SKU: 62156038362

Society Against the State: Essays in Political Anthropology

Sale price$20.62 Regular price$22.91
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $5.73 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Jul 25 - Jul 30

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Society Against the State: Essays in Political AnthropologyIn this seminal, founding work of political anthropology, Pierre Clastres takes on some of the most abiding and essential questions of human civilization: What is power? What is society? How, among all the possible modes of political organization, did we come to choose the monolithic State model and its accompanying regimes of coercion? As Clastres shows, other and different regimes do indeed exist, and they existed long before ours regimes in which

In this seminal, founding work of political anthropology, Pierre Clastres takes on some of the most abiding and essential questions of human civilization: What is power? What is society? How, among all the possible modes of political organization, did we come to choose the monolithic State model and its accompanying regimes of coercion? As Clastres shows, other and different regimes do indeed exist, and they existed long before ours -- regimes in which power, though it manifests itself everywhere, is nonetheless noncoercive.

In such societies, political culture, and cultural practices generally, are not only not submissive to the State model, but they actively avert it, rendering impossible the very conditions in which coercive power and the State could arise. How then could our own "societies of the State" ever have arisen from these rich and complex stateless societies, and why?

Clastres brilliantly and imaginatively addresses these questions, meditating on the peculiar shape and dynamics of so-called "primitive societies," and especially on the discourses with which "civilized" (i.e., political, economic, literate) peoples have not ceased to reduce and contain them. He refutes outright the idea that the State is the ultimate and logical density of all societies. On the contrary, Clastres develops a whole alternate and always affirmative political technology based on values such as leisure, prestige, and generosity.

Through individual essays he explores and deftly situates the anarchistic political and social roles of storytelling, homosexuality, jokes, ruinous gift-giving, and the torturous ritual marking of the body, placing them within an economy of power and desire very different from our own, one whose most fundamental goal is to celebrate life while rendering the rise of despotic power impossible. Though power itself is shown to be inseparable from the richest and most complex forms of social life, the State is seen as a specific but grotesque aberration peculiar only to certain societies, not least of which is our own.

Not for sale in the U.K. and British Commonwealth, South Africa, Burma, Jordan, and Iraq.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Zone Books
Published: 10/01/1990
ISBN: 9780942299014
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.80d
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 62156038362

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.6 ★★★★★
Based on 19 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
L
Verified Purchase
Linda S.
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
Great play toy
Color: Red Lobster
My dogs loved this toy. Played with for several days. Rug of war pulled it apart.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2026
D
Verified Purchase
Dayna
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 5
Great toy
Color: Red Lobster
I bought them as gifts for Christmas. Bothe dogs loved this. It is quite sturdy also
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2026
M
Verified Purchase
Melly
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 1
Indestructible my shiny hiney!! Dog had it destroyed in 6 hours. Waste of $$$
Color: Blue Cow
I bought this blue buffalo dog stuffy toy for my medium sized dog. It says it is for "heavy chewers" and she really isn't a heavy chewer. My German shepherd was a heavy chewer. This little dog isn't. So this toy should have lasted her a couple of weeks at best. NOPE! NOT EVEN CLOSE!! She had it for about 6 hours before the seams were busting open and stuffing scattered all over my house. 6 FREAKING HOURS!!! I'm very upset over this and my son threw it away before I could tell him to let me return it. So that's $6.99 down the drain. Indestructible my ass. Waste of money and lots of lies on the page. Phooey!
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2025
E
Verified Purchase
El nené
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 5
Dureza
Color: Blue Cow
Excelente producto y realmente duradero y resistente para perros
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2026
S
Verified Purchase
SparkPlug
Port Orchard, US
★★★★★ 3
Not so big bull. Tiny in size. Not
Color: Blue Cow
Cute but underwhelmed by the size. Barely 7”x4”. Missing over 3 inches from description. Disappointment indeed.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2026

recommand products