This man had an ability to make statements that were just such intellectual bombs. He made these statements so freely and almost at a whim. He also had his own flavour the way he presented his thoughts. That made his presentations fascinating to listen to, especially when he had so many interesting historical facts to support them. At the end of the day Prof. David Grabber just seemed like a very nice guy that you would love to talk over a coffee. RIP
@Don Ra Star that is not a good definition of capital, because we all have things of value but we aren't all capitalists. Capital is money or an asset that is used to create surplus value that a capitalist can steal from a worker who is doing the actual labor. I highly recommend reading Capital; the first volume is free to read online and it will change the way you see the economy
It's hard to believe that for most of human history, the concept of "debt" did not exist. Communities simply provided for each other, with no expectation for repayment outside of traditional duties that everyone was expected to perform. If you needed shelter, the community came together to construct a shelter. If you needed food, the hunters would provide it. If you were injured, the community would look after you. All that was expected of you was to perform your role and contribute to the community what you are able to contribute. It's ironic that in order to advance as a species, we will need to return to certain societal structures found long before the invention of capitalism, currency, or debt.
I will drink all the coffee that David no longer can. And I will listen to his insights while I'm doing it and be thankful that we were born in the same era, that we were comrades and I can continue to learn from this rad, thoughtful, bighearted dude. RIP DRG! and Thx for posting
@Jacqueline Leitch YES! I HIGHY recommend "Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center" by bell hooks. It really gave me an understanding that hierarchy, the idea of power being control over others/ how we maintain this power through violence, and how this plays a roll in capitalism, are at the root of all group oppression, like sexism, racism and classism. It made a lot of ideas connect for me and gives such good context for our history and how it's relevant in todays culture(s) She doesn't go as far back in history as he does, but it's all connected and lines up perfectly with his points Literally can't recommend it enough it changed my life
And here’s the deal. Taking to heart his insights has actually made my life in the material world easier. This almost never happens for women in the real world when realists pontificate and seem to make sense but Always it wasn’t about feminism. So for sure the issue of debt has to do with women explicitly as it has been the subjugation of women which has created profits.
When he describes the wedding traditions of ancient sumerians and babylonians, I can literally link most of it to memories of my own life, going to the weddings of my relatives. My people are descendants of those ancient people, and we still continue some of these traditions. We don't dress up the bride in money so much anymore, but we do that to the children when they are baptized. And relatives compete with each other on who is the most generous and can stick the most money on the child's dress. His talk quickly took a darker turn however :D
David Graeber crystallises esoteric principles, from in depth research of ancient civilisations onwards. He explains how the History of Debt is the History of Morality, in a down to earth commonsense fashion. Thought provoking and highly informative, dealing with topics that are often not addressed within our society. RIP Professor David Graeber.
Rest in power David Graeber may your ideas live on. I was not here for this keynote but I went the day after and participated in discussion with him as an equal as well as joining him and some other attendees and organisers for a curry. A truly inspiring and kind man.
He was brilliant. But he died so prematurely. The two books, 5000Years of Debt and Essays On Bureaucracy are brilliant exposes to understand the massive regression and despotism, we have arrived as, a global society.
@Lepi Doptera We've only had permanent settlements for around 15 k years, being generous. Before that we were nomadic tribespeople. We have unsustainable luxury in the imperial core, right now. Freedom? Mind telling me precisely how you define freedom? I've found that word has a LOT of different meanings across cultural subgroups.
@JPG Except he is not correct. I have made the effort and studied political economy for 20 years, while capitalist apologists understand nothing about economics at all because they have studied nothing....zero, nada, niente, ergo their opinions are based on ignorance and tied to the myth of exceptionalism that makes them deaf to criticism "In his book Escape from Evil, cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker describes consumer culture as a second-rate religion that has programmed a society of ‘cheerful robots’ to martyr all to ‘a grotesque spectacle of unrestrained material production, perhaps the greatest and most pervasive evil to have emerged in all of history.’
@SMPKarma It isn't necessarily western-centric. I'm from a third world country and my situation made me buy the American Dream bs when I was in my teens (never moved, I just thought it was real). From what I've seen, the US is insanely hierarchical. Of course the poor are less hungry and better dressed, but to call them free would be absurd. The rat race is real, it's just that Americans are driving Formula One cars.
