James C. Scott and everyday resistance in rural areas

a critical evaluation

Abstract

This critical evaluation of James C. Scott’s work focuses primarily on his books aJ)out domi­nation and resistance in day-to-day life. Scott presents convincing arguments for the impor­tance of everyday resistance, which lacks formal organization but is tacitly coordinated by the culture of subalterns. He also devises a useful approach to studying the consciousness of the dominated, and uses it to refute most theories of hegemony. However, he fails to recognize many of the ambiguities and contradictions of everyday resistance, which can strengthen the structure of domination at the same time that it produces real improvements for subalterns. The contradictions of everyday resistance are even more evident in situations of indirect domination and complex domination. These considerations are illustrated by exam­ples drawn from the literature on rural domination and resistance.