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A review by yoursisterscanary
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
This book is excellent. The author provides a very informative deep dive into the history of debt following it through the advent of civilization to the mid 2010s. His provides an anthropological perspective which was so refreshing as it acknowledged the truth that modern economics is a social science and one that holds many beliefs based in finding explanations for modern systems rather than explaining history and the social interactions and power structures thar gave rise to them. My own educational background is in both anthropology and economics so perhaps I am a bit biased but his well researched views speak for themselves.
It was fascinating to learn about the myth of the barter system and that a credit economy, rather than one based on money, is how it all began. To learn that money as we know it is and always has been intimately tied to militarization, war, and colonialism was shocking. The modern moralization of work, money, and debt is so different than its historical roots. Debt jubilees were not mythical stories of benevolence but very real and common throughout antiquity. Civilization itself depended on regular total debt forgiveness as nearly all people were debtors at some point in their lives and without total forgiveness were forced to return to pastoral and agrarian bands on the outskirt of civilization.
The author’s closing note is in praise of what he calls the “non-industrious poor”. It may feel completely shocking to those who have never questioned their own moral code that views debt (ubiquitous in modern life for all but the most basic level of survival) as a form of sin or moral wrong. You will be further shocked to learn how short lived our system of capitalism actually is historically and that he expects it to end within a generation or so. I think even progressives will find themselves taking a good hard look in the mirror and questioning how they allowed imperialism to so deeply color their own view of the world.
It was fascinating to learn about the myth of the barter system and that a credit economy, rather than one based on money, is how it all began. To learn that money as we know it is and always has been intimately tied to militarization, war, and colonialism was shocking. The modern moralization of work, money, and debt is so different than its historical roots. Debt jubilees were not mythical stories of benevolence but very real and common throughout antiquity. Civilization itself depended on regular total debt forgiveness as nearly all people were debtors at some point in their lives and without total forgiveness were forced to return to pastoral and agrarian bands on the outskirt of civilization.
The author’s closing note is in praise of what he calls the “non-industrious poor”. It may feel completely shocking to those who have never questioned their own moral code that views debt (ubiquitous in modern life for all but the most basic level of survival) as a form of sin or moral wrong. You will be further shocked to learn how short lived our system of capitalism actually is historically and that he expects it to end within a generation or so. I think even progressives will find themselves taking a good hard look in the mirror and questioning how they allowed imperialism to so deeply color their own view of the world.