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


  • Bronx Anti-War Coalition
    Fare Evasion or Fatal Excuse? Statement on NYPD Mass Subway Shooting Over $2.90
    18 Sep 2024
    Derell Mickles' death was a devastating addition to the many lives lost in the war on Black and working-class people. With the increasing cost of transportation and the expansion of the police…
  • Sophie Hurwitz
    New University Rules Crack Down on Gaza Protests
    18 Sep 2024
    Dozens of campuses quietly implemented new “expressive activity” policies over the summer—effectively banning many forms of protest.
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio September 13, 2024
    13 Sep 2024
    In this week’s segment, we hear about the recent Israeli military incursion onto the occupied West Bank and the impact on the people there. But first, we discuss the recent debate between Kamala…
  • Presidential debate
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Harris and Trump Debate and the 2024 Presidential Campaign
    13 Sep 2024
    Jon Jeter joins us from Washington to talk about the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and the 2024 presidential campaign.
  • Israel bombs mosque in the West Bank
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Israel's West Bank Invasion
    13 Sep 2024
    Rawan Masri of Decolonize Palestine joins us to talk about events in Palestine, on the West Bank, where the IDF sent troops into the occupied territory and engaged in mass arrests, shootings, and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us