James Scott’s anarchism

The ‘anarchist lens’ can be seen as a key thread throughout James Scott’s works in critical agrarian studies (CAS). This article offers an overview of his engagement with anarchism. It reviews four anarchist(ic) themes that characterize his contribution: the critique of the state, political praxis, possibilities of escape from the state (and capitalism), and the political economy of independent producers. The article underscores the fertility of Scott’s ideas, while also identifying areas that will require elaboration, at times in tension with classical tenets of anarchism. One conclusion is that the anarchist lens has not exhausted its potential contribution to CAS.