NON-FICTION - MAY 2021
Debt 10th anniversary hardback edition The First 5,000 Year
David Graeber, with an introduction by Thomas Piketty A new 10th anniversary hardback edition of the groundbreaking classic that turns everything you know about money, debt, and society on its head, by revered anthropologist David Graeber: an with a new introduction by Thomas Pikeetty. Before there was money, there was debt. 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 that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors¬which lives on in full force to this day.
‘Fascinating… Graeber’s book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely.’ Financial Times ‘Every once in a while, a thinker revolutionises the way we see the world and helps us reimagine the things we once took for granted. Graeber’s work had a profound impact on the thinking behind a new wave of political action.’ New Statesman
So says anthropologist David Graeber in a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the centre of political debates from Renaissance Italy to Imperial 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. Also by the author: Debt PB - 9781933633862 The Utopia of Rules - 9781612193748
20th May 2021 - 9781612199337 - £25 - 576pp - HB Economics/Social history - Territory: WORLD - Ebook: 9781612194202 David Graeber (1961-2020) was a professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics. One of the original organizers of Occupy Wall Street, Graeber was also the author of Utopia of Rules and wrote widely for publications such as The Guardian, Harper’s, The Baffler, n+1, The Nation, The New Inquiry, and The New Left Review.
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