Risuto
Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed

by James C. Scott

Published for the first time: 1/1/1998

461 pages, Paperback

Genres: Anthropology, Economics, Sociology, History, Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy

Compulsory ujamaa villages in Tanzania, collectivization in Russia, Le Corbusier’s urban planning theory realized in Brasilia, the Great Leap Forward in China, agricultural "modernization" in the Tropics—the twentieth century has been racked by grand utopian schemes that have inadvertently brought death and disruption to millions. Why do well-intentioned plans for improving the human condition go tragically awry?In this wide-ranging and original book, James C. Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields. Centrally managed social plans misfire, Scott argues, when they impose schematic visions that do violence to complex interdependencies that are not—and cannot—be fully understood. Further, the success of designs for social organization depends upon the recognition that local, practical knowledge is as important as formal, epistemic knowledge. The author builds a persuasive case against "development theory" and imperialistic state planning that disregards the values, desires, and objections of its subjects. He identifies and discusses four conditions common to all planning disasters: administrative ordering of nature and society by the state; a "high-modernist ideology" that places confidence in the ability of science to improve every aspect of human life; a willingness to use authoritarian state power to effect large- scale interventions; and a prostrate civil society that cannot effectively resist such plans.

🤓 Related books

The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy

The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy

David Graeber

The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time

The Great Transformation: The Political and Economic Origins of Our Time

Karl Polanyi

Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power

Requiem for the American Dream: The 10 Principles of Concentration of Wealth & Power

Noam Chomsky

Liberalism and Its Discontents

Liberalism and Its Discontents

Francis Fukuyama

Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy

Suicide of the West: How the Rebirth of Tribalism, Populism, Nationalism, and Identity Politics is Destroying American Democracy

Jonah Goldberg

The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom

The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom

James Burnham

How the World Works (Real Story

How the World Works (Real Story

Noam Chomsky

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

David Graeber

Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

Upheaval: Turning Points for Nations in Crisis

Jared Diamond

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State

Friedrich Engels

Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy

Noam Chomsky

The End of History and the Last Man

The End of History and the Last Man

Francis Fukuyama

Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism

Blackshirts and Reds: Rational Fascism and the Overthrow of Communism

Michael Parenti

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism

Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism

Benedict Anderson

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance

Noam Chomsky

The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution

The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution

Francis Fukuyama

The Accumulation of Capital

The Accumulation of Capital

Rosa Luxemburg

The Thomas Sowell Reader

The Thomas Sowell Reader

Thomas Sowell

Why Marx Was Right

Why Marx Was Right

Terry Eagleton

The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy

The Vision of the Anointed: Self-Congratulation as a Basis for Social Policy

Thomas Sowell

Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Economic & Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844

Karl Marx

How Will Capitalism End? Essays on a Failing System

How Will Capitalism End? Essays on a Failing System

Wolfgang Streeck

Democracy: The God That Failed

Democracy: The God That Failed

Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Wage-Labour and Capital & Value, Price and Profit

Wage-Labour and Capital & Value, Price and Profit

Karl Marx

Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction

Capitalism: A Very Short Introduction

James Fulcher

The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism Before Its Triumph

The Passions and the Interests: Political Arguments for Capitalism Before Its Triumph

Albert O. Hirschman

Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism

Seventeen Contradictions and the End of Capitalism

David Harvey

Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century

Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century

Harry Braverman

A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles

A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles

Thomas Sowell

Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century, Vol. 1: The Structures of Everyday Life

Civilization and Capitalism 15th-18th Century, Vol. 1: The Structures of Everyday Life

Fernand Braudel

Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!