Economics

Debt: The First 5,000 Years

Debt: The First 5,000 Years

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-18 06:52:30
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：David Graeber
  • ISBN：161219933X
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Summary

Before there was money， there was debt

Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems--to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market。 The problem with this version of history？ There's not a shred of evidence to support it。

Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom。 He shows that for more than 5，000 years， since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires， humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods--that is， long before the invention of coins or cash。 It is in this era， Graeber argues， that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors。

Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China， as well as sparking innumerable insurrections。 He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion （words like "guilt，" "sin，" and "redemption"） derive in large part from ancient debates about debt， and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong。 We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it。

Debt: The First 5，000 Years is a fascinating chronicle of this little known history--as well as how it has defined human history， and what it means for the credit crisis of the present day and the future of our economy。

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Reviews

Mr。 Rebey ，

CW: N/ADebt is a hard sell to an audience of high schoolers。 It is a 600 page nonfiction essay collection on the history of （as you might expect） debt。 It is undeniably a dry read， and one that is likely outside the interests of most students。 However， Graeber has an exceptional talent for making the subject deeply compelling， and his takes on money， debt， and their influence on human culture and thinking is novel and profound。

John Davie ，

There is no such thing as economics。 The very field is a theological edifice designed to obscure the origin of and justify the horrors of capitalism。 This book allows us to think beyond the ideological prison of the end of history。 It starts with the recognition of a communal bond of love that is the basis of all society。 It then proceeds to show how this love， a defined by a mutual obligation of all to all， was transformed into a relationship of debt and hostility of all against all。 We must br There is no such thing as economics。 The very field is a theological edifice designed to obscure the origin of and justify the horrors of capitalism。 This book allows us to think beyond the ideological prison of the end of history。 It starts with the recognition of a communal bond of love that is the basis of all society。 It then proceeds to show how this love， a defined by a mutual obligation of all to all， was transformed into a relationship of debt and hostility of all against all。 We must bring back to the surface the communism of love that economics has tried so hard to erase。 。。。more

Tom Shannon ，

The book made me think about debt in a different way， both economically and philosophically。 It was great to be challenged by a different take on a problem I have heard so much about but did not always understand。 I'm not sure that I am correct in not giving this 5 stars but it was just a little too detailed at times to get all 5 because some chapters could be tough。 The book made me think about debt in a different way， both economically and philosophically。 It was great to be challenged by a different take on a problem I have heard so much about but did not always understand。 I'm not sure that I am correct in not giving this 5 stars but it was just a little too detailed at times to get all 5 because some chapters could be tough。 。。。more

Benjamin Romano ，

The content is interesting but the writing is so long winded and repetitive that it was a slog to get through

Rui Lucas ，

No derradeiro capítulo， o Graeber diz-nos， parafraseando， que não pretende com este livro demonstrar o que virá a seguir na História， mas sim abrir o jogo das possibilidades para o nosso futuro。 E， pelo menos para mim， alcançou esse objectivo facilmente （daí as 5 estrelinhas :）O livro começa com uma abordagem crítica （no sentido mais agressivo da palavra） e， talvez demasiado， extensa à sociedade das trocas do Adam Smith e ao mito do débito primordial。 A partir daí， e recorrendo sempre a exemplos No derradeiro capítulo， o Graeber diz-nos， parafraseando， que não pretende com este livro demonstrar o que virá a seguir na História， mas sim abrir o jogo das possibilidades para o nosso futuro。 E， pelo menos para mim， alcançou esse objectivo facilmente （daí as 5 estrelinhas :）O livro começa com uma abordagem crítica （no sentido mais agressivo da palavra） e， talvez demasiado， extensa à sociedade das trocas do Adam Smith e ao mito do débito primordial。 A partir daí， e recorrendo sempre a exemplos extremamente interessantes e diversos estruturalmebte e geograficamente， desenvolve o seu próprio "mito"， a sua teoria do desenvolvimento das sociedades mais primitivas com uma economia a que ele chama de "economia humana"， fundada em princípios de ajuda mútua e， muito provocativamente， comunismo de base; constrastando com a nossa "economia comercial"， mediada por trocas impessoais。 A partir da segunda metade do livro， entramos no tema prometido no título， onde percorremos os últimos 5000 anos de história da humanidade para ver como surgiram e desenvolveram as relações sociais humanas。 Com foco nas sociedades euroasiáticas， observa-se o surgimento primeiro das economias humanas， e só mais tarde o surgimento dos grandes estados burocráticos que permitiram o surgimento e desenvolvimento da nossa economia comercial。 É sem duvida um livro a se ler。 Mas seria desingénuo não apontar alguns defeitos， a meu ver， do livro。 Devido ao estilo muito próprio， muito casual do Graeber， que eu até aprecio no geral， há uma certa falta de coerência， onde certos argumentos se parecem repetir， outros parecem demasiado extensos e outros fora do sítio。 Não é um problema grave， mas senti isso durante a leitura。 Há também a questão do uso provocatório e muito liberal de certas expressões， que podem confundir um pouco o conteúdo de algumas sessões do livro。Este criticismo não é， no entanto， suficiente para retirar qualquer mérito do livro。 Se dúvida， recomendo a sua leitura。 。。。more

