Against The Grain – Subtle Push for Anarchy?

Against the Grain is a masterful synthesis written by James C. Scott that does not just present an overarching overview of the development and emergence of domestication, sedentism and early states, but attempts to inculcate a much-needed attitude of scepticism towards the benefits of states in its readers. In this book, he draws on various recent research and seems to have willed himself to subvert the standard narrative of the state being the bearer of order and civilization, whereas stateless self-governing people are the archetype of barbarism and have a squalid lifestyle.

Similar in spirit to how Jared Diamond condemns agriculture, Scott examines how the notion that agricultural development, grain farming in particular, is an absolute blessing to the human race may be problematic.

Living up to his reputation for having an expertise in anarchism, he boldly postulates that the popularization of grain farming can largely be attributed to it being extremely crucial to the early agrarian tax system, hence was exclusively advocated by early states in an almost coercive manner.

I sort of love his attempt to subvert the standard narrative of how the Neolithic revolution was as if an enlightenment to the poor benighted hunter-gatherers. It is beautifully complemented by his critical attitude towards the state and it strongly emanates the idea articulated by Marvin Harris that “the rise of the state represents the descent of the world from freedom into slavery”.

I do think Scott achieved what he initially set out to do, which is to challenge our preconceptions regarding sedentary agriculturalism and life under the state versus life outside the state. The book is simply a beautifully written synthesis that sheds light on the dark side of states.

“The aspiration to such uniformity and order alerts us to the fact that modern statecraft is largely a project of internal colonization, often glossed, as it is in its imperial rhetoric, as a 'civilizing mission'.”

― James C. Scott