Explore the revolutionary economic history unveiled in David Graeber’s monumental work, Debt: The First 5000 Years, challenging the very foundations of modern economic thought!
This essential explainer video demolishes the pervasive Myth of Barter — the fictional story championed by figures like Adam Smith, Karl Menger, and Stanley Jevons — that falsely claims money emerged from inefficient pre-monetary trade. Instead, Graeber demonstrates that credit and debt systems underpinned the earliest known economies, long preceding coinage.
The video delves into the core issue of moral confusion surrounding debt, exploring how powerful institutions justify violence by reframing relations in the language of debt. It exposes the mechanics of global debt enforcement, detailing how the IMF (International Monetary Fund) acts as the “world’s debt enforcers”. Viewers will learn how IMF-imposed austerity programs led to devastating human consequences, such as the collapse of essential services in places like Madagascar, resulting in the tragic loss of life.
We trace the profound historical shifts across five millennia, spanning great cycles of history:
Mesopotamia (3500–800 BC): An early age dominated by credit money and vast palace and temple complexes, where the basic monetary unit—the silver shekel—was primarily an accounting measure managed by bureaucrats.
The Axial Age (800 BC-600 AD): Marked by the rise of coined bullion money, professional armies (like the Greek hoplites), and widespread philosophical movements.
The Middle Ages (600 AD-1450 AD): A return to credit-based systems, where economic life was often conducted through systems like tally sticks (used widely in England and China).
The video highlights the clash between impersonal commercial exchange and human economies. It examines how the language of debt shaped religious and moral terminology, giving rise to concepts like redemption, forgiveness, guilt, and sin. Insights from thinkers like Nietzsche and from ancient texts such as the Vedas reveal deep-seated anxieties about infinite, primordial debts to the gods or to society.
See how the Age of Great Capitalist Empires (1450–1971) relied on systematized violence and debt peonage. Learn about the Lele and Tiv societies in Africa, where social currencies like brass rods and cumal (Irish slave-girl money) measured status and obligations rather than goods. Discover the political origins of currency debates, including the role of Mitchell-Innes‘s Credit Theory of money and the Populist campaign allegory in L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (featuring Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion).
Finally, the description examines the world since 1971, focusing on the modern era of virtual money and the immense military power underpinning the U.S. dollar. It explores contemporary global debt dynamics, highlighting the crucial roles of institutions such as the Federal Reserve and emerging creditors, including China. Graeber insists we must re-examine “what we actually owe each other” to determine the contours of the next historical age.
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The Duke Report - Where to Start
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Oligarchic Control from the Renaissance to the Information Age
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