A Macat Analysis of David Graeber's Debt: The First 5,000 Years Audiobook By Sulaiman Hakemy cover art

A Macat Analysis of David Graeber's Debt: The First 5,000 Years

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

A Macat Analysis of David Graeber's Debt: The First 5,000 Years

By: Sulaiman Hakemy
Narrated by: Macat.com
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.95

Buy for $6.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

David Graeber's 2011 book, Debt: The First 5,000 Years, seeks to overturn hundreds of years of economic theory, specifically the idea that people have a natural inclination to trade with each other and that the concept of money developed spontaneously to overcome the inefficiencies of a bartering system. The US-born social activist uses his training as an anthropologist to trace the histories of money and of debt and reaches the conclusion that money was in fact created by the state as a means of exploiting the poor.

First published at a time of huge economic turmoil around the world, Debt has been warmly received by activists looking for an intellectual foundation for alternatives to capitalism. As an activist himself, Graeber believes people can do better than relating to each other simply by measuring and enforcing debt. He says, "A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and violence."

©2016 Macat Inc (P)2016 Macat Inc
Study Guides & Test Preparation
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup
All stars
Most relevant  
Good analysis, but it takes too much time to read chapter number title and repeat it all twice. It feels like 10% of the book is just reading chapter name.

Why repeat chapter name twice?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Thorough and thought provoking. Well done, as it moves through chapters it gives a glimpse into the various mindsets of the time, as well as the challenges to the authors perspectives.

An effective analysis

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is a nice analysis but I’m not sure it’s needed. The original book is excellent and I done believe this is needed. Well written but kinda fells like a money grab. Read the original and find others to discuss it with. If you need further clarification then get this book

Good analysis.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Another academic and idealistic mindset not living in the real world. Although many good points are made, it is an unnecessary read.

An Academic Bore

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The author repeats his main observations, having to go with Graeber’s anti-capitalism, a dozen or more times. He gives you no guidance on those dense middle chapters about the Axial Age, Middle Ages, etc. The only content he refers to is all from the first or second chapter (about the barter myth). I would have wanted someone who could in an hour and a half address some of the other issues Graeber discusses.

Very thin overview

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.