Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States - by James C Scott

In Against the Grain, James C. Scott offers a provocative reinterpretation of early human history, questioning the conventional narrative of the rise of agriculture as a triumph of civilization. Scott argues that the shift from foraging to farming in the Neolithic period was not an inevitable or progressive development but rather a shift toward coercion, inequality, and oppression. By focusing on the experiences of early societies, Scott shows how the advent of agriculture created social hierarchies and led to the formation of the earliest states, which often functioned as systems of control. The book examines how early states developed methods of surveillance, taxation, and violence to maintain power, and challenges the myth that civilization, as we know it, has always been an improvement over the so-called “barbarism” of hunter-gatherers.