Found in 4 comments on Hacker News
orangepurple · 2022-08-31
· Original
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There is no higher authority than that of a sovereign. The government is a sovereign entity which forces use of its currency and taxation upon its subjects in order to compel the procurement of goods and services for its courts, military, and police forces from which it derives actual power. More info in Debt: The First 5,000 Years https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290
specialist · 2021-01-21
· Original
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Also, Debt: The First 5,000 Years covers the religious origins of debt, money, markets, capital, value, values, etc.
https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290
My TLDR for this thread: Capitalism is very old. Calvinists and Smith's views towards money, debt, etc. had many precedents. George Gilder's tortured rationalization that God endorses usury is probably unprecedented. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gilder#Wealth_and_Pover...
lukifer · 2019-11-14
· Original
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For context, David Graeber is an anarchist anthropologist who has written extensively about economics. His two best-known works on the subject:
- https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290/
- https://www.amazon.com/Bullshit-Jobs-Theory-David-Graeber/dp...
His views are surely influenced by his a-priori politics, but I've found his ideas thought-provoking to say the least.
Sigh. Another armchair economist trying to extrapolate history.
You are re-defining all societies in terms of our modern idea of government to push some libertarian view. Yes, you are correct, societies had money before there was a modern elected government with 3 branches. That doesn't mean there weren't rules, there weren't concepts like enforcement of contracts, like debt and how to 'sue' over recovering debt'.
You can't go back in history to when we were tribal, say 'look we didn't need a government', and then extrapolate that to todays world and promote anarchy.
Money before 'central government'? Central to what? My tribe? You are just re-defining what a government is. You are going back to when we were exchanging shiny bits of shell.
Something for your birthday https://www.amazon.com/Debt-First-5-000-Years/dp/1612191290