Books – David Graeber

Debt: The First 5,000 Years

2011 Melville House Publishing

In this book, David Graeber reveals that before money, there was debt. For over 5,000 years, humans used credit systems to trade goods, predating coins or cash. Graeber argues this era saw the division of society into debtors and creditors. He also shows how debates on debt and forgiveness shaped political revolts and influenced law and religion, with terms like "guilt" and "redemption" rooted in ancient disputes, affecting modern beliefs.

First published 2011 Translations: Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, Estonian, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Bullshit Jobs

In 2013, David Graeber's essay “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs” asked if our jobs make a meaningful contribution to the world. It went viral, sparking global debate. In Bullshit Jobs, David examines how many roles—HR consultants, corporate lawyers, and more—are meaningless, highlighting how finance capitalism perpetuates this issue. The book calls for a cultural shift, valuing creative and caring work over empty tasks.

First published 2018 Translations: Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Dutch, English, English (UK), Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, Spanish, Turkish, Vietnamese

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

David Graeber's final posthumous work, Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia, explores the rich history of pirate societies and their influence on the Enlightenment. Rooted in David’s field research in Madagascar, the book examines how the Zana-Malata, descendants of pirates, practiced protodemocratic governance. Challenging the European-centric view of Enlightenment thought, David reveals non-European contributions to "Western" ideas and highlights alternative social orders that offer new possibilities for the future.

First published 2019 Translations: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish

The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike - either free and equal, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a reaction to indigenous critiques of European society, and why they are wrong. In doing so, they overturn our view of human history, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery and civilization itself.

First published 2021 Translations: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish

The Utopia of Rules

Where does the desire for endless rules, regulations, and bureaucracy come from? Why do we spend so much time filling out forms, and is it really a cipher for state violence? David Graeber explores these questions in The Utopia of Rules, revealing how bureaucracy shapes our lives in ways we might not notice. Combining social theory with popular culture, Graeber offers a powerful and entertaining analysis, challenging us to rethink the institutions that rule us and imagine a freer world.

First published 2015 Translations: Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Czech, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish

Anarchy–In a Manner of Speaking

Anarchy—In a Manner of Speaking presents a series of interviews with David Graeber. Known for his writings on debt, bureaucracy, and “bullshit jobs,” as well as his role in the Occupy Wall Street movement, David discusses the history and future of anarchy. Interviewers Mehdi Belhaj Kacem, Nika Dubrovsky, and Assia Turquier-Zauberman delve into the connections between anthropology and anarchism, exploring its influence on movements like Occupy and the Yellow Vests. Graeber also reflects on anarchist ethics in politics, art, love, and more, with humor and insight.

First published 2020 Translations: Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Turkish

Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology

Everywhere anarchism is on the upswing as a political philosophy, except the academy. Anarchists repeatedly appeal to anthropologists for ideas about how society might be reorganized on a more egalitarian, less alienating basis. Anthropologists, terrified of being accused of romanticism, respond with silence . . . . But what if they didn't? This pamphlet ponders what that response would be, and explores the implications of linking anthropology to anarchism. Here, David Graeber invites readers to imagine this discipline that currently only exists in the realm of possibility: anarchist anthropology.

First published 2004 Translations: Chinese (Simplified), Czech, Danish, English, French, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Slovene, Spanish, Turkish

Direct Action: an Ethnography

David Graeber undertakes the first detailed ethnographic study of the global justice movement. The case study at the center of Direct Action is the organizing and events that led to the one of the most dramatic and militant mass protests in recent yearsagainst the Summit of the Americas in Québec City. Written in a clear, accessible style (with a minimum of academic jargon), this study brings readers behind the scenes of a movement that has changed the terms of debate about world power relations. From informal conversations in coffee shops to large spokescouncil” planning meetings and tear gas-drenched street actions, Graeber paints a vivid and fascinating picture.

First published 2009 Translations: English, German, Italian

On Kings

In anthropology as much as in popular imagination, kings are figures of fascination and intrigue, heroes or tyrants in ways presidents and prime ministers can never be. This collection of essays by two of the world’s most distinguished anthropologists—David Graeber and Marshall Sahlins—explores what kingship actually is, historically and anthropologically. As they show, kings are symbols for more than just sovereignty: indeed, the study of kingship offers a unique window into fundamental dilemmas concerning the very nature of power, meaning, and the human condition.

First published 2017 Translations: English, French, German, Italian, Russian

The Democracy Project

In this book, David takes readers on a journey through the idea of democracy, provocatively reorienting our understanding of pivotal historical moments, and extracts their lessons for today—from the birth of Athenian democracy and the founding of the United States of America to the global revolutions of the twentieth century and the rise of a new generation of activists. Underlying it all is a bracing argument that in the face of increasingly concentrated wealth and power in this country, a reenergized, reconceived democracy—one based on consensus, equality, and broad participation—can yet provide us with the just, free, and fair society we want.

First published 2012 Translations: Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), English, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish

Revolutions in Reverse: Essays on Politics, Violence, Art, and Imagination

2012 In this collection of essays, David Graeber examines the unraveling of capitalism and the seeming lack of alternatives, arguing that perpetual growth on a finite planet is unsustainable. While many cling to the current system out of fear of worse alternatives, David suggests the political imagination is not as limited as it seems. Drawing from politics, art, and creativity, he explores new possibilities for redefining common sense and reimagining what people can expect from the world and each other.

First published 2009 Translations: Czech, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Turkish