Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by robmkeefe
The Democracy Project: A History, a Crisis, a Movement by David Graeber
3.0
Compared to his monumental tome, Debt, David Graeber's The Democracy Project brings to light his weaknesses as a writer. For one, he is not one to sit down at a table with allusion nor metaphor.
It is a slow slog through the opening chapter as it's merely exposition: "I did this, then she did that, which made this happen." It is more Occupy Sweet Valley High than engaging reportage. Graeber neither builds a mood, nor hones in on the essential facts. A reader may stay with it, as I did, both out of a respect for the man's intelligence and his engagement to just change as well as the information itself. But it may have been better expressed as a Powerpoint.
To see Graeber live, his eyes that belie his every thought as the speakers around him have their say, is a treat: the man is a non-stop analysis machine. But he can lose his appeal without a strong moderator, there is no internal off-switch.
With The Democracy Project, one doesn't want so much to kick Graeber's butt for its failings, but there's an editor somewhere that needs to be hunted down and held accountable.
For in the final analysis, it is analysis that is Graeber's strong suit. Lurking in the middle of mere exposition is a magnificent essay on Democracy. And small analytical asides sparkle if one is willing to sift the sediment: ideas of vertical vs. horizontal organizations, or definitions of Anarchism and Communism that are concise and challenge received wisdom on those subjects. It truly feels as if that center and central essay had been written and reworked, while the rest had been tacked on afterward. As if the concerns to have a book on Occupy Wall Street over-rode the need for a coherent work. I, myself, would love more books on OWS and Graeber does have first-hand knowledge, but he may be more of a Stewart Brand than a Tom Wolfe. In The Democracy Project, he's ended up with a Frankenbook. Two or three books have been hobbled together and are fighting for the soul of the essay. Had someone the courage to lop off the OWS material and given him another year or two to continue to brew his thoughts, we'd have another classic like Debt on our hands.
Despite its warts, I'd recommend the book for its analysis and ideas. And I eagerly await my next engagement with Graeber.
It is a slow slog through the opening chapter as it's merely exposition: "I did this, then she did that, which made this happen." It is more Occupy Sweet Valley High than engaging reportage. Graeber neither builds a mood, nor hones in on the essential facts. A reader may stay with it, as I did, both out of a respect for the man's intelligence and his engagement to just change as well as the information itself. But it may have been better expressed as a Powerpoint.
To see Graeber live, his eyes that belie his every thought as the speakers around him have their say, is a treat: the man is a non-stop analysis machine. But he can lose his appeal without a strong moderator, there is no internal off-switch.
With The Democracy Project, one doesn't want so much to kick Graeber's butt for its failings, but there's an editor somewhere that needs to be hunted down and held accountable.
For in the final analysis, it is analysis that is Graeber's strong suit. Lurking in the middle of mere exposition is a magnificent essay on Democracy. And small analytical asides sparkle if one is willing to sift the sediment: ideas of vertical vs. horizontal organizations, or definitions of Anarchism and Communism that are concise and challenge received wisdom on those subjects. It truly feels as if that center and central essay had been written and reworked, while the rest had been tacked on afterward. As if the concerns to have a book on Occupy Wall Street over-rode the need for a coherent work. I, myself, would love more books on OWS and Graeber does have first-hand knowledge, but he may be more of a Stewart Brand than a Tom Wolfe. In The Democracy Project, he's ended up with a Frankenbook. Two or three books have been hobbled together and are fighting for the soul of the essay. Had someone the courage to lop off the OWS material and given him another year or two to continue to brew his thoughts, we'd have another classic like Debt on our hands.
Despite its warts, I'd recommend the book for its analysis and ideas. And I eagerly await my next engagement with Graeber.