@Lepi Doptera it's both funny and sad that you claim that people living in the immensely hierarchical societies defined by liberal "democracy" (and thus capitalism) are the freest ever. It shows both your lack of knowledge of anthropology and a very Western-centric view of human history. Humans have lived, and some small communities still do, in (libertarian) communist societies, which are much more free than any capitalist system can ever be. Economic freedom and democracy are very important, something that capitalism doesn't really offer. Educate yourself.
@Zebedius II same, suggested his book for our family book club this month and learned he had passed a few months ago. Oh Michael Brooks... Two inspiring souls.
It hit me like a slap in the face when the camera zooms out 43:40 - one would think until then that David Graeber was lecturing in front of a crowded audience. That moment may reminds us of the fact that great minds of our times are not with us for ever.
I hope it brings you some solace to know that I saw David give a lecture in Hollywood on his book Bullshit Jobs, and it was a packed house. I stood in line for 30 minutes to get my copy signed by him.
45:10 - "The fundamental contradiction in is the very idea of a free contract in which two parties agree not to be in a relation of equality anymore" "In purely formal terms debt contracts and wage labor contracts are actually very similay because they are two ostensibly equal parties to enter into relation of extreme inequality for a specific period of time, under certain specific conditions. And I think it's this similarity which allowed debt to be the conceptual wedge through which wage labor became socially, morally and politically possible."
Instinctively pulled out a notepad. Cheeky and appropriately academic. Casual lectures were always my favorite part of university (cause of the free lunch, duh) Thanks for posting!
wow, this is amazing. This whole essay is *fascinating*, I was completely riveted to the screen (or, the audio rather; I was just listening to it) but yeah! It's fascinating, wonderful work. Thank you!
I don't see how, in the question of whether bride price is slavery, you can get around the fact that the laborer herself is not compensated and has no compulsory authority over the exchange. You can dance around a lot by focusing on intent and where the wealth ends up, but compelled, uncompensated labor is slavery. How is that not the end of the story?
I once heard it said, “we need the poor, for who else would we have to do the work”, like a drug dealer who need addicts, to buy his product, to become wealthy thru human misery, which is why capitalism and laws were created by those who saw themselves are superior in one way or another, either real or imaginary, a king who passes his kingdom to his offspring, inherited wealth, power and position of ownership of land and others, who do their bidding, all enforced by well paid, trained and armed individuals who protect those they pledge their loyalty to, because they are connected by social, citizenship, ideology and language...
RIP. I followed Graeber's reporting on the FNES very closely for a long time, and finally got to reading Debt this year. It was a really sad day when I learned he'd died
This is one of those videos you cannot watch in a background. Incredibly interesting and very dense in information. Saving it for later, so I can pay full attention to the lecture.
The idea that a boss, someone paying wages, is actually in debt to the worker is something I never thought about until watching this video. Awesome stuff. 👍
From the evolutionary standpoint, the modern remnants of the ancient definitions of work/power relations shows in full relief how old and limited our brains really are. How is it that the 21st Century is headed back to these primitive extremely conservative states. The current emphasis on preserving ownership and wealth in its oldest of forms is not just sad and frustrating it's terrifying when, in the 21st Century, we are witness to the emergence of Billionaires who control more wealth than a majority of sovereign states. Plausible for Ancient Rome, the Dark ages, and early renaissance but shocking and dangerous for our time.
