authors

David Graeber

• Nov 1, 2019 There Never Was A West By David Graeber
• Aug 27, 2023 Debt By David Graeber I was, to be frank, prepared to be bored by this - "debt" is a dry, intuitive concept which seemed little deserving of 500 pages of exegesis. The book seemed vaguely Important and not a bit hip, but not...interesting. Then he got me, in the first chapter arguing with some woman in a garden party. She said "surely, one has to pay one's debts" in response to learning about the IMF enforcing loan repayment from impoverished third world countries; he has half a dozen arguments as to why morally, economically, historically that just doesn't make sense. As a one who generally has probably trended towards the mindset of having to pay one's debts, it was a bit, revelatory? Not judt that he presented persuasive arguments, I was not far from being persuaded, but it was an incredibly clear, efficient encapsulation of a point of view, incredibly easy to digest.
• Oct 23, 2023 Pirate Enlightenment By David Graeber This book is a fascinating little history of Madagascar and the kingdoms and societies during the golden age of piracy. I (and I imagine I am not unique here) know little of this corner of the world and corner of history, and enjoyed learning about the unique cultural mixture driven by the intersection of Arabs, pirates, slavers, colonists, and Madagascar people. Graeber's writing is as always entertaining and educational, although there is not much here of his usual grand claims of historiographical reinterpretation and generalization - it is a more focused anthropology that I think likely has a less wide interest than the exciting title and Graeber's name might otherwise incur.