In this book, David Graeber reveals that before money, there was debt. For over 5,000 years, humans used credit systems to trade goods, predating coins or cash. Graeber argues this era saw the division of society into debtors and creditors. He also shows how debates on debt and forgiveness shaped political revolts and influenced law and religion, with terms like “guilt” and “redemption” rooted in ancient disputes, affecting modern beliefs.
Debt: The First 5,000 Years
Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Debt was pronounced to be the anarchist bible and with a single stroke David placed the topic of debt at the center of academic debates, inspiring a whole set of scholars to wrest the understanding of economy away from professional economists. For the present generation, the call for clean slates and widespread debt cancellation had never rung so loudly.
1 On the Experience of Moral Confusion
2 The Myth of Barter
3 Primordial Debts
4 Cruelty and Redemption
5 A Brief Treatise on the Moral Grounds of Economic Relations
6 Games with Sex and Death
7 Honor and Degradation, or, on the Foundations of Contemporary Civilization
8 Credit Versus Bullion, And the Cycles of History 211
9 The Axiai Age (800 BC-600 AD)
10 The Middle Ages (600 AD-1450 AD)
11 Age of the Great Capitalist Empires (1450-1971)
12 The Beginning of Something Yet to Be Determined (1971-present)
Arabic
Title: الدين الخمسة آلاف سنة الأولى
First Published: 2019
ISBN: 9789779207544
Publisher: Arab Network for Research and Publishing Company
Translators: Ahmed Zaki Ahmed
Pages: 714
Bulgarian
Title: Дългът: първите 5000 години
First Published: 2019
ISBN: 9789546559210
Publisher: Bard
Translators: Vladimir Germanov
Pages: 576
Chinese (Simplified)
Title: 债:第一个 5000 年
First Published: 2012
ISBN: 9787508635545
Publisher: CITIC
Translators: Ziyun Dong
Pages: 468
Title: 债:第一个 5000 年
First Published: 2021
ISBN: 9787521714265
Publisher: CITIC
Translators: Ziyun Dong, Tan Sun
Pages:
Chinese (Traditional)
Title: 債的歷史:從文明的初始到全球負債時代
First Published: 2013
ISBN: 9789862724361
Publisher: Cite Publishing
Translators: Luo Yuxing, Lin Xiaoqin
Pages: 544
Croatian
Title: Dug: prvih 5000 godina
First Published: 2013
ISBN: 9789532664850
Publisher: Fraktura
Translators: Damir Biličić
Pages: 648
Czech
Title: Dluh. Prvních 5000 let
First Published: 2012
ISBN: 9788026500445
Publisher: BizBooks
Translators: Lenka Beranová
Pages: 416
Dutch
Title: Schuld: de eerste 5000 jaar
First Published: 2012
ISBN: 9789047005223
Publisher: Atlas
Translators: Peter van Huizen, Wybrand Scheffer
Pages: 592
English
Title: Debt: The First 5,000 Years
First Published: 2011
ISBN: 978-1-933633-86-2
Publisher: Melville House
Translators:
Pages: 534
French
Title: Dette : 5000 ans d'histoire
First Published: 2013
ISBN: 979-10-209-0059-3
Publisher: Éditions Les Liens qui libèrent
Translators: Françoise Chemla, Paul Chemla
Pages: 623
German
Title: Schulden: die ersten 5000 Jahre
First Published: 2012
ISBN: 3608103104, 9783608103106
Publisher: Klett-Cotta
Translators: Ursel Schäfer, Hans Freundl, Stephan Gebauer
Pages: 536
Greek
Title: Χρέος. Τα πρώτα 5.000 χρόνια
First Published: 2013
ISBN: 9789609775069
Publisher: Stasei Ekpiptontes
Translators: Giannis Pediotis, Giannis Vogiatzis, Giorgos Karampelas
Pages: 608
Italian
Title: Debito. I primi 5000 anni (1st edition)
First Published: 2012
ISBN: 9788842817970
Publisher: Il Saggiatore
Translators: Luca Larcher, Alberto Prunetti
Pages: 521
Title: Debito. I primi 5000 anni (2nd edition)
First Published: 2024
ISBN: 9788842834663
Publisher: Il Saggiatore
