About the Book
Economic history states that money replaced a bartering system, yet there isn't any evidence to support this axiom. Anthropologist Graeber presents a stunning reversal of this conventional wisdom. For more than 5,000 years, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods. Since the beginning of the agrarian empires, humans have been divided into debtors and creditors. Through time, virtual credit money was replaced by gold and the system as a whole went into decline. This fascinating history is told for the first time.
About the Author :
David Graeber teaches anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of "Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value," "Lost People: Magic and the Legacy of Slavery in Madagascar," "Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology," "Possibilities: Essays on Hierarchy, Rebellion, and Desire, "and" Direct Action: An Ethnography." He has written for "Harper's," "The Nation," "Mute," and "The New Left Review." In 2006, he delivered the Malinowski Memorial Lecture at the London School of Economics, an annual talk that honors "outstanding anthropologists who have fundamentally shaped the study of culture."
In the summer of 2011, he worked with a small group of activists and " Adbusters" magazine to plan Occupy Wall Street. "Bloomberg Businessweek " has called him an "anti-leader" of the movement. "The Atlantic" wrote that he "has come to represent the Occupy Wall Street message... expressing the group's theory, and its founding principles, in a way that truly elucidated some of the things people have questioned about it."
Review :
Winner of the Bateson Book Prize awarded by the Society for Cultural Anthropology
"One of the year's most influential books. Graeber situates the emergence of credit within the rise of class society, the destruction of societies based on 'webs of mutual commitment' and the constantly implied threat of physical violence that lies behind all social relations based on money." --Paul Mason, "The Guardian"
"The book is more readable and entertaining than I can indicate... It is a meditation on debt, tribute, gifts, religion and the false history of money. Graeber is a scholarly researcher, an activist and a public intellectual. His field is the whole history of social and economic transactions." "--"Peter Carey," The Observer"
"An alternate history of the rise of money and markets, a sprawling, erudite, provocative work."
--Drake Bennett, "Bloomberg Businessweek "
"[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."
--Jesse Singal, "Boston Globe"
"Fresh... fascinating... Graeber's book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely."
"--"Gillian Tett, "Financial Times"(London)
"Terrific... In the best anthropological tradition, he helps us reset our everyday ideas by exploring history and other civilizations, then boomeranging back to render our own world strange, and more open to change."
"--"Raj Patel, ""The Globe and Mail""
"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
--Charles Mudede, "The Stranger"
"The world of borrowing needs a little demystification, and David Graeber's "Debt "is a good start."
--"The L Magazine"
"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book."
"--"Winner of the Bateson Book Prize awarded by the Society for Cultural Anthropology
"One of the year's most influential books. Graeber situates the emergence of credit within the rise of class society, the destruction of societies based on 'webs of mutual commitment' and the constantly implied threat of physical violence that lies behind all social relations based on money." --Paul Mason, "The Guardian"
"The book is more readable and entertaining than I can indicate... It is a meditation on debt, tribute, gifts, religion and the false history of money. Graeber is a scholarly researcher, an activist and a public intellectual. His field is the whole history of social and economic transactions." "--"Peter Carey," The Observer"
"An alternate history of the rise of money and markets, a sprawling, erudite, provocative work."
--Drake Bennett, "Bloomberg Businessweek "
"[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."
--Jesse Singal, "Boston Globe"
"Fresh... fascinating... Graeber's book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely."
"--"Gillian Tett, "Financial Times"(London)
"Terrific... In the best anthropological tradition, he helps us reset our everyday ideas by exploring history and other civilizations, then boomeranging back to render our own world strange, and more open to change."
"--"Raj Patel, ""The Globe and Mail""
"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
--Charles Mudede, "The Stranger"
"The world of borrowing needs a little demystification, and David Graeber's "Debt "is a good start."
--"The L Magazine"
"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book.
