- Paperback: 433 pages
- Publisher: AK Press (1 Oct 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1904859666
- ISBN-13: 978-1904859666
- Product Dimensions: 22.4 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 396,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
Described as the best anthropological theorist of his generation from anywhere in the world" by Maurice Bloch (Professor of Anthropology (retired) at the LSE and European Professor at the Collège de France) David Graeber here applies anthropological theory to capitalism and its opponents. His analysis uses case studies from such diverse communities as rural Madagascans, pre-capitalist economies and urban international protest groups to tease out the truth about the state we're in. Graeber brings both academic rigour and the direct experience of the activist/organiser to his subject, creating a work that is both scholarly and accessible - and who could resist chapter headings like 'On the Phenomenology of Giant Puppets: broken windows, Imaginary Jars of Urine, and the Cosmological Role of the Police in American Culture'? Anthropological themes addressed include Fetishism, Magic, Consumption and the possibility of a General Sociological Theory.
About the Author
An ex-Yale professor, David Graeber is an anthropologist and activist who lives in New York.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I decided to call this collection Possibilities because the word encompasses much of what originally inspired me to become an anthropologist. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
I decided to call this collection Possibilities because the word encompasses much of what originally inspired me to become an anthropologist. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Creative, Thoughtful and Brilliant
31 Mar 2008
Format:Paperback
Possibilities is really the best of scholarship: an incredibly smart, well-read person putting together different strands of thought to create a unique perspective. Noone writing today is better at explaining anarchism and applying anti-hierarchical, anti-authoritarian thinking to a wide range of subjects; knowing that the author is also an activist only enhances his arguments. Can easily be read (and enjoyed) by non-academics. A truly wonderful book.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
brain-melts: 4 and counting
29 Sep 2010
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having rushed through the first part of the book (of 3) i feel now compelled to come back and read it again, just to make sure i understood it correctly. Not that the ideas themselves are complicated, but i feel i haven't fully grasped the breath of consequences and interpretations that they provide.
Which is to say: Graeber's book is at once extremely original and extremely relevant. I am pretty sure that i will not be able to face salary-work the same way again after reading his analysis of modes-of-production --- not that i had never heard that a job is a form of slavery, but his arguments make the connection much deeper, albeit more subtle too.
This is no sissy science, trying to make acceptable claims with defensible arguments. Graeber reinterprets classical arguments as he sees fit. But in the end, what we get is actually a clearer idea of society, both more aware of history and more technologically astute than your usual social scientist.
Finally, he claims that his aim with those texts is to keep possibilities open, and i am pretty sure he achieves it.
Which is to say: Graeber's book is at once extremely original and extremely relevant. I am pretty sure that i will not be able to face salary-work the same way again after reading his analysis of modes-of-production --- not that i had never heard that a job is a form of slavery, but his arguments make the connection much deeper, albeit more subtle too.
This is no sissy science, trying to make acceptable claims with defensible arguments. Graeber reinterprets classical arguments as he sees fit. But in the end, what we get is actually a clearer idea of society, both more aware of history and more technologically astute than your usual social scientist.
Finally, he claims that his aim with those texts is to keep possibilities open, and i am pretty sure he achieves it.
10 of 19 people found the following review helpful
really good but...
11 Aug 2008
Format:Paperback
some of the chapters can be kind of boring if youre not into anthropological studies of Madagascar and so on. if you are just interested in the essays that pertain to anarchism or social movements then the book is still worth the buy but be prepared to be disinterested with some of the book.
i read the anthropological essays and could tell how he was linking them to our society but for the lay(wo)men he could have condensed them and we would have been happier.
overall, a good, interesting, worthy read!
i read the anthropological essays and could tell how he was linking them to our society but for the lay(wo)men he could have condensed them and we would have been happier.
overall, a good, interesting, worthy read!
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