The Art of Pretending to Govern

Reflecting on the life and work of James Scott

James Scott, a significant influence on my personal politics as well as on my fortunes as a writer, died last week. In what is likely his last significant bit of writing, a short personal essay on his career titled Intellectual Diary of an Iconoclast, published in February (HT Sachin Benny for finding this) , he comes across as a spirited academic punk,…