First the world is going to Dark ages now, and the Dark ages were the best moment for humans in their history except wealth and technology which are better now only because the progress of time. Primitive and "extremely conservative" are things that can not go together and do not exist in America or any place in the world. Also Billionaires are product of modern states and socialist actions upon the economy and society, not of "conservatism". Also, there was no conservatism before 19 century, it's an ideology that appears at the end of 18 century, there is a proto conservatism in Caton the old from Rome but you can find communism in Peruvian Inca empire before Europe discovered America, doesn't mean America was communist nor it was an ideology developed. Ancient Rome? Ancient Rome was almost exactly what today USA is, partially "conservative" and partially, greatly Liberal, with a Republic and "democratic sentiment", some socialist elements, welfare, inflation, taxes, regulations and it was a Militar Empire, America is the same thing also Pagan like Rome while America uses on top of that Banks and economic imperialism to control other countries, corporations are a result of these interventions and Republicanism. It is like you complain about "evil things" and you ask for more evil power as solution. The middle ages were a Libertarian Christian traditionalist world, Europe had 1000 countries with FREE MARKET, PRIVATE PROPERTY and FREE MIGRATION, it was politically a quasi anarchist order, and had more order and peace, less violence than any other moment in human history. Most of the "evils" described as medieval are ....MODERN. How a medieval monarchy with full Catholicism and anarcho-capitalist like order would be good? it's impossible right? well, that describes the Richest, most free, most capitalist and most peaceful country in the world right now, The Great Dukedom of Liechtenstein. Corporations did not exist until Republicanism came back with Liberal ideas and anti Christianity sentiment. In 19 century intellectual property rights were created by governments and companies that were small at the time, with the help of the capitalist bourgeois. These laws created corporations. Dangerous times? The world had 1000 million people in the 1800, France 20 million. Only in the first half of the 20 century America, Russia, England, France, Germany and others MURDERED 270 MILLION PEOPLE. In the last 30 years America killed 11 million. Concentration camps, Gulags, dictatorships, hungry people in the time of mass production food machines and technologies. These things never happened before, not even with the Roman empire or ancient egypt. The present world is the most evil time in history and we are all slaves with a rebranded name for slavery.
@TheStarBlack People are byproducts of their material conditions, once you ease out of an economy that relies on commodification of resources and accumulation of capital, you’ll start to see a more socialized and collectivized society with post scarcity, and there will be no capitalist urge to have so much more than others, due to people not being raised in an economy where you have to compete for resources. Humans are not inherently bad. Like another commenter said, we used to live in a world without exploitation, and now we just have to get to a post industrial classless society, that has an economy based on human needs as opposed to profit.
So feminists asked for Kinship courses to be more inclusive in regard to understanding the subject matter through the lens of the patriarchy and power dynamics and male teachers were just like, “nah, we don’t want to teach it differently so because we won’t change, we just won’t teach it.” That’s pathetic. Thanks for talking about this, professor. You’ll be hugely missed for your invaluable contributions.
Household labor has, historically, been only taken for granted, neither qualified nor quantified... this glaring omission is a testament to how male driven the field of macro is...
Only found out recently that the Translation of The Lords Prayer from The King James Bible was changed around the 1700's. The original translation was "Forgive us our Debts and Forgive our Debtors." The Mercantile Class wanted the long-standing Tradition of 'Debt Forgiveness' out of the Public Consciousness.
I'm not a religious or a conservative person, but it should be pointed out that the original wording referred to _moral_ debts. Otherwise, you would be saying that you owe _money_ to God, which doesn't make much sense. The Catholic version used to be "Forgive us our debts _as we_ forgive our debtors", i.e. "Forgive our wrongdoings just as we forgive those who have wronged us".
@Lesley Kramer You're getting the pagan Jupiter/Zeus/Dyeus Piter/Thor/etc. mixed up with the Jewish God, which is the same as the Arab Allah and the Father of the Christians (I, for the record, am none of these); these latter are more akin to the Neoplatonic One than to a childish superstition. Atheists always go too far in their arguments, but they serve a purpose. When they overstep, their arguments are easy to destroy. If you want to argue, please be respectful and dignified. I do not mean this sarcastically: be careful before you end up in an anti-religion cult, blind to the hypocrisy of revering human intelligence.
@eoghan mc carthy Because that would actually require using one's brain for critical thinking. Religion is opium for the masses. Some people's brain seem predisposed to believing in a "man in the sky".
I’m just seeing these replies now... I’m guessing that’s referring to my anarchist and communist interracial homosexual lovers? I love that pic, and so do you.
@Big G Haywood Anarchy and communism are two different things. Communism can operate under anarchy, but anarchy doesn't imply communism. The reason I like anarchy is for the ability for people to choose what's best for their situation, in which communism could be ideal, while others may go for socialism to suit their needs. The whole point of anarchy is to decentralize power and authority in a way that best suits the people, and is managed by the people's will. There are many different forms of anarchy, one of which includes communism. The point I'm trying to make is that under anarchy, the people can choose which systems work best for them, and no one system will be universally ideal. Enforcement of one particular ideal can be interpreted as unjust would operate against the ideology.
