Comments on: Zomia 2.0: Political remoteness and neoliberal connectivity in two casino towns in Myanmar and Laos https://allegralaboratory.net/zomia-2-0-political-remoteness-and-neoliberal-connectivity-in-two-casino-towns-in-myanmar-and-laos/ Anthropology for Radical Optimism Tue, 15 Feb 2022 15:10:08 +0000 hourly 1 By: Felix Girke https://allegralaboratory.net/zomia-2-0-political-remoteness-and-neoliberal-connectivity-in-two-casino-towns-in-myanmar-and-laos/#comment-82244 Thu, 24 Nov 2016 11:13:04 +0000 https://allegralaboratory.net/?p=22030#comment-82244 The idea of Zomia 2.0 works quite well, I think. I appreciate the (IMHO correct) rendering of Scott being interested in a model more than a comprehensive historical reconstruction. One can easily see how certain practices can be “escape 2.0”, regarding the economy, mobility, documentation, etc. – all to escape state power, or at least to be able to deal with state power on one’s own terms.

Two question/comments:
– an important feature of Zomia was its “shatter zone” aspect: a disaggregation leading to numerous small polities. Is there any analogue to this here?
– I am not finally convinced that we can already dismiss egalitarianism just because “elites” enter the picture. Is there not maybe some sort of “elite egalitarianism”, in that these “ideology-free” people come together to carefully curate these places while making sure that no single member of this class becomes king? Are they not metaphorical brothers in illicit arms/drugs/riches? I think if we restrict “egalitarianism” to the poor and “1.0” people of the world, we might be missing out on something. (While, admittedly, elites are notoriously opaque, especially such shady types, and it might be really hard to tell what is going on among them.)

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