David Graeber’s “fresh . . . fascinating . . . thought-provoking . . . and exceedingly timely” (Financial Times) history of debt
 
Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: he shows that 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, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.

Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to 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 without knowing it.

Review

Winner of the Bateson Book Prize awarded by the Society for Cultural Anthropology

“One of the year’s most influential books. Graeber situates the emergence of credit within the rise of class society, the destruction of societies based on ‘webs of mutual commitment’ and the constantly implied threat of physical violence that lies behind all social relations based on money.”  —Paul Mason, THE GUARDIAN

 “The book is more readable and entertaining than I can indicate... It is a meditation on debt, tribute, gifts, religion and the false history of money. Graeber is a scholarly researcher, an activist and a public intellectual. His field is the whole history of social and economic transactions.”  —Peter Carey, THE OBSERVER

"An alternate history of the rise of money and markets, a sprawling, erudite, provocative work."
— Drake Bennett, BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

"[A]n engaging book. Part anthropological history and part provocative political argument, it's a useful corrective to what passes for contemporary conversation about debt and the economy."
— Jesse Singal, BOSTON GLOBE

"Fresh... fascinating... Graeber’s book is not just thought-provoking, but also exceedingly timely."
—Gillian Tett, FINANCIAL TIMES (London)

"Remarkable."
— Giles Fraser, BBC RADIO 4

"Terrific... In the best anthropological tradition, he helps us reset our everyday ideas by exploring history and other civilizations, then boomeranging back to render our own world strange, and more open to change."
—Raj Patel, THE GLOBE AND MAIL

"An amazing debut – conversational, pugnacious, propulsive"
— TIMES HIGHER EDUCATION (UK)

"Graeber's book has forced me to completely reevaluate my position on human economics, its history, and its branches of thought. A Marxism without Graeber's anthropology is beginning to feel meaningless to me."
— Charles Mudede, THE STRANGER

"The world of borrowing needs a little demystification, and David Graeber's  Debt is a good start."
— THE L MAGAZINE

"Controversial and thought-provoking, an excellent book."
— BOOKLIST

"This timely and accessible book would appeal to any reader interested in the past and present culture surrounding debt, as well as broad-minded economists."
— LIBRARY JOURNAL

Praise for David Graeber

“I consider him the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world.”
—Maurice Bloch, Professor of Anthropology at the London School of Economics

"A brilliant, deeply original political thinker."
— Rebecca Solnit, author of A Paradise Built in Hell

“If anthropology consists of making the apparently wild thought of others logically compelling in their own cultural settings and intellectually revealing of the human condition, then David Graeber is the consummate anthropologist. Not only does he accomplish this profound feat, he redoubles it by the critical task—now more urgent than ever—of making the possibilities of other people’s worlds the basis for understanding our own.”
—Marshall Sahlins, Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and of Social Sciences at the University of Chicago

About the Author

David Graeber teaches anthropology at the London School of Economics. He has written for Harper’s, The Nation, Mute, and The New Left Review. In 2006, he delivered the Malinowski Memorial Lecture at the London School of Economics, an annual talk that honors “outstanding anthropologists who have fundamentally shaped the study of culture.” One of the original organizers of Occupy Wall Street, Graeber has been called an “anti-leader of the movement” by Bloomberg Businessweek. The Atlantic wrote that he “has come to represent the Occupy Wall Street message...expressing the group’s theory, and its founding principles, in a way that truly elucidated some of the things people have questioned about it.”

大卫-格雷伯的 "新鲜......迷人......发人深省......极其及时"（《金融时报》）的债务史。 迷人的......发人深省的......极其及时的"（金融时报）债务史

在这里，人类学家大卫-格雷伯提出了一个对传统智慧的惊人逆转：他表明，在有货币之前，就有债务。5000多年来，自从第一个农业帝国开始以来，人类一直使用精心设计的信贷系统来购买和销售商品--也就是说，早在硬币或现金发明之前。格雷伯认为，正是在这个时代，我们也第一次遇到了一个分为债务人和债权人的社会。

