Debt: The First 5,000 Years
Ratings63
Average rating4.2
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. [source][1]
[1]: http://www.amazon.com/Debt-Updated-Expanded-First-Years/dp/1612194192/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
Tags
Genres
Mood
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
This book is a wild ride. It's in my 2016 reread queue which is tentative high praise. I need to check the sources and read it again but nevertheless it's highly entertaining and surely subversive. Incidentally it has one of the best surveys of peasant life through history that I've read since I listened to the lectures ‘The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World' by Robert Garland. A great summer read in any event.
Graeber frequently indulges in the hidden assumptions and leaps of logic that he criticizes classical economists for, but even if his weaker arguments fall short, many of his arrows still hit home. And he presents a refreshing take on the misadventures that led mankind to fall into this mess we call civilization.
A very interesting insight in history of humanity and trade. How we go between periods of credit based and debit based societies. Money didn't just start existing - the whole history as dirty, convoluted, and crazy.
The book gets a bit long and boring at times but still an interesting read.
