David Graeber Quote

The reason that economic textbooks now begin with imaginary villages is because it has been impossible to talk about real ones. Even some economists have been forced to admit that Smith's Land of Barter doesn't really exist. The question is why the myth is perpetuated anyway.


Chapter Three, "Primordial Debts", p. 43 - Debt: The First 5,000 Years (2011)


The reason that economic textbooks now begin with imaginary villages is because it has been impossible to talk about real ones. Even some economists...

The reason that economic textbooks now begin with imaginary villages is because it has been impossible to talk about real ones. Even some economists...

The reason that economic textbooks now begin with imaginary villages is because it has been impossible to talk about real ones. Even some economists...

The reason that economic textbooks now begin with imaginary villages is because it has been impossible to talk about real ones. Even some economists...