MJ Jabarian ，

This book is unorganized， full of stories that in a bigger picture may not even matter， the author wants to enforce his communistic ideologies into the reader and he explains the world as if the only perspective is the debt perspective。 This book is long and not an enjoyable read and seems like it’s written by someone who doesn’t understand money as well as history。 Read with careful consideration of the opportunity cost of your time。 Ps。 This is Proof that good rating books aren’t necessarily g This book is unorganized， full of stories that in a bigger picture may not even matter， the author wants to enforce his communistic ideologies into the reader and he explains the world as if the only perspective is the debt perspective。 This book is long and not an enjoyable read and seems like it’s written by someone who doesn’t understand money as well as history。 Read with careful consideration of the opportunity cost of your time。 Ps。 This is Proof that good rating books aren’t necessarily good。 。。。more

Kevin Shen ，

4/5 stars for the audiobook version。 I think this has the makings of a great book。 The narrator on audiobooks/writing style is provocative， lucid and entertaining。 The book is packed with novel and sometimes counterintuitive ideas。 What's missing for me is global consistency。 I felt like every chapter introduces a bunch of different theories and makes a bunch of references to historic cultures。 It was difficult to keep track of everything and bring the focus back to a central thesis。 I think it' 4/5 stars for the audiobook version。 I think this has the makings of a great book。 The narrator on audiobooks/writing style is provocative， lucid and entertaining。 The book is packed with novel and sometimes counterintuitive ideas。 What's missing for me is global consistency。 I felt like every chapter introduces a bunch of different theories and makes a bunch of references to historic cultures。 It was difficult to keep track of everything and bring the focus back to a central thesis。 I think it's fair to say this book is a chronology of the history of debt。 But as such， it's difficult to synthesize a countable number of high-level themes one can carry in their back pockets so to speak。I think this book could be improved by providing a summary of key ideas/arguments at the end of each chapter。 But maybe this complaint is a result of my reductionist type of thinking/training。 Perhaps people who are trained in the social sciences will have an easier time reading this book。 。。。more

Nathan Wielenga ，

A seminal work。 Required reading for understanding much of why the world looks the way that it does。

Sergio ，

Very interesting deconstruction of the notions of "debt" and "money"， "the economy"。 Very interesting deconstruction of the notions of "debt" and "money"， "the economy"。 。。。more

