New Releases by David Graeber

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, 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 conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action. Includes Black-and-White Illustrations

David Graeber n''est pas seulement l''un des plus importants penseurs vivants. Il est aussi l''un des plus influents, mais, au contraire de bien d''intellectuels « engagés », l''un des très rares à avoir fait preuve d''une efficacité militante à répercussion mondiale. Nul n''a peut-être autant « impacté » sur la gauche internationale que cet homme.Tant par ses grands concepts comme ceux de la dette, de la bureaucratie ou des bullshit jobs, que par son implication cruciale dans le mouvement Occupy Wall Street, qui lui a valu un exil quasi forcé de son pays d''origine, il est peut-être l''intellectuel vivant à offrir le plus de pistes crédibles pour la sortie du capitalisme. Se revendiquant depuis toujours anarchiste, dans ce livre d''entretiens avec Assia Turquier Zauberman et Mehdi Belhaj Kacem, Graeber parle tant sur l''histoire de l''anarchie que sur sa pertinence contemporaine et sur son avenir; tant sur les liens qui unissent l''anthropologie à l''anarchisme qu''aux « traces ADN » de celui-ci dans le mouvement d''OWS ou dans celui des gilets jaunes; sur la signification de l''éthique anarchiste non seulement dans sa portée politique, mais esthétique et artistique, sexuelle et amoureuse, etc. Avec une verve étonnante de vivacité, de drôlerie et d''érudition, le présent livre contribue à redéfinir les contours de ce que pourrait être, comme le disait Kropotkine, une « morale anarchiste » aujourd''hui.

We have all read fairy tales about kings and queens, princes and princesses, dragons and castles. It''s all true! They really existed! Well, except for the dragons. Dragons didn''t really exist. Somebody just made that part up (Also the talking fish.) But the kings and princesses and castles definitely existed. For much of history, most people lived under monarchies. That meant they took one person and everyone had to do anything he said, until that person died, and then they''d just do the same thing with his son or sometimes daughter. Sort of like a game of Simon Says, except the same person always gets to be Simon, and the game goes on forever. This was referred to as "government." There are two common mistakes people make about kings. One is to think that they were always there: that there''s just something odd about humans that makes them want to give one person all the power. No. That''s wrong. The other mistake is to think maybe people long ago behaved that way, but that''s because people long ago were slightly stupid, and hadn''t figured out how to hold elections or online surveys, but we certainly don''t have anything like kings now. That turns out not to be true either. It might seem to be, because we no longer have anyone dressed in elaborate costumes who can order somebody''s head chopped off - at least, in most places, we don''t - but as we''ll see, things haven''t changed nearly as much as we like to think. One thing no one can deny: kings are fun to think about. That''s why people like to dress up as them, or play games where they get to be kings or queens, or why there are so many books and stories about them. So why write another one? Well, mainly to ask: why do we find kings and queens so interesting? What is it we really like about them, and what is it we''d find annoying or even terrifying if one was actually around? Where did they come from and why do they never seem to go away? Is it possible to keep all the things we like about kings and queens and get rid of all the other ones? This book, then, is an illustrated collection of questions and answers to help us get to the bottom of all this. But it''s also meant to be entertaining because, let''s face it, kings and queens are pretty entertaining. We''ll see what happens when some people get to do absolutely anything they want, and other people try to come up with all sorts of clever strategies to keep them out of trouble. We''ll see what happens when servant girls conquer the world, mummies pretend they''re still alive, and parents build make-believe towns for their children. But we don''t want to give too much away.

David Graeber séjourna à Madagascar de 1989 à 1991 et y découvrit l’existence d’un groupe ethnique formé des descendants des pirates qui s’y étaient installées au début du XVIIIe siècle. Il a rédigé sur le sujet un essai, où il entreprend, entre autres, de faire la lumière sur l’utopie pirate connue sous le nom de « Libertalia ». Décryptant les légendes pirates et analysant la documentation disponible, l’auteur explore l’impact qu’eurent les flibustiers et leurs descendants sur l’histoire malgache au siècle des Lumières – mais aussi l’influence qu’eurent les récits de pirates et leurs pratiques proto-démocratiques sur les penseurs de l’époque. Il en résulte un récit passionnant, doublé d’une réflexion lumineuse sur la nature et les origines de l’idéologie marchande. L''anthropologue américain David Graeber, né en 1961, évincé de l''université Yale, figure de proue du mouvement Occupy Wall Street, est considéré par le New York Times comme "l''un des intellectuels les plus influents du monde anglo-saxon". Il est l''auteur de Bullshit Jobs (LLL); Dette, 5000 ans d''histoire (LLL), Bureaucratie (LLL), Comme si nous étions déjà libres (Lux).

