Seeing Like a State

Suddenly, processes as disparate as the creation of permanent last names, the standardization of weights and measures, the establishment of cadastral surveys and population registers, the invention of freehold tenure, the standardization of language and legal discourse, the design of cities, and the organization of transportation seemed comprehensi... See more

the tactic of simply refusing to collect basic statistics could only make sense for a libertarian, laissez-faire regime. And the truth is that very few people seem attracted by that prospect. For better or worse, we want our governments to take action, and if they are to take action they need information. Statistics collected by the state make for

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