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Debt: The First 5,000 Years | David Graeber | Talks at Google

Talks at Google · talk · Watch on YouTube

Microeconomics & behavioral economicsWorld history

What it is

David Graeber's Talks at Google presentation on his book Debt: The First 5,000 Years, covering the history of debt, the myth of barter and the Jubilee tradition.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends it as an 80-minute way to get the gist of the book and a different view of what money is.

  • 8 people recommended it
  • 8 different months
  • 2 strong recommendations
  • first 2013, last 2024

What HN commenters said

  1. “(I find his talk fascinating)”

    Debunks barter origin of money; discusses what money is

    seoguru, 2014-03 · Strong recommendation · in “Ask HN: What is money?”

  2. “this excellent talk by the late David Graeber about the history of debt”

    History of debt including the Jubilee concept

    apsurd, 2020-12 · Strong recommendation · in “Slack wanted to stay independent, but was unable to compete with tech giants”

  3. “This talk by anthropologist David Graeber illustrates my point”

    Graeber argues metallic money arose from armies imposing on populations

    primroot, 2013-11 · Recommendation · in “You can't beat politics with new technology all the time”

  4. “you don't even have to read it from cover to cover to get the meat of it.”

    80-minute talk giving the gist of Graeber's book

    igravious, 2017-09 · Recommendation · in “How Big Banks Became Our Masters”

  5. “Maybe watch this video of David Graeber from start until 5:20,”

    Graeber makes the point about lender responsibility clearly

    317070, 2020-02 · Recommendation · in “Varoufakis to Publish Notorious Eurogroup Recordings from 2015 Meetings”

  6. “Anthropologist David Graeber has a fascinating perspective”

    Informal credit preceded barter; coins arose for armies

    xster, 2021-12 · Recommendation · in “Weapons on Ancient Coins”

  7. “For a shorter version, see his talk at Google”

    Shorter version of Graeber's book on debt's surprising history

    yboris, 2023-01 · Recommendation · in “The language of labouring reveals its tortured roots (2013)”

  8. “Here is an interesting talk on debt by the late David Graeber”

    Gifts create reciprocal obligations, i.e. debts

    brudgers, 2024-04 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Should there be "computer showers" similar to "baby showers"?”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: david graeber, debt, origins of money, barter myth, anthropology

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