¿Qué distancia hay entre el anarquismo y la academia? ¿Y entre la antropología y el anarquismo? Estas preguntas son comprensibles en la medida en que, como ha afirmado David Graeber, el ámbito académico se basa en una separación entre la teoría y la práctica que choca con la importancia para el anarquismo de la relación entre práctica y pensamiento, y entre fines y medios.El autor considera que «más que una Gran Teoría, podríamos decir que lo que le falta al anarquismo es una Base Teórica: un mecanismo para confrontar los problemas reales e inmediatos que emergen de todo proyecto de transformación». La pregunta, por tanto, es: «¿qué tipo de teoría social puede ser realmente de interés para quienes intentamos crear un mundo en el cual la gente sea libre para administrar sus propios asuntos?». La supuesta debilidad del anarquismo en el ámbito teórico es, en realidad, la fuerza de unas prácticas políticas capaces de convertirse en herramientas útiles en contextos históricos y geográficos diferentes, como se ha reflejado en movimientos sociales como la antiglobalización o el 15M, a través de dinámicas asamblearias, y de democracia y acción directa.Fragmentos de antropología anarquista aborda la importante vinculación entre anarquismo y antropología, entendiendo a los antropólogos como «el único grupo de científicos sociales que conocen las sociedades sin Estado que existen en la actualidad; muchos han vivido en zonas del mundo donde los Estados han dejado de funcionar o como mínimo han desaparecido de manera temporal». -

El nuevo esclavismo. Pasarse la vida trabajando en algo totalmente innecesario. Un trabajo de mierda. ¿Su trabajo tiene algún sentido para la sociedad? En la primavera de 2013, David Graeber hizo esta pregunta en un ensayo lúdico y provocativo titulado «Sobre el fenómeno de los trabajos de mierda». El artículo se volvió viral. Después de un millón de visitas en línea en diecisiete idiomas diferentes, la gente sigue debatiendo la respuesta. Hay millones de personas: consultores de recursos humanos, coordinadores de comunicación, investigadores de telemarketing, abogados corporativos..., cuyos trabajos son inútiles, y ellos lo saben. Estas personas están atrapadas en unos trabajos de mierda. Olvide a Piketty o Marx; es Graeber, uno de los antropólogos y activistas más influyentes del momento, quien dice alto y claro que muchas de las tareas que se realizan en una economía de esclavos asalariados son una forma de empleo tan carente de sentido, tan innecesaria o tan perniciosa que ni siquiera el propio trabajador es capaz de justificar su existencia, y pese a ello se siente obligado a fingir que no es así. La crítica social que persigue el libro es sólida y aguda, especialmente cuando introduce categorías tan refinadas como los «trabajos chapuza», que realizan determinados empleados para, por ejemplo, mantener en funcionamiento máquinas viejas y ahorrarle a la empresa la compra de nueva maquinaria. No deja de tener su lógica, ya que, como dijo Orwell, «una población que está ocupada trabajando, aunque sea en tareas totalmente inútiles, no tiene tiempo para hacer mucho más». De ahí que, como concluye Graeber, lo que tengamos sea una mierda permanente.