Paul Chislett ，

Stupendous！

Ritat Marie ，

My favorite quote （from the very last page）: "if democracy is to mean anything， it is the ability to all agree to arrange things in a different way。"This is definitely not a book to read on a plane or on the beach。 It requires one's full attention。 But neither is a PhD necessary to understand it。 The writing is straightforward and simple， with copious footnotes supplying extra information。 I greatly enjoyed the trip through 5，000 years， learned a lot， and appreciated being exposed to so many int My favorite quote （from the very last page）: "if democracy is to mean anything， it is the ability to all agree to arrange things in a different way。"This is definitely not a book to read on a plane or on the beach。 It requires one's full attention。 But neither is a PhD necessary to understand it。 The writing is straightforward and simple， with copious footnotes supplying extra information。 I greatly enjoyed the trip through 5，000 years， learned a lot， and appreciated being exposed to so many intriguing new ideas about social arrangements， politics， trade， markets， currencies， and much more。 。。。more

Dave Sangjoon ，

"The anthropologist David Graeber has a strong claim to being the house theorist of Occupy Wall Street" - The first sentence of NYT's book review captures what one should expect from the book。 Graeber redefines the concept of debt and money。 Apparently， anthropologists have tried to undermine the assumption of barter-based society。 "To give a gift was not an act based on calculation， but on the refusal to calculate，" the NYT review continues。 Indigenous people rejected the principles of economic "The anthropologist David Graeber has a strong claim to being the house theorist of Occupy Wall Street" - The first sentence of NYT's book review captures what one should expect from the book。 Graeber redefines the concept of debt and money。 Apparently， anthropologists have tried to undermine the assumption of barter-based society。 "To give a gift was not an act based on calculation， but on the refusal to calculate，" the NYT review continues。 Indigenous people rejected the principles of economic self-interest in favor of arrangements where everyone was perpetually indebted to someone else。 Hence， the modern contract-based concept of debt has diverged from the traditional understanding of debt as moral obligation。 While thought-provoking， the book is too dense for a casual reader who seeks for an infortainment rather than a rigorous intellectual exercise。 It is also unclear what the author is trying to achieve: is he trying to raise awareness of the moral-based debt， refute the classical economics， or perhaps advocate creating a Jubilee for the modern society？ I ended up skipping a big chunk of the reading and resorted to a NYT book review which helped me better understand the author's motive and gist of the book 。。。more

Lina Fernandez ，

So much of this went over my head and it took 220+ pages to get to the beginning of the histories of money/debt he explores。 Some really important concepts in here but I think I could have gotten them just as well from a summary rather than trying to slog through the entire text。

Jeff Sauer ，

Oh yeah now I get it

Oakley Merideth ，

It was probably unfair for me to read Graeber’s work so soon after finishing Polanyi’s “Great Transformation” but “Debt”， simply put， is far too often an elongated “just so” story wherein a smorgasbord of historical data is haphazardly arranged all for the purpose of claiming that “everything bad is debt。” Some chapters made no sense at all， like chapter six， wherein we learn about “human economies” which somehow lend more dignity to the human person and yet such human economies are built off of It was probably unfair for me to read Graeber’s work so soon after finishing Polanyi’s “Great Transformation” but “Debt”， simply put， is far too often an elongated “just so” story wherein a smorgasbord of historical data is haphazardly arranged all for the purpose of claiming that “everything bad is debt。” Some chapters made no sense at all， like chapter six， wherein we learn about “human economies” which somehow lend more dignity to the human person and yet such human economies are built off of convoluted patterns of “pawns” and non-slavery slavery wherein literal human beings， especially women， are non-commodity commodities （“village wives” and “blood debts” abound）。 The worst part—these two “societies” Graeber introduces us to are so small and peculiar that it seems absurd to somehow use them as examples of a distinct economic framework as if tiny， isolated villages with weird practices that are so insular that villages with the same exact practices can be bitter enemies？ Let’s call this the “anthropologist’s bias” wherein contemporary isolated societies with “exotic” social arrangements are prima facia evidence of what all past human societies were like， ergo， “all modern economics is bullshit！” But what if those societies remain unaltered precisely because most othercultures had far different arrangements historically？ Additionally， Graeber like so many popular public intellectuals loves to pepper his text with totally inappropriate and often ridiculous asides which are solely deposited in the text to appear more “broadly” academic。 Terrible interpretations of Biblical texts， church Fathers， and ancient philosophy abound。 At one point Graeber suggests that a） Roman private property laws are the origin of the “mind/body problem” and b） “cognitive science” has solved said problem。 There is no footnote for this absurd claim that is thrown at at the conclusion of chapter 7 cuz， why not？ He is not as bad as Steven Pinker but it’s the same ignorant strategy that they both hold in common。 What is good？ Well， as I said， there is a lot of fascinating history and it is a very quick read for 500 pages。 But while Polanyi sticks to one very particular historical period and mines it with extreme attention to detail to come up with a profound and clear thesis， Graeber is all over the place historically and doesn’t really have one， iron clad thesis。 READ POLANYI！ 。。。more

