544 pages
English language
Published Nov. 27, 2012
The author shows that before there was money, there was debt. For 5,000 years humans have lived in societies divided into debtors and creditors. For 5,000 years debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates, laws and religions. The words “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption” come from ancient debates about debt. These terms and the ideas of debt shape our most basic ideas of right and wrong. source
It can be dense or dry, but I enjoy the history of world economies and what Graeber had to say about bartering and Adam Smith.
