Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

The Origins of Debt, Money, Slavery and Empire
21 Sep 2011
🖨️ Print Article

Like most of us, you probably learned in school that people invented money to replace barter, markets are guided by The Invisible Hand, and a debt is a kind of sacred promise.  Like much else you learned in school, says anthropologist David Graeber, this is wrong.  Markets are constructed by states, while the appearance of debt, slavery and money in human affairs coincide with the appearance of violent empires, and recede when empires are in decline.  Debts are only sacred, Graeber explains, when the poor owe the rich, and there are key distinctions between debts and promises.  Graeber, the author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years is interviewed by C.S. Soong on KPFA's Against the Grain...

The Origins of Debt, Money, Slavery and Empire

An Against the Grain Interview by C.S. Soong and Sasha Lilley

KPFA.s Against the Grain is consistently one of the best interview shows around.  We at BAR steal ideas from them all the time.  You can find a link to Debt: The First 5,000 Years here.



Your browser does not support the audio element.

listen
http://www.againstthegrain.org/files/files/atg/atg_2013.01.07_graeber.mp3

More Stories


  • Governor Woke Smoke's $campaign: singing Dr. Goebbels Greatest Hits
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Governor Woke Smoke's $campaign: singing Dr. Goebbels Greatest Hits
    24 May 2023
                                                         
  • BAR Book Forum: Marzia Milazzo’s Book, “Colorblind Tools”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Marzia Milazzo’s Book, “Colorblind Tools”
    24 May 2023
    This week’s featured author is Marzia Milazzo. Milazzo is an associate professor of English at the University of Johannesburg. Her book is Colorblind Tools: Global Technologies of Racial Power.
  • Approval of US Troops to Train Peruvian Armed Forces Proves US Behind Coup
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Approval of US Troops to Train Peruvian Armed Forces Proves US Behind Coup
    24 May 2023
    US SOUTHCOM is strengthening ties with Peru's coup government by training that country's military and police force.
  • US Post-9/11 Wars Caused 4.5 million Deaths, Displaced 38-60 Million People, Study Shows
    Ben Norton
    US Post-9/11 Wars Caused 4.5 million Deaths, Displaced 38-60 Million People, Study Shows
    24 May 2023
    Wars the US waged in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan following September 11, 2001 caused at least 4.5 million deaths and displaced 38 to 60 million people, with 7.6 million children…
  • Abolish the GILEE Program and Stop Cop City: A Statement From the Black Alliance for Peace Atlanta Citywide Alliance
    Black Alliance for Peace Atlanta City-Wide Alliance
    Abolish the GILEE Program and Stop Cop City: A Statement From the Black Alliance for Peace Atlanta Citywide Alliance
    24 May 2023
    The purpose of U.S. law enforcement training in Israel is to learn the violent tactics used against Palestinians and bring them back to this country. 
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us