Delivery takes approximately 4-7 business days.

This title is In Stock in the Booktopia Distribution Centre. We will send you a confirmation email with a Tracking Code to follow the progress of your parcel when it ships.

Debt Author: David Graeber

ISBN: 9781612194196 Format: Paperback Number Of Pages: 566 Published: 2 February 2015 Country of Publication: US Dimensions (cm): 21.3 x 14.4 x 3.7 Description: Before there was money, there was debt

Every economics textbook says the same thing: Money was invented to replace onerous and complicated barter systems-to relieve ancient people from having to haul their goods to market. The problem with this version of history? There's not a shred of evidence to support it.

Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom. He shows that for more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods-that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors.

Graeber shows that arguments about Debt and Debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like "guilt," "sin," and "redemption") derive in large part from ancient debates about Debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We...

Returns Policy: 30-day money back guarantee for return if the item is not as described, is damaged or is faulty. We do not offer a refund if you change your mind.

Customs Charges & Duties: Orders over the value of $270 will be liable for customs charges, taxes including GST and brokerage costs which are the recipient's sole responsibility.