«Questo libro ha molte virtù: è accademico – e quindi rigoroso nel dare definizioni, nel classificare le prove e definire i ragionamenti – ed è anche divertente.» The Times of London «Un saggio sovversivo.» Marie Claire - Michele Mari «Con analisi brillanti e acute analizza l’attuale costume sociale di sembrare sempre impegnati anche quando non abbiamo nulla da fare... un libro illuminante.» Publishers Weekly «Ha il pregio di essere allo stesso tempo intelligente e autorevole.» The New Yorker «Un libro che compie una vera svolta.» Il Manifesto «Una disamina delle nostre vite professionali che fa riflettere e discutere.» The Financial Times Le professioni senza senso che rendono ricco e infelice chi le svolge e costituiscono il fondamento del nuovo capitalismo globale. In italiano potrebbero definirsi "lavori del cavolo". Siate onesti: se il vostro lavoro non esistesse, quanti ne sentirebbero la mancanza? Qual è il contributo significativo che offre al mondo? Nella primavera del 2013, David Graeber ha posto questi semplici interrogativi in un articolo provocatorio pubblicato online, e il successo è stato immediato: milioni di visualizzazioni, traduzioni in quasi venti lingue, condivisioni virali in tutto il mondo, campagne spontanee di guerrillia marketing da parte di attivisti politici. Perché i risultati sono stati sorprendenti: oltre il 40% degli intervistati riteneva di svolgere un lavoro inutile, un lavoro privo di senso, un «bullshit job». A partire da quelle riflessioni e perfezionandole con nuovi dati, ricerche, approfondimenti, Graeber esplora in questo libro una delle più sentite preoccupazioni dell’economia contemporanea, puntando il dito contro una deformazione tipica del capitalismo finanziario che permette a milioni di persone – consulenti per le risorse umane, coordinatori delle comunicazioni, avvocati societari – di svolgere un lavoro inutile senza impedire loro di esserne tragicamente consapevoli. David Graeber studia così i meccanismi attraverso i quali questo fenomeno – che il capitalismo efficientista doveva eliminare – si sta diffondendo oltremisura. Analisi spietata e manifesto per un nuovo umanesimo, Bullshit Jobs mostra come il lavoro, anziché finalizzato alla produzione, sia diventato fine a sé stesso, e propone soluzioni capaci di ridistribuire la ricchezza e di superare le disuguaglianze create dal nostro modello economico: non ultima, un reddito di cittadinanza che separi il lavoro dalla retribuzione.

L’anarchisme, en tant que philosophie politique, est en plein essor. De fondement de l’organisation dans le mouvement altermondialiste qu’ils étaient, les principes anarchistes traditionnels — autonomie, association volontaire, autogestion, entraide, démocratie directe — en sont venus à jouer ce rôle dans des mouvements radicaux de toutes sortes dans le monde entier. Et pourtant, cela n’a eu presque aucun écho dans le milieu universitaire. Les anarchistes interrogent souvent les anthropologues sur leurs idées quant aux diverses façons d’organiser la société sur des bases plus égalitaires, moins aliénantes. Les anthropologues, terrifiés à l’idée de se voir accusés de romantisme, n’ont pour seule réponse que leur silence. Et s’il en était autrement ?

I denne essaysamlingen gjør David Graeber nedslag i tema som kreativitet, fremmedgjøring, politiske strategier, global handel, vold og estetikk. Tekstene er i lys av anti-globaliseringsbevegelsen som har skutt fart etter den såkalte krigen mot terror. De sirkler inn verditeori og spørsmål som: Hva er et verdifullt liv? Hvilke av disse verdiene forsvinner når kapitalismen kontrollerer både produksjonsmidler og ideologien om hva som er verdifullt? Hvilke sosiale relasjoner er verdifulle for oss? David Graeber er professor i sosialantropologi ved London School of Economics, forfatter og aktivist. Han har vært sentral i flere protestbevegelser som Occupy Wall Street. Essaysamlingen inngår i Cappelens upopulære skrifter. Omtalen er utarbeidet av BS.

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. Reflecting on issues such as temporality, alterity, and utopia—not to mention the divine, the strange, the numinous, and the bestial—Graeber and Sahlins explore the role of kings as they have existed around the world, from the BaKongo to the Aztec to the Shilluk and beyond. Richly delivered with the wit and sharp analysis characteristic of Graeber and Sahlins, this book opens up new avenues for the anthropological study of this fascinating and ubiquitous political figure.

Since its first publication over forty years ago Marshall Sahlins''s Stone Age Economics has established itself as a classic of modern anthropology and arguably one of the founding works of anthropological economics. Ambitiously tackling the nature of economic life and how to study it comparatively, Sahlins radically revises traditional views of the hunter-gatherer and so-called primitive societies, revealing them to be the original "affluent society." Sahlins examines notions of production, distribution and exchange in early communities and examines the link between economics and cultural and social factors. A radical study of tribal economies, domestic production for livelihood, and of the submission of domestic production to the material and political demands of society at large, Stone Age Economics regards the economy as a category of culture rather than behaviour, in a class with politics and religion rather than rationality or prudence. Sahlins concludes, controversially, that the experiences of those living in subsistence economies may actually have been better, healthier and more fulfilled than the millions enjoying the affluence and luxury afforded by the economics of modern industrialisation and agriculture. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by David Graeber, London School of Economics.

