Uniforms functioned as a technological fix against desertion

Evidence

With the new order, finally, efficient means were now available to control desertion, breaking the major technical barrier to the management of large human groups. Soldiers were confined when not at war to the camp or barracks, where they were guarded, drilled, and ‘kept closely to the pitch of discipline’. They were also to be set apart from the civilian community, by their confinement and by the wearing of a uniform dress. … Hence it results, that in a large camp of the new troops, every man will be forced to remain fixed in his company, and steady in the performance of his duty.’ — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 141 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Uniforms ended desertion by making the soldier legible to observers; Military uniforms functioned primarily as a mechanism for controlling desertion. — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 141; Bureaucratic inscription gave the state predictive power over deserters (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Military uniforms functioned primarily as a mechanism for controlling desertion. #expands (0.95) — Timothy Mitchell, Colonising Egypt, 141
• Bureaucratic inscription gave the state predictive power over deserters #complicates (0.78)