Hardcover, 534 pages
English language
Published Aug. 23, 2011 by Melville House.
The author shows that before there was money, there was debt. For 5,000 years humans have lived in societies divided into debtors and creditors. For 5,000 years debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates, laws and religions. The words “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption” come from ancient debates about debt. These terms and the ideas of debt shape our most basic ideas of right and wrong.
This book takes a very abstract subject and, through great examples and engaging writing, makes it come alive. I learned a lot from it.
The book is clearly not a light reading, the text is dense with notes, quotes and references. I liked the way it is organised and the clear prose of Graeber.
I think this is probably one book that should be read by anybody who is interested in politics and economics, because it helps grounding modern concepts into the roots those concepts have: money, debt but also community, sharing, slavery and so on.