Mario the lone bookwolf ，

It´s so unintentional tragicomedy style that each kid can intuitively understand that there is a logical， inbuilt error in money， credit， and debt。 As long as there was real， physical money and a limited amount of it， the system worked， but with more humans came paper and digital money and that made endlessly running central bank printing machines， stock markets， speculations，… possible and here we are。 And the mentioned， clever kid will ask: „How can something artificial and more ideologically It´s so unintentional tragicomedy style that each kid can intuitively understand that there is a logical， inbuilt error in money， credit， and debt。 As long as there was real， physical money and a limited amount of it， the system worked， but with more humans came paper and digital money and that made endlessly running central bank printing machines， stock markets， speculations，… possible and here we are。 And the mentioned， clever kid will ask: „How can something artificial and more ideologically cemented like fiat money grow forever on a limited system like earth？ Won´t that destroy itself on the day exponential growth isn´t possible anymore and cause extreme， irreversible damage until then？“And we will say: „…“or， more probably: „Shut up and go to your room！“ Yes， I know， my characterization is horrible， super smart kids like that seem improbable and a bit stereotypical， but the little guy did a great job in explaining why our system is totally nuts。Agnostic nihilistic point of view: The machine is running， no chance to stop it， what will happen will happen， dont´waste time thinking about it。Debt， credit， and the economic system didn´t get civilized， fine-tuned， and cultivated， the thousand year old creature of banking didn´t become philanthropic， instead the ultimate mammon worshiping machine cult ever has been established over the last centuries， sacrificing and killing everything in its way。The author is a progressive， provoking anarchist and what he says has more substance， sense， and wisdom than anything one could take from reading economic or political propaganda， because it describes the core of the problem， the development of this scourge of humankind， how to enslave all for the profit of some。Congratulations to Yale University for firing a brilliant mind like Graeber for saying the truth， that´s what I call a classic example of free wisdom and research in education。 It´s too nasty to say things like this， taken from Wikipedia:„In the year 1930， John Maynard Keynes predicted that， by century’s end， technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a 15-hour workweek。 There’s every reason to believe he was right。 In technological terms， we are quite capable of this。 And yet it didn’t happen。 Instead， technology has been marshaled， if anything， to figure out ways to make us all work more。 In order to achieve this， jobs have had to be created that are， effectively， pointless。 Huge swathes of people， in Europe and North America in particular， spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed。 The moral and spiritual damage that comes from this situation is profound。 It is a scar across our collective soul。 Yet virtually no one talks about it。“Or to add a quote that could be used with state instead of man too:Rich man， poor manfaced each other in a van。Said the poor man with a twitch:Were I not poor， you wouldn't be richBertold BrechtGerman original„Reicher Mann und armer Mannstanden da und sahn sich an。Und der Arme sagte bleichwär ich nicht arm， wärst du nicht reich。“To be not sooo pessimistic， I ought mention the bright future with digital currencies， bitcoins， quantum cryptocurrency， blockchain，… that will transform banks and all the other necessities of money that makes it impossible for people to trust each other in something anyone can profit from。But to end realistically， it might take a while until then and an expansion of the Nordic model over the world。A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real life outside books: https://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Debthttps://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Interesthttps://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Moneyhttps://en。wikipedia。org/wiki/Nordic_。。。 。。。more