Translators: Luca Larcher, Alberto Prunetti
Pages: 664
Japanese
Title: 負債論──貨幣と暴力の5000年
First Published: 2016
ISBN: 9784753103348
Publisher: Ibunsha
Translators: Natsuko Sasaki, Takashi Sakai, Iwasaburo Takaso
Pages: 848
Korean
Title: 부채, 첫 5,000년의 역사
First Published: 2021
ISBN: 9791159201363
Publisher: Boogle Books
Translators: Jeong Myeong-jin
Pages: 704
Polish
Title: Dług. Pierwsze pięć tysięcy lat
First Published: 2018
ISBN: 9788365853196
Publisher: Krytyka Polityczna
Translators: Bartosz Kuźniarz
Pages: 540
Portuguese
Title: Dívida: os Primeiros 5.000 Anos
First Published: 2023
ISBN: 9786559791323
Publisher: Zahar
Translators: Rogério Bettoni
Pages: 696
Portuguese (Portugal)
Title: Dívida: os Primeiros 5.000 Anos
First Published: 2016
ISBN: 9788568493144
Publisher: Três Estrelas
Translators: Rogério Bettoni
Pages: 704
Romanian
Title: Datoria. Primii 5 000 de ani
First Published: 2020
ISBN: 9786067107456
Publisher: Editura ART
Translators: Dragos Dodu, Florentina Hojbota
Pages: 688
Russian
Title: Долг. Первые 5000 лет истории (4th edition)
First Published: 2023
ISBN: 9785911037291
Publisher: Ad Marginem
Translators: Aleksandr Dunaev
Pages: 448
Title: Долг. Первые 5000 лет истории (3rd edition)
First Published: 2021
ISBN: 9785911035655
Publisher: Ad Marginem
Translators: Aleksandr Dunaev
Pages: 496
Title: Долг. Первые 5000 лет истории (1st edition)
First Published: 2015
ISBN: 9785911032067
Publisher: Ad Marginem
Translators: Aleksandr Dunaev
Pages: 528
Title: Долг. Первые 5000 лет истории (2nd edition)
First Published: 2016
ISBN: 9785911032999
Publisher: Ad Marginem
Translators: Aleksandr Dunaev
Pages: 616
Slovene
Title: Dolg Prvih 5.000 let dolžništva
First Published: 2014
ISBN: 9789612570606
Publisher: Založba
Translators: Branko Gradišnik
Pages: 680
Spanish
Title: En deuda: Una historia alternativa de la economía
First Published: 2014
ISBN: 9788434418547
Publisher: Ariel / Planeta
Translators: Joan Andreano Weyland
Pages: 720
Title: En deuda: Una historia alternativa de la economía
First Published: 2014
ISBN: 9788434404892
Publisher: Ariel / Planeta
Translators: Joan Andreano Weyland
Pages: 720
Title: En deuda: Una historia alternativa de la economía (2nd edition)
First Published: 2021
ISBN: 9788434433533
Publisher: Ariel / Planeta
Translators: Joan Andreano Weyland
Pages: 720
Swedish
Title: Skuld. De första 5000 åren
First Published: 2012
ISBN: 9789171733948
Publisher: Daidalos
Translators: Joel Nordqvist
Pages: 537
Turkish
Title: Borç: İlk 5,000 Yıl
First Published: 2015
ISBN: 9786051418377
Publisher: Everest
Translators: Muammar Pehlivan
Pages: 550
Debt: the First 5000 Years
Book Review: Debt The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
Invent money so you can take it off of people… Ingenious?
Book Review: Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
Review of ‘Debt: The First 5,000 Years’
Debt and Punishment
David Graeber’s book ‘Debt: The First 5,000 Years’ is missing an analysis of capitalism
BOOK REVIEW SERIES: #4 DEBT: THE FIRST 5000 YEARS BY DAVID GRAEBER.
Book Review: Debt – The First 5000 years
Debt - Updated and Expanded: The First 5,000 Years
Review | Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
Thoughts on David Graeber’s ‘Debt: the first 5,000 years’
A Review of Graeber’s Debt: The First 5000 Years
BOOK REVIEW: “DEBT: THE FIRST 5,000 YEARS” BY DAVID GRAEBER
Debt: The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber
I had heard that this was a good book, but I was really surprised. It is a great book, much better than the recommendations.
