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 Are Still Fighting These Battles Today Without Knowing It--publisher's Description. On The Experience Of Moral Confusion -- The Myth Of Barter -- Primordial Debts -- Cruelty And Redemption -- A Brief Treatise On The Moral Grounds Of Economic Relations -- Games With Sex And Death -- Honor And Degradation, Or, On The Foundations Of Contemporary Civilization -- Credit Versus Bullion And The Cycles Of History -- The Axial Age (800 Bc -- 600 Ad) -- The Middle Ages (600ad -- 145o Ad) -- Age Of The Great Capitalist Empires (1450-1971) -- The Beginning Of Something Yet To Be Determined (1971 -- Present). David Graeber. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 463-500) And Index.
Categories:
- Science & Math
- Behavioral Sciences
- Anthropology
- Behavioral Sciences
Publisher : Melville House
Author : Graeber, David
Language : English
Edition : Updated,Expanded
Published :2014-10-28
Number Of Pages : 560
Binding : paperback
ISBN-10 : 1612194192
ISBN-13 : 9781612194196
Item weight : 1.1 lb
Dimensions : 1.5 in x 5.6 in x 8.3 in
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the 'Complete Orders' link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.