James C. Scott

High modernism is the cargo cult of the West.

Freedom is the ability to evade the state.

Subalterns have their own maps of power.

The hidden transcript is where resistance is born.

States simplify; people complicate.

Anarchy is order.

The friction of everyday life undermines grand designs.

Zomia is a state-free zone by design.

Power is not just coercion; it's also consent.

Seeing like a state blinds one to local knowledge.

Resistance is the art of foot-dragging.

The state dreams of total control; reality laughs.

Indigenous knowledge is the best adaptation.

Hierarchy is a fiction we live by.

The weak have their own weapons.

Mētis is the practical knowledge of the oppressed.

Revolutions often recreate the state they destroy.

Local autonomy is the seed of freedom.

The public transcript is a performance.

Technocratic hubris leads to disaster.