Seeing Like a State Book Summary - James C Scott

This is the Ultimate Book Summary for Seeing like A State!
"Seeing Like a State" by James C. Scott takes us behind the curtain of how governments view and shape societies, often with unforeseen consequences.
James C. Scott is a political scientist and anthropologist, in Seeing Like a State he explores how attempts to organise and simplify society for easier governance can backfire, leading to dramatic, sometimes disastrous outcomes.
Here's what we're unpacking in the Ultimate Book Summary for Seeing like A State:
- The unexpected twists of societal transformations
- Four key factors that have led to failure in state-led initiatives
- The drive for legibility and simplification by the state and its fallout
- How the application of metrics can distort reality
- The impact of the metric revolution
- The story and effects of cadastral maps
- Tracing the birth of the modern state
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Chapters:
Intro-00:00:00
Overview-00:00:16
Introduction (The Purpose of the Book)-00:00:48
How societal transformations go wrong-00:03:31
4 factors that lead to catastrophic outcomes in state-led societal changes-00:04:00
The pitfalls of order-00:08:10
Part 1 - State Projects of Legibility and Simplification-00:09:05
The Utilitarian language that underpins our modern times-00:14:13
Schematics of Social Order-00:20:47
Uniformity in Measurement Systems-00:21:39
The value in local measurements and why they aren’t of use to states-00:24:57
The Metric Revolution-Empowering the State:00:32:26
Measuring Land Tenure-The formation of the Cadastral Map:00:36:53
Initial Goals of Cadastral Maps-00:38:59
Where the Cadastral map gets it wrong-00:40:21
How shorthand formulas create incentives to game-00:45:32
The Origins of the Modern State-00:49:06
Naming Practices as a State Tool-00:50:52
State Tool - Standardising Language-00:52:48
Summary so far-00:54:54
Part 2 -Transforming Visions-00:55:29
Understanding State Simplification in Governance-00:59:09
Understanding the Modern Map-01:10:54
Catastrophes in State Development-01:13:55
The Evolution of the State's Role in Society-01:15:13
Understanding High Modernism-01:17:33
Modernism and City Planning-01:23:22
Lenin: The Revolutionary Visionary-01:30:18
The Art of Crafting History by Victors-01:32:18
Part 4 - The Missing Link - Types of Knowledge-01:35:58
Technical Knowledge - The Relation with Episteme and Techne-01:36:18
Techne and Science-01:39:30
Practical knowledge-01:46:53
Understanding Mētis-01:48:08
Effectiveness of Practical Knowledge-01:53:23
Valuing Practical Solutions-01:55:51
Factors Contributing to the Disregard for Practical Knowledge-01:58:32
How to make development planning better-02:00:03
Debrief-02:04:43

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