Seeing Like a State

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed is a book by James C. Scott critical of a system of beliefs he calls high modernism, that centers on confidence in the ability to design and operate society in accordance with scientific laws. It was released in March 1998, with a paperback version in February 1999. The book catalogues schemes which states impose upon populaces that are convenient for the state since they make societies "legible" but are not necessarily good for the people; census data, standardized weights and measures, and uniform languages make it easier to tax and control the population.