Why read The Art of Not Being Governed?

Book cover of The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia

Book description

From the acclaimed author and scholar James C. Scott, the compelling tale of Asian peoples who until recently have stemmed the vast tide of state-making to live at arm's length from any organized state society

For two thousand years the disparate groups that now reside in Zomia (a mountainous region…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Art of Not Being Governed as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Tony Fry

Author

Two important messages underscoring this fascinating anarchist history of Southeast Asia's uplands are coming from the past and arriving from an uncertain future. The first message began 12,000 years ago when human settlements were established.

Slowly, friction emerged between lowlands people, who settled and started to acquire property, and nomadic people of the highlands. The more settlements developed, the more nomads were deemed a threat and destroyed. These conflicts are elemental to the history of war.

The current data on climate impacts I’ve read indicate that a significant percentage of the global population will be displaced in the coming decades.…

From Tony's list on The best books to understand the current dynamics of the state of the world.