“If anthropology consists of making the apparently wild thought of others logically compelling in their own cultural settings and intellectua...
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Dec 27, 2007
Standard
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David Graeber is arguably the best anarchist intellectual working in the US as well as a hell of an anthropologist. What is great about this book is that he actually historicizes the anti-globalization movement so that it appears part of the long, broad process of democratic movements everywhere. In what may be the best essay of the book, he joins writers like Silvia Federici in taking apart the notion of "western civilization" and shows how democracy, if defined as people making dec
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Nov 05, 2008
Spicy T AKA Mr. Tea
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What an amazing read. Graeber's writing is accessible and fun to read--unlike a lot of other academic (?) texts I've read in the past. He conveys his ideas eloquently while citing his experiences or his knowledge of theory and social action. An anthropologist by training and an anarchist in thought, Graeber has written some very thoughtful essays in Possibilities. His essays regarding his field work in Madagascar are very interesting but his humor and investigations of the global justice movemen
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Jan 21, 2009
so far i've learned that i need to define capitalism better and think about how dirty jokes about bodies actually makes us more egalitarian.
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Sep 03, 2009
Jrgillooly
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I was told that grad school would require some "rewiring" of my brain, yet in my first semester I found that it was only an extension of writers and ideas that I had been very familiar with in undergrad. That was until I read Graeber's essay on the 1999 Seattle protests ( either the last or next to last in this collection).
Had the bulk of of Graeber's work not been published in the climate of fear post 9-11 I believe he would be in the ranks of other public intellectuals li More...
Had the bulk of of Graeber's work not been published in the climate of fear post 9-11 I believe he would be in the ranks of other public intellectuals li More...
Dec 26, 2008
This is Graeber's follow-up to Fragments of An Anarchist Anthropology. It's much larger in scope and size, and it's organized as a collection of long essays, some of which are overly academic, and some of which are much more accessible.
The essays are organized into 3 sections: one about past history and theories about private property, consumption/destruction, capitalism/slavery, and fetishism/creativity. The second section is all about rural Madagascar (since that's where the auth More...
The essays are organized into 3 sections: one about past history and theories about private property, consumption/destruction, capitalism/slavery, and fetishism/creativity. The second section is all about rural Madagascar (since that's where the auth More...
Oct 27, 2010
Jerome
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Great collection of essays by expatriated American anarchist anthropologist David Graeber. Although these essays are targeted to an academic audience, and read like academic literature, Graeber asks challenging questions about his subject matter that demand radical answers. Requires a good deal of knowledge of anthropology, sociology, economics, and a smattering of 20th Century continental philosophy to follow, but worth the reading.
Mar 30, 2011
Aaron
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One of the most intellectually demanding books I've endeavored. It took me nearly a year to finish. The book is divided into three main parts.
1. The Origins of Our Current Predicament
2. Dilemas of Authority in Rural Madagascar (which was intriguing at first and soon became a chore to read through)
3. Direct Action, Direct Democracy, & Social Theory (hands down the best part of this book)
The first part of this book offered few new insights to me. I did enjoy the More...
1. The Origins of Our Current Predicament
2. Dilemas of Authority in Rural Madagascar (which was intriguing at first and soon became a chore to read through)
3. Direct Action, Direct Democracy, & Social Theory (hands down the best part of this book)
The first part of this book offered few new insights to me. I did enjoy the More...
Feb 10, 2012
Ericstiens
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David Graeber is finally getting some well deserved attention with his book Debt and his media-annointed role as the intellectual of the Occupy movement. However, he was been doing amazing anthropological work for quite a while and this book is probably the best overview of some of his areas of interest and the ways in which he is re-working anarchist theory by asking - what does anthropology have to offer anarchism? What are the various complicated and shifting over overlapping and consensual a
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Dec 31, 2011
zerospinboson
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Quite a few essays I'll be reading again shortly; mostly finished it quickly so I would know which essays to read more carefully (though it of course helped that they were well-written), and to get a feel for the larger arguments being made, and how the essays relate to each other.
Will write a more informative review that does the book more justice later on.
Will write a more informative review that does the book more justice later on.
Nov 15, 2008
Amanda
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This is an awesome discourse on contemporary anarchism. It's thoughtful and utterly convincing. Graeber uses plain language and contemporary examples to make the argument that the possibilities are already open to us to step outside of the frustrating corporate fiefdom that we currently find ourselves in. Definitely recommend.
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