Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber. New York: Melville House Publishing, 2011.

Abstract

David Graeber's Debt: The First 5,000 Years is a timely contribution to monetary and social-political thought. It is an incredibly ambitious book spanning many disciplines and themes and, as well, most of human history. Given the narrowness of orthodox treatments of money, and the popularity of superficial myths concerning its history, the expansiveness of Graeber's project is the source of much of its merit. That being said, the book is not without unevenness, particularly in linking his broad historical work to the current analysis of money, debt, and power. However, the popularity of Graeber's Debt is well deserved. It should be taken seriously by anyone working on money henceforth. What is not new in Graeber is done especially well. The areas where one is less satisfied are those in which we can be forgiving due to the ambitiousness of the analysis.

Keywords:

• Money
• Debt
• Economic Anthropology
• Economic History