In 1931 Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote his famous Remarks on Frazer''s "Golden Bough.". At that time, anthropology and philosophy were in close contact--continental thinkers drew heavily on anthropology''s theoretical terms, like mana, taboo, and potlatch, in order to help them explore the limits of human belief and imagination. Now the book receives its first translation by an anthropologist, in the hope that it can kick-start a new era of interdisciplinary fertilization. Wittgenstein''s remarks on ritual, magic, religion, belief, ceremony, and Frazer''s own logical presuppositions are as lucid and thought-provoking now as they were in Wittgenstein''s day. Anthropologists find themselves asking many of the same questions as Wittgenstein--and in a reflection of that, this volume is fleshed out with a series of engagements from some of the world''s leading anthropologists, including Veena Das, David Graeber, Wendy James, Heonik Kwon, Michael Lambek, Michael Puett, and Carlo Severi.

Um projeto de democracia conta a história da resistência do espírito democrático e da adaptabilidade do conceito de democracia, além de defender apaixonadamente a ideia de que a democracia radical é, mais do que nunca, nossa melhor esperança. David Graeber, autor de Debt e um dos intelectuais e ativistas mais influentes de sua geração, conduz o leitor a uma jornada pela ideia de democracia, reorientando provocativamente nossa compreensão a respeito de grandes momentos históricos, dos quais extrai lições para os dias atuais. Diante da concentração cada vez maior da riqueza e do poder, uma democracia reenergizada e reconcebida, baseada no consenso, na igualdade e na ampla participação, ainda pode oferecer a sociedade justa, livre e igualitária que queremos.

Siamo sommersi dalle scartoffie. Bollette, multe, moduli per l''iscrizione in palestra: è l''età della burocratizzazione totale. Ma come ci siamo arrivati? Di solito si pensa che la deregolamentazione sia un cambiamento positivo: meno lungaggini e meno regole che soffocano l''innovazione, il commercio e l''iniziativa individuale. E invece le riforme volte alla liberalizzazione del mercato e alla riduzione della burocrazia incrementano esponenzialmente le norme da interpretare, i moduli da riempire e le code da sopportare. La cultura burocratico-aziendale, nata nel mondo della finanza americana degli anni settanta, ha progressivamente invaso gli uffici pubblici, le università, ogni ambito della vita quotidiana. Il potere pubblico si è alleato con l''interesse privato e si è fatto strumento di un sistema sempre più arbitrario, che usa la lingua della razionalità e dell''efficienza per nascondere obiettivi irrazionali: estrarre ricchezza per il profitto dei privati. Ma c''è un problema ulteriore: perché le regole ci attraggono? I rapporti burocratici – freddi, meccanici e impersonali – sono anche facili e prevedibili, e ci offrono l''opportunità unica di sperimentare situazioni in cui tutta l''ambiguità e la complessità della vita – la comprensione delle dinamiche di una discussione in famiglia o di una rivalità sul lavoro – vengono spazzate via. È l''utopia delle regole. Il motivo ultimo e nascosto del fascino della burocrazia è la paura della libertà. Come immaginare, dunque, una società davvero libera? Dopo Debito, pubblicato dal Saggiatore e già diventato un classico, David Graeber spiega le ragioni profonde della nostra ambiguità nei confronti della burocrazia e delle regole, a cui non riusciamo a sottrarci nonostante la loro evidente stupidità. O forse proprio per questo.

David Graeber, der bedeutendste Anthropologe unserer Zeit, entfaltet eine fulminante und längst überfällige Fundamentalkritik der globalen Bürokratie! Er erforscht die Ursprünge unserer Sehnsucht nach Regularien und entlarvt ihre Bedeutung als Mittel zur Ausübung von Gewalt. Wir alle hassen Bürokraten. Wir können es nicht fassen, dass wir einen Großteil unserer Lebenszeit damit verbringen müssen, Formulare auszufüllen. Doch zugleich nährt der Glaube an die Bürokratie unsere Hoffnung auf Effizienz, Transparenz und Gerechtigkeit. Gerade im digitalen Zeitalter wächst die Sehnsucht nach Ordnung und im gleichen Maße nimmt die Macht der Bürokratien über jeden Einzelnen von uns zu. Dabei machen sie unsere Gesellschaften keineswegs transparent und effizient, sondern dienen mittlerweile elitären Gruppeninteressen. Denn Kapitalismus und Bürokratie sind einen verhängnisvollen Pakt eingegangen und könnten die Welt in den Abgrund reißen.

