skepticism with which it will leave the careful reader.”—Bradley C. Davis, New Mandala“Scott’s books is refreshingly welcome. . . . The author argues his case in a clear, comprehensible, and erudite fashion leaving readers in little doubt as to where he stands. . . . It has made a significant contribution by highlighting egalitarianism and independence as the ideals of hill societies. . . . Scott has provided us with a platform for rethinking ethnic identities and inter-ethnic relations.”—Christian Daniels, Southeast Asian Studies"This book is engagingly and charmingly written, full of memorable catch phrases and striking images. It is a deeply humanitarian book, and a masterpiece of meditation on dichotomies between hill and valley, state and stateless, egalitarian and hierarchical, charismatic and traditional-bureaucratic authority."—Nicholas Tapp, ASEASUK (Association of South-East Asian Studies in the United Kingdom)"A brilliant examination."—The Global Journal". . . a sprawling, creatively 'disorderly' and beautifully written book. . . . [It is] dotted with memorable phrases and beautifully crafted paragraphs."—Tony Day, South East Asia ResearchReceived honorable mention for the 2009 PROSE Award in Government & Politics, presented by the The Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American PublishersBronze medal winner of the 2009 Book of the Year Award in the Political Science category, presented by ForeWord magazineChosen as A Best Book of 2009, Jesse Walker, managing editor, ReasonWinner of the 2010 Fukuoka Asian Academic Prize, given by the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize CommitteeA finalist in the category of Nonfiction for the 2010 Connecticut Book Award, given by the Connecticut Center for the Book“James Scott has produced here perhaps his most masterful work to date. It is deeply learned, creative and compassionate. Few scholars possess a keener capacity to recognize the agency of peoples without history and in entirely unexpected places, practices and forms. Indeed, it leads him ever closer to the anarchist ideal that it is possible for humans not only to escape the state, but the very state form itself.”—Prasenjit Duara, National University of Singapore“A brilliant study rich with humanity and cultural insights, this book will change the way readers think about human history—and about themselves. It is one of the most fascinating and provocative works in social history and political theory I, for one, have ever read.”—Robert W. Hefner, Boston University“Underscores key, but often overlooked, variables that tell us a great deal about why states rise and expand as well as decline and collapse. There are no books that currently cover these themes in this depth and breadth, with such conceptual clarity, originality, and imagination. Clearly argued and engaging, this is a path-breaking and paradigm-shifting book.”—Michael Adas, Rutgers University“Finally, a true history of what pressures indigenous peoples face from these bizarre new inventions called nation states. Jim Scott has written a compassionate and complete framework that explains the ways in which states try to crowd out, envelop and regiment non-state peoples. He could take out every reference to Southeast Asia and replace it with the Arctic and it would fit the Inuit experience too. We need real applicable history that works, that fits. Truth like this, it’s too darn rare.”—Derek Rasmussen, former community activist in the Inuit territory of Nunavut, advisor to Nunavut Tunngavik Inc.