Ancience ，

"A stunning reversal of conventional wisdom" is overstating the case。 An interesting and often amusing history of debt， credit， cash and barter。 In the end， though， as an economist he makes a great anthropologist （which is what he actually is）。 "A stunning reversal of conventional wisdom" is overstating the case。 An interesting and often amusing history of debt， credit， cash and barter。 In the end， though， as an economist he makes a great anthropologist （which is what he actually is）。 。。。more

Amira ，

A great read full of drama， suspense and characters that you will love。

Vivek Srinivasan ，

This should be a mandatory read if you are required to touch money！ 10 stars

Flo！ ，

Big book for history geeks。 It is certainly an acadamic work whereby a quarter of the book is reserved for bookmarks， so it is not something you casually read through。 It is incredibly interesting though and it touches an incredible amount of history and brings out a worldview on the concept of 'debt' that does not exist （anymore） in our modern society。 It talks about ancient civilisations， slavery， colonialism， coinage， religion and so much more。 It touches on the Chinese silver trade， the Span Big book for history geeks。 It is certainly an acadamic work whereby a quarter of the book is reserved for bookmarks， so it is not something you casually read through。 It is incredibly interesting though and it touches an incredible amount of history and brings out a worldview on the concept of 'debt' that does not exist （anymore） in our modern society。 It talks about ancient civilisations， slavery， colonialism， coinage， religion and so much more。 It touches on the Chinese silver trade， the Spanish conquest of America， several historical forms of slavery and medival islamic market systems。 The book starts of with the debunking of the barter-myth; the myth that during ancient times， most people were bartering for stuff and from that coinage/money naturally evolved into existence。 The history of money and debt is a rough rollercoaster， a very violent one as well， which shows major similarities， but also differences between Europe， India and China。The information density in this book is high and often I found myself wondering what the point the author is trying to make， so this is a warning for that。 You need to take the time for this book， but it certainly does not leave you bored if you are into these kinds of things。 Also， one of the funniest things I remember from this book is （view spoiler）[the fact that we know so much about Mesopotamia compared to other really old civilisations is that they just did such insane amount of accountancy。 Most of what is found about them are basically Excel Spreadsheets。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Eddie Gonzales ，

Phenomenal history of money。 Similar in readability to Sapiens by Harari。 Absolutely recommend。

Tommy ，

This book is so crammed with information， I will need to reread this again at some point。 Really an excellent book and a reference going forward。

Vaulx ，

There is a lot of suspense and some surprises to enjoy as the details of how the [marvelous storyline plays out。

Belangia ，

Very interesting， it is both giving me a feeling of future yet reachable in the present。

Alex ，

i enjoyed reading this， but read it a bit more casually than it deserved and constantly felt like i couldn't quite retain the whole argument in my head all at once。 i'll try to re-read the next time the economy collapses i suppose i enjoyed reading this， but read it a bit more casually than it deserved and constantly felt like i couldn't quite retain the whole argument in my head all at once。 i'll try to re-read the next time the economy collapses i suppose 。。。more

Jaredsouthern ，

One of the best books ever IMO。 Graeber an absolute top bloke， shows how the foundational assumptions of Smith and most modern economics is un-based。

Marcel Schwarz ，

Excellent History of money and debt that will give you a deeper understanding on why humans started using money and where we are going with it。

Carlos Martinez ，

An extremely interesting book。 Not entirely convinced by its basic premise， but even so there is a huge quantity of fascinating ideas to engage with here。 Really it was the wrong thing to read concurrently with Capital Volume 2， because I can only seriously study one book at a time， and Debt warrants serious study。 Will need to go back to it in a few weeks， take notes， read a few reviews， talk to people about it， and then write a proper review。

Abby Spudich ，

Incredible

Magic_with_a_k ，

Went in expecting a history of finance， and I got one of the greatest anthropology books I ever read。 A fantastic book

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Debt: The First 5,000 Years

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Debt: The First 5,000 Years&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Debt: The First 5,000 Years&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0