As Europe has struggled to adapt to the modern reality of mass migration in recent decades, the question of citizenship has emerged as an increasingly salient political topic across the continent. Numerous scholars have begun to analyze the evolution of citizenship regimes in Europe, the politics of citizenship policymaking, and the consequences of such policies for citizenship acquisition and immigrant integration. This dissertation advances a new theoretical understanding of citizenship policymaking and citizenship acquisition together within a framework of supply and demand. According to the theory, naturalization rates, and the corresponding level of integration required to naturalize, are the equilibrium result of the interaction between the political forces supplying citizenship and the varying determinants of immigrant demand for citizenship. This dissertation examines both in turn. On the supply side, I first argue that citizenship policy in Europe results not simply from the influence of radical right parties, but from broader modes of party competition that provide electoral incentives to either liberalize or restrict access to citizenship. Using a new quantitative measurement of citizenship policies across sixteen European countries from 1970 to 2014, I reveal how left party competition is associated with more liberal citizenship policy change, while right party competition and radical right electoral threats engender more restrictive policies. I then utilize my citizenship policy index alongside other political, economic, and social variables on the demand side to examine the aggregate level structure under which citizenship acquisition occurs across European countries and across time. Finally, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence gathered on two federal countries in Europe, Germany and Austria, I show that these same aggregate level variables operating at the national level may also operate within them.

"Toute réforme pour réduire l''ingérence de l''Etat aura pour effet ultime d''accroître le nombre de réglementations et le volume total de paperasse". Après le succès de Dette : 5000 ans d''histoire, David Graeber revient avec un texte passionnant et à rebours des idées reçues sur l''emprise de la bureaucratie dans nos sociétés contemporaines. Comment en sommes-nous arrivés, dans une société dite libérale, à passer une grande partie de notre temps à remplir de plus en plus de formulaires ? Et à quel point nos vies sont-elles gâchées par toute cette paperasserie sans fin ? Pour répondre à ces questions, l''auteur s''intéresse à l''histoire de notre rapport singulier à la bureaucratie et révèle comment elle façonne nos vies à tel point que nous n''en avons même plus conscience. L''inanité de cette paperasse est-elle symptomatique de la violence étatique ? Ou ne serait-elle pas plutôt un instrument du capitalisme, financier notamment, qui exercerait son contrôle à travers elle pour asseoir son pouvoir. Sur la technologie, Graeber développe également l''idée que le capitalisme néolibéral a freiné délibérément la technologie, et l''a détournée de ce qu''il appelle les "technologies poétiques" (créatrices) au profit des "technologies bureaucratiques" (de surveillance, de discipline, du travail et de tâches administratives) : les impératifs administratifs sont donc devenus non les moyens, mais la fin du développement technologique. Un livre essentiel pour comprendre notre temps. Bureaucratie sera à n''en pas douter au coeur du débat sur les institutions qui régissent nos vies et du monde meilleur et plus libre que nous devrions peut-être commencer à imaginer.

¿Cuál es el origen de ese afán por regular, imponer normas y burocratizar todos y cada uno de los aspectos de nuestra vida? Y lo más importante, ¿hasta qué punto nos arruina la existencia toda esa cantidad de formularios, procedimientos y documentación? No sólo en lo público, también en el trabajo y en la vida privada. Para responder a estas preguntas, David Graeber, uno de los pensadores más provocadores e influyentes del momento, pone el foco sobre las distintas formas en que la burocracia se inmiscuye en nuestro día a día y revela hasta qué punto llega a determinar nuestras vidas. Un interminable y abominable papeleo que anula la creatividad y consume gran parte del tiempo. El avance tecnológico, la gran promesa del capitalismo, se ha descubierto como otro mecanismo más de control, mucho más poderoso, al que sin embargo nos hemos doblegado sin oponer resistencia, seducidos por sus encantos. Navegando desde el influjo de la economía liberal de la segunda mitad del siglo xx hasta el significado oculto tras personajes como James Bond, Sherlock Holmes o Batman, este libro es un notable trabajo de teoría social en la tradición de autores como Foucault, Marcuse o el mismo Marx, si bien la presencia en su análisis de la cultura popular y su accesibilidad lo acercan también a las obras de Zizek. Un libro imprescindible para los tiempos que vivimos, que nos arma de argumentos en el debate presente sobre el cambio de modelo y que nos señala el camino hacia un mundo mejor y más justo.