Compulsory ujamaa villages in Tanzania; collectivization in Russia; Le Corbusier’s urban planning theory realized in Brasilia; the Great Leap Forward in China; agricultural "modernization" in the Tropics―the twentieth century has been racked by grand utopian schemes that have inadvertently brought death and disruption to millions. Why do well-intentioned plans for improving the human condition go tragically awry?In this wide-ranging and original book; James C. Scott analyzes failed cases of large-scale authoritarian plans in a variety of fields. Centrally managed social plans misfire; Scott argues; when they impose schematic visions that do violence to complex interdependencies that are not―and cannot―be fully understood. Further; the success of designs for social organization depends upon the recognition that local; practical knowledge is as important as formal; epistemic knowledge. The author builds a persuasive case against "development theory" and imperialistic state planning that disregards the values; desires; and objections of its subjects. He identifies and discusses four conditions common to all planning disasters: administrative ordering of nature and society by the state; a "high-modernist ideology" that places confidence in the ability of science to improve every aspect of human life; a willingness to use authoritarian state power to effect large- scale interventions; and a prostrate civil society that cannot effectively resist such plans.
#252027 in Books Yale University Press 1989-09-10Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.23 x 1.14 x 6.13l; 1.30 #File Name: 0300042280378 pagesGreat product!
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A Foundational Book in the FieldBy THDWhile this book can be dry; it remains foundational to the study of modern American feminism.0 of 3 people found the following review helpful. It was okBy The Sassy CountessNot very great; but not horrible. It is one of those books that I forgot as soon as I finished it. In other words; at least for me; it was not memorable.11 of 18 people found the following review helpful. the in-between yearsBy Beth A. EmmerlingThis book aptly describes the problems that arose within the women's movement post-suffrage and pre-second wave. The conflicts over which issues should be stressed; and the inevitable collapse of the movement once they reached the goal that they thought would bring them equality on many levels - and the impact that the realization that the vote was not the panacea for all ills; make this book a must read for those interested in twentieth-century women's history. Should be on every feminist and/or historians bookshelf.
