Debt
Debt
David Graeber
Mark Manson
Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
Seth Godin
The most fascinating book I've read all year [in 2015]. - Seth Godin
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Debt

Debt: The First 5,000 Years

David Graeber
By
David Graeber
4.2
2830
ratings on Goodreads

In "Debt: The First 5,000 Years," David Graeber embarks on a riveting journey through the annals of history to upend a foundational myth of economics: the story of money's origins. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that posits money as a tool invented to simplify the complexities of barter, Graeber unveils a world where intricate credit systems predated the minting of coins, shaping economies and societies for millennia. Through meticulous research and engaging narrative, Graeber reveals how these ancient credit networks laid the groundwork for the modern dynamics of debt that continue to influence global politics and economics. Graeber's exploration goes beyond mere history, delving into the moral and ethical dimensions that debt has infused into human relationships and cultures. He illuminates how concepts of guilt, sin, and redemption have their roots in ancient debates over debt, echoing in today's contentious discussions about financial inequality and debt forgiveness. "Debt: The First 5,000 Years" is not only a scholarly tour de force but also a compelling call to reexamine the foundational principles of our economic systems. It challenges readers to reconsider the role of debt in society, urging a profound rethinking of what we owe to each other.

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Released
2011
12 Jul
Length
534
Pages

2

recommendations

recommendation

Mark Manson recommended this book on his website.
The most fascinating book I've read all year [in 2015]. - Seth Godin
Freuchen tells how one day, after coming home hungry from an unsuccessful walrus-hunting expedition, he found one of the successful hunters dropping off several hundred pounds of meat. He thanked him profusely. The man objected indignantly:"Up in our country we are human!" said the hunter. "And since we are human we help each other. We don't like to hear anybody say thanks for that. What I get today you may get tomorrow. Up here we say that by gifts one makes slaves and by whips one makes dogs.... The refusal to calculate credits and debits can be found throughout the anthropological literature on egalitarian hunting societies. Rather than seeing himself as humanbecausehe could make economic calculations, the hunter insisted that being truly human meantrefusingto make such calculations, refusing to measure or remember who had given what to whom, for the precise reason that doing so would inevitably create a world where we began "comparing power with power, measuring, calculating" and reducing each other to slaves or dogs through debt. It's not that he, like untold millions of similar egalitarian spirits throughout history, was unaware that humans have a propensity to calculate. If he wasn't aware of it, he could not have said what he did. Of course we have a propensity to calculate. We have all sorts of propensities. In any real-life situation, we have propensities that drive us in several different contradictory directions simultaneously. No one is more real than any other. The real question is which we take as the foundation of our humanity, and therefore, make the basis of our civilization.
— David Graeber, Debt

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