The fourth chapter of this book cites the difficulty of agriculture in Ur as an example of how the title substance “makes states.” For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this 2017 James C. Scott work, which argues that the earliest settled states were largely based on coercion instead of free choice.
ANSWER: Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States
[10e] Much of Scott’s earlier work, such as The Art of Not Being Governed, covers this broad geographical region. Before a shift to Afghanistan, the world’s largest center of opium production was along the Mekong in this region.
ANSWER: Southeast Asia [or Southeastern Asia; or SEA; accept Zomia; prompt on the Asia-Pacific; prompt on Thailand, Laos, or Myanmar by asking “what larger region are these countries a part of?”; reject “East Asia” or “South Asia”]
[10m] In Against the Grain, Scott defines the “Golden Age of Barbarians” as the period of history where most of the world’s population had not encountered this practice, which was contracted out to the publicans in ancient Rome.
ANSWER: tax collection [or tax farming; or revenue collection; or taxation]
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