Podcast: Statecraft (LS 37 · TOP 2.5% what is this?)
Episode: The James C. Scott Memorial Episode
Pub date: 2026-07-30

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Today, my guest is writer, thinker, and friend Dan Wang. He was on Statecraft a year ago, but this time, we're talking about a scholar who has shaped both of our thinking: the late great James C. Scott, author of (among many other classics) Seeing Like a State.

We discuss:

* How Scott’s fieldwork helped him understand peasant life and state capacity

* How mountains impede state power, in Southeast Asia and the USA

* How peasants and civil servants resist authority

* The advantages of tubers over rice

* Dan’s guiding principles for a career in an era of large language models

For the full transcript of this conversation, go to www.statecraft.pub.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.statecraft.pub

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