75: Data & Control: Seeing Like A State

This podcast episode delves into the intricate dynamics of social engineering, highlighting how four distinct elements—administrative ordering, high modernist ideology, authoritarian state power, and weak civil societies—intertwine to create disastrous outcomes in state initiatives. The hosts explore the themes of legibility and control, illustrating how the state often acts in opposition to "illegible" populations, and emphasize the essential balance between scientific progress and local knowledge. They discuss the limitations and consequences of imposing legibility, both in organizational hierarchies and everyday life, while contrasting democratic and authoritarian iterations of high modernism. The conversation also touches on supply chain fragility, the effects of hyper-targeting in the digital age, and the potential future of high modernism in conjunction with cryptocurrencies, making it clear that a nuanced understanding of these concepts is vital for navigating modern societal challenges.