James C. Scott

The state, by its very nature, is a project of legibility and control.

To understand the state, we must understand its efforts to make society legible.

High modernism is a strong, technocratic, and often authoritarian faith in the ability of science and technology to reshape the world.

The more ambitious the plan to improve the human condition, the more likely it is to fail spectacularly.

Standardization is a prerequisite for state control.

The art of not being governed as much is the art of remaining illegible.

Zomia is a zone of refuge, a space where people have historically escaped the reach of states.

The state is a machine for making its subjects legible and therefore governable.

Fleeing the state is a form of political action.

The history of the state is also the history of resistance to the state.

Everyday forms of resistance are the most common and enduring forms of political struggle.

The 'weapons of the weak' are foot-dragging, dissimulation, false compliance, pilfering, feigned ignorance, slander, arson, sabotage, and so forth.

The public transcript is the discourse that is openly expressed, while the hidden transcript is the discourse that takes place offstage, beyond the direct observation of powerholders.

The hidden transcript is a vital space for the articulation of dissent and the development of alternative narratives.

The public transcript is often a performance of deference, while the hidden transcript is a space for genuine feelings and opinions.

The state is a simplification machine.

The more complex a system, the more difficult it is for the state to control it.

The state's desire for legibility often leads to the destruction of local knowledge and practices.

The history of the modern state is, in part, a history of its attempts to make its population and its territory legible.

The state is not a neutral arbiter; it is an actor with its own interests and agenda.