格雷伯表明，从意大利到中国，关于债务和债务豁免的争论一直是政治辩论的中心，同时也引发了无数的叛乱。他还出色地证明了古代法律和宗教作品的语言（如 "罪孽"、"罪恶 "和 "救赎 "等词汇）在很大程度上源自古代关于债务的辩论，甚至塑造了我们最基本的是非观念。我们今天仍然在不知不觉中进行着这些斗争。

评论

荣获文化人类学协会颁发的贝特森图书奖

"本年度最具影响力的书籍之一。格雷伯将信用的出现置于阶级社会的兴起之中，基于'相互承诺之网'的社会的毁灭，以及所有基于金钱的社会关系背后不断隐含的身体暴力威胁。"  -保罗-梅森，《卫报》

 "这本书的可读性和娱乐性比我能指出的还要强......。它是一部关于债务、贡品、礼物、宗教和金钱的虚假历史的沉思。格雷伯是一个学术研究者，一个活动家和一个公共知识分子。他的领域是整个社会和经济交易的历史"。 -彼得-凯里，《观察家》杂志

"一部关于货币和市场兴起的另类历史，一部庞大的、博学的、具有煽动性的作品。"

- 德雷克-贝内特，BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

"一本吸引人的书。部分是人类学历史，部分是挑衅性的政治论证，它对当代关于债务和经济的对话是一种有益的纠正"。

- Jesse Singal, 波士顿日报

"新鲜......迷人......。格雷伯的书不仅发人深省，而且非常及时"。

吉利安-泰特，《金融时报》(伦敦)

"了不起"。

- Giles Fraser, BBC广播4台

"了不起......。在最好的人类学传统中，他通过探索历史和其他文明，帮助我们重新设定我们的日常观念，然后回溯到我们自己的世界，使我们的世界变得奇怪，并对变化更加开放。"

拉杰-帕特尔，《环球时报》和《邮报》。

"一部令人惊奇的处女作--娓娓道来，充满斗志，催人奋进。

- 英国《泰晤士报》（Times Higher Education）。

"格雷伯的书迫使我完全重新评估我对人类经济学、其历史以及其思想分支的立场。没有格雷伯的人类学的马克思主义对我来说开始感到毫无意义"。

- 查尔斯-穆德德，《异乡人》杂志

"借贷的世界需要一点解密，大卫-格雷伯的《债务》是一个好的开始。"

- The L杂志

"具有争议性和发人深省，是一本优秀的书。"

- 书籍清单

"这本及时且易懂的书会吸引任何对过去和现在的债务文化感兴趣的读者，以及思想开明的经济学家。"

- 图书馆杂志

对大卫-格雷伯的赞誉

"我认为他是世界上任何地方与他同时代的最佳人类学理论家"。

-伦敦经济学院人类学教授Maurice Bloch

"一位杰出的、深具原创性的政治思想家"。

- 丽贝卡-索尔尼特，《建在地狱的天堂》的作者

"如果人类学包括使他人明显狂野的思想在他们自己的文化环境中具有逻辑说服力，并在智力上揭示了人类的状况，那么大卫-格雷伯就是完美的人类学家。他不仅完成了这一深刻的壮举，还通过关键的任务--现在比以往任何时候都更紧迫--使其他人的世界的可能性成为理解我们自己的世界的基础，而使之加倍。"

马歇尔-萨林斯（Marshall Sahlins），芝加哥大学人类学和社会科学的查尔斯-F-格雷杰出服务荣誉教授。

关于作者

大卫-格雷伯在伦敦经济学院教授人类学。他曾为《哈珀》、《国家》、《静默》和《新左派评论》撰稿。2006年，他在伦敦经济学院发表了马林诺夫斯基纪念讲座，这个年度讲座是为了表彰 "从根本上塑造了文化研究的杰出人类学家"。作为 "占领华尔街 "的最初组织者之一，格雷伯被《彭博商业周刊》称为 "运动的反领导者"。大西洋报》写道，他 "已经开始代表'占领华尔街'的信息......以一种真正阐明人们对它的一些质疑的方式，表达了该团体的理论及其创始原则。"