"One of the year's most influential books. Graeber situates the emergence of credit within the rise of class society, the destruction of societies based on 'webs of mutual commitment' and the constantly implied threat of physical violence that lies behind all social relations based on money." --Paul Mason, "The Guardian"
"The book is more readable and entertaining than I can indicate... It is a meditation on debt, tribute, gifts, religion and the false history of money. Graeber is a scholarly researcher, an activist and a public intellectual. His field is the whole history of social and economic transactions." "--"Peter Carey," The Observer"
"An alternate history of the rise of money and markets, a sprawling, erudite, provocative work."
--Drake Bennett, "Bloomberg Businessweek "
"[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."
--Jesse Singal, "Boston Globe"
"Fresh... fascinating... Graeber's book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely."
"--"Gillian Tett, "Financial Times"(London)
"Terrific... In the best anthropological tradition, he helps us reset our everyday ideas by exploring history and other civilizations, then boomeranging back to render our own world strange, and more open to change."
"--"Raj Patel, ""The Globe and Mail""
"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
--Charles Mudede, "The Stranger"
"The world of borrowing needs a little demystification, and David Graeber's "Debt "is a good start."
--"The L Magazine"
"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book."
--"Booklist"
"This timely and accessible book would appeal to any reader interest
"An alternate history of the rise of money and markets, a sprawling, erudite, provocative work."
--Drake Bennett, "Bloomberg Businessweek "
"[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."
--Jesse Singal, "Boston Globe"
"Fresh... fascinating... Graeber's book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely."
"--"Gillian Tett, "Financial Times"(London)
"Terrific... In the best anthropological tradition, he helps us reset our everyday ideas by exploring history and other civilizations, then boomeranging back to render our own world strange, and more open to change."
"--"Raj Patel, ""The Globe and Mail""
"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
--Charles Mudede, "The Stranger"
"The world of borrowing needs a little demystification, and David Graeber's "Debt "is a good start."
--"The L Magazine"
"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book."
--"Booklist"
"This timely and accessible book would appeal to any reader interested in the past and present culture surrounding debt, as well as broad-minded economists."
--"Library Journal"
Praise for David Graeber
"I consider him the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world."
--Maurice Bloch, Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics
"A brilliant, deeply original political thinker."
--Rebecca Solnit, author of "A Paradise Built in Hell"
"If anthropology consists of making the apparently wild thought of others logically compelling in their own cultural settings and intellectually revealing of the human condition, then David Graeber is the consumma
"[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."
--Jesse Singal, "Boston Globe"
"Graeber's book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely."
"--Financial Times"(London)
"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
--Charles Mudede, "The Stranger"
"The world of borrowing needs a little demystification, and David Graeber's "Debt "is a good start."
--"The L Magazine"
"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book."
--"Booklist"
"This timely and accessible book would appeal to any reader interested in the past and present culture surrounding debt, as well as broad-minded economists."
--"Library Journal"
"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
--Charles Mudede, "The Stranger"
Praise for David Graeber
"I consider him the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world."
--Maurice Bloch, professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics
"A brilliant, deeply original political thinker."
--Rebecca Solnit, author of "A Paradise Built in Hell"
"A scholar whose books and articles are used in college classrooms around the world and an anarchist who is a card-carrying member of the Industrial Workers of the World."
"--The New York Times"
"He's a public intellectual. He speaks out. He participates. He's not someone who simply does good scholarship; he's an activist and a controversial person."
--Stanley Aronowitz
"If anthropolo
Praise for David Graeber
"I consider him the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world."
--Maurice Bloch, professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics
"A scholar whose books and articles are used in college classrooms around the world and an anarchist who is a card-carrying member of the Industrial Workers of the World."
"--The New York Times"
"He's a public intellectual. He speaks out. He participates. He's not someone who simply does good scholarship; he's an activist and a controversial person."
--Stanley Aronowitz
"If anthropology consists of making the apparently wild thought of others logically compelling in their own cultural settings and intellectually revealing of the human condition, then David Graeber is the consummate anthropologist. Not only does he accomplish this profound feat, he redoubles it by the critical task--now more urgent than ever--of making the possibilities of other p
