James Scott The Zomia People

As we learned in James C. Scott’s The Art of Not Being Governed: An Anarchist History of Upland Southeast Asia, alternative ways of life are successful on their own without western interference. The Zomia people help to challenge the established and dominant geopolitical imaginary. Currently, everything that our society holds to be “true”, our borders, government and ways of living are based off of contemporary nation-state systems that are state oriented. Thus, because alternative ways of living are not adhering to these standards, they are considered incompetent and,consequently, insignificant. The Zomia people, through self determination are able to maintain an exclusive society without the constraints of regulated government and policies. For example instead of an imposed system of standardized farming they have developed agricultural practices that enhance mobility and fit better to thier people’s wishes. Almost every element of the Zomia people conflicts with what a state society would value. Called “barbaric by design” undermines the intentional effort these people have given to remaining stateless. Similar to what we read in Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler States, we can see how everything from social organization to geographic location helps to keep communities like the Zomia people and the Mohawk tribe running smoothly away from the problems of nation states. …show more content…
Ultimately we consider our rules and regulations of what’s right based on what European, and first world countries dictate, and this extends to the idea of nation state (or stateless) imaginaries. This principle can be seen in Isaac Kamola Making the World Global. The overwhelming assertion of western superiority legitimizes ideas like nation states and how the world should