Grain states and anarchist barbarians
 

drawing from James C. Scott's Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States, Graeber and Wengrow conclude that "[t]hroughout much of history, grain states and [anarchist] barbarians remained 'dark twins,' locked together in an unresolvable tension, since neither could break out of their ecological niches"

> from David Graeber and David Wengrow's Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (2021)

> tagged with #agriculture, #anarchy, #government

> created May 18, 2026 at 10:27:13 AM


> part of unfinished everything


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unfinished everything is an original work / ongoing project (1997-present) by jeremy p. bushnell

selection, arrangement, and original text available for creative reuse under this licensing arrangement

authors' quoted words are their own.


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