I recently saw an interesting review of Against the Grain by James Scott, which makes the claim that: only the cereal grains can serve as a basis for taxation:

I recently saw an interesting review of Against the Grain by James Scott, which makes the claim that: only the cereal grains can serve as a basis for taxation: visible, divisible, assessable, storable, transportable, and “rationable.” And so early states led the way in agriculture in order to collect more taxes. https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/14/book-review-against-the-grain/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/10/14/book-review-against-th...