Anarchists and Communists both envision the same future, but whereas Anarchists take an unrealistic anti-historical approach and attitude toward this goal, Communists understand that history has to further develop before we can transition to a classless, cashless, and stateless society. Could anyone really imagine implementing this vision in today's world?? It wouldn't last a month.
With wage slavery comes commodification of being manipulative. The very essential trait of being antisocial. Hard to call anything a society based on that.
We may appreciate conversations/discussions with regards to the relationship of war and debt peonage. Why did 'knowledge of debt peonage' come so late in our understanding of The Condition of Man. The history of debt peonage and effects of contemporary debt... should be taught in high schools. What are your thoughts? If 'faith' pulls and/or pushes our economy, how is it that 'faith' goes beyond The Church? Can we say 'faith' is the purview of The Church, The State, and/or The Condition of Man? The supposed New World Order will be determined by who? Are these questions abstractly disturbing and nonsensical? New World Man - RUSH
Imagine being Graeber's student... How do you even take notes? Probably you'll be better emptying your cell phone memory and recording the whole class for later analysis.
part 1 till 29:10 debt as means to extract women's labour Bride wealth; bride price; and so on, that transforms into debt and service (by women from debtor's family) if loans taken for it and unpaid.
Damn, I didn't realize he was gone,he couldn't have been that old. I just discovered him a week or so ago. I've only seen 3 or 4 talks by him, but I was really enjoying his take on debt & economics in general
@James Buchanan only Madagascar is not really the world. Madagascar was part of our kingdom Minangkabau Indonesia. www.linkedin.com/posts/rizki-ferdian-rizferd-75537056_fibonacci-sequence-and-nikolatesla-in-me-activity-6719943334762311680-SHRo
45:00 About contract. A contract between two individuals would be by nature be a contract between unequals - why - because it is the mutual scarcity which has forced them into enter into contract. That is, if the two parties were equal, there wouldn’t be a need for that interaction at all. Indeed, they could be competitors. The fact that they enter into a contract at all implies a certain level of equality by way of consideration of one another’s differences. There is no contract between a man and the chicken he is about to slaughter, for instance. The chicken has not consented to being slaughtered.
watching graeber for the second time in my life (sadly after his). Already lovin his cup moves and know his glasses.^^ do you have to have those kinda ticks to be a real intellectual or are they just comin to you on the way?
Living in a service economy would be paradise if we were working half of what we work now for the same pay, with essential services (healthcare, education, housing, nutritious food) provided by society as a whole. It’s economically possible, just not politically possible. Right now, however, most people work in bullshit jobs. Keep the good jobs, lower the hours with same pay, and that’ll increase employment for the jobs that are needed.
@KLJF nah I think greed is the problem. Capitalists can never have enough money. They will take from everyone around them for as long as they can get away with it.
@Not In Your Head LESBIAN they’re referring to the time in early 2021 that the internet pumped up a failing stock to an insane value. People like to talk about it as if it was some revolution of democratized stock trading but in reality only a handful of people got rich and big hedge funds never lost any power
I don't know if what he's reading from was published, but he's put out multiple full books ("Debt: the First 5000 Years" and "Bullshit Jobs" being probably the most well-known)
Slavery and Indentured labour are not the same thing. Slavery is the ownership of the person and his or her offspring. Indentured labour is more akin to a long lease on ones labour power and time. Bride price is a completely different thing. It's a form of compensation to parents for rearing the woman. I find it very hard to listen to this long splurge of assertions with virtually no sources or evidence to back them up.
Perhaps you should read the book with citations instead of listening to him chat in a half empty classroom if you are looking for references to sources and evidence.
14:05 " Cheap Labour " Black Adder Said It Best " How Can You Tell Your Peasants Not Working Hard Enough ? " " He's Still Breathing " ( Black Adder The British Comedy ) ( BBC Television )
on the level of consciousness, at times I think of money as "units of sexual prowess" "proof to others of sexual attractiveness" or "sperm count" (in today's world despite its other functions in more primitive times)
I've watched this like 4 times now because I fell asleep watching something else if it keeps getting recommended to me then it's probably pretty good ig
