An Economist Best History Book 2017

“History as it should be written.”—Barry Cunliffe, Guardian

“Scott hits the nail squarely on the head by exposing the staggering price our ancestors paid for civilization and political order.”—Walter Scheidel, Financial Times

Why did people abandon hunting and gathering for permanent communities dependent on meat and grains, governed by predecessors of today's states? Most believe that the domestication of plants and animals allowed people to settle and form agricultural settlements, cities, and states, which made civilization, law, public order, and a supposedly secure way of life possible. However, archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative. The first agricultural state formations, says James C. Scott, were born from the gatherings of domestications: first fire, then plants, estates, subjects of the state, captives, and finally women in the patriarchal family—all these can be considered as a way of controlling reproduction.

Scott explores why we avoided permanent life and plow agriculture, the advantages of mobile living, the unpredictable disease epidemics resulting from the overcrowded life of animals and grains, and why all early states relied on grains and free labor. He also discusses the “barbarians” who for a long time avoided the control of the state, as a way of understanding the ongoing tension between states and non-subject peoples.

Pages: 336, Year of Publication: 0911, Dimensions: 14x14cm