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Caitlin O'Sullivan's Reviews > Debt: The First 5,000 Years
Debt: The First 5,000 Years
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I think of Goodreads stars as the following: 1, shouldn't have been published; 2, terrible; 3, pretty good; 4, really good; 5, everyone should read this (because it's eye-opening, incredibly skillful, and/or beautiful).
Debt is a five-star book.
Graeber's history encompasses not just history, but anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, political science, economics, religious studies, and finance as he details the history and definition of "debt." The conclusions he draws are--especially if you've ever taken an economics class, or, like me, gotten a degree in the subject--shocking and overwhelming. It's not an easy book to read: the subject is complex and the writing is much more challenging than the average pop sci book--this is not Freakonomics. As well, the sheer sweep of the book--and the author's tendency to jump from subject to subject and theory to theory--make this a bad book to read on an airplane, around children, or in small bites before bed. But if you can stick it out . . . well, your first reaction might be (like mine) to want to start reading it over again.
Some of the questions Graeber answers in Debt include:
What was the original meaning of the word "freedom"?
Why were the Middle Ages of Europe just after the Black Plague one of the best times to be a worker, and what surprising reason brought that period to an end?
When and why might paying cash for a meal have marked you as a government official or a criminal?
Debt will change the way you see the world. I hope you read it--although I can't lend you my copy. I'm rereading it.
Debt is a five-star book.
Graeber's history encompasses not just history, but anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, political science, economics, religious studies, and finance as he details the history and definition of "debt." The conclusions he draws are--especially if you've ever taken an economics class, or, like me, gotten a degree in the subject--shocking and overwhelming. It's not an easy book to read: the subject is complex and the writing is much more challenging than the average pop sci book--this is not Freakonomics. As well, the sheer sweep of the book--and the author's tendency to jump from subject to subject and theory to theory--make this a bad book to read on an airplane, around children, or in small bites before bed. But if you can stick it out . . . well, your first reaction might be (like mine) to want to start reading it over again.
Some of the questions Graeber answers in Debt include:
What was the original meaning of the word "freedom"?
Why were the Middle Ages of Europe just after the Black Plague one of the best times to be a worker, and what surprising reason brought that period to an end?
When and why might paying cash for a meal have marked you as a government official or a criminal?
Debt will change the way you see the world. I hope you read it--although I can't lend you my copy. I'm rereading it.
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Reading Progress
June 13, 2012
–
Started Reading
June 17, 2012
– Shelved
June 17, 2012
– Shelved as:
nonfiction
June 17, 2012
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
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Daniel
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rated it 5 stars
Jul 19, 2012 05:18PM
I read the first three chapters and then went back to the beginning to start again - this time with a highlighter pen. I especially like his ideas on baseline communism, something my friend and I (though not so articulately) have discussed a length. Brilliant.
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Agreed re: baseline communism, Daniel. I really wouldn't want to live in a community that wasn't at least a bit communist . . . since, well, I pretty much am a communist with my friends.
Love your star system! I think I will adopt it too :-)
Eddie wrote: "Love your star system! I think I will adopt it too :-)":D Thanks, Eddie.
Thanks for the great review! I like your star system too, and may also adopt it :) . Any chance you've read 'Seeing Like a State' ? I haven't read 'Debt' yet, but *two different people* have mentioned it when I talk about SLAS.https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Anyway, I feel about SLAS like you seem to feel about 'Debt' -- mind-expanding, everyone-should-read-it-to-comprehend-our-modern-world -type stuff. I'm adding this one to the top of my list, thanks for the review!
Haven't read SLAS, but I'll definitely put it on my to-read list. Thanks for the rec and the kudos, Ted!
Anytime! Happy reading, and let me know how you like it! I'll do the same once I make it through "Debt".
I could not agree more. All through my first reading I thought ' I've got to reread this'. Just not ready to give it more stars now. But definitely a shocking view on a a shocking capita selecta of history. I think the murkiness influences my star-evaluation. It's not a pleasant read.
I like your rating of ratings...only I would nuance it a little: 1, terrible book and shouldn't have been published; 2, good enough to be published which means just "good"; and okay with the rest of your ratings. And, yes, this is a fantastically thought provoking, eye-opening, paradigm-shifting book for most of us. I'm sure it's pretty scary for people who have drunk the regular kool-aid of Calvinistic puritan morality.
