Aaron Campbell — Review of “Debt: The First 5000 Years” by David Graeber

The history of debt is a vast and consequential topic that remains understudied. So there is no way this book could live up to its title. Much work remains to be done before anyone could produce a satisfying summary of debt history in 400 pages, if that will ever be possible. Graeber’s book is however a remarkably original achievement, and even the hubric title is well chosen. The ultimate value of this work depends on its reception, and whether it becomes a departure for further critiques and research. Hopefully this book will someday be re-written in several volumes, but this is a good start for now.

Many interesting comparisons and a good summary of the history and consequences of metallic versus credit money.

The review also illustrates the contrast between the breadth of undertaking and of view of anthropologists and sociologists, and the narrow undertaking and view of conventional economics.

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Review of “Debt: The First 5000 Years” by David Graeber
Aaron Campbell aka Zegreus Moole