David Graeber

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Graeber, 2015

David Rolfe Graeber (born February 12, 1961 ) is an American ethnologist and publicist who represents anarchist positions. He teaches at the London School of Economics and Political Science .

Life

David Graeber is the author of Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology (dt. Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology , published as free of domination ) and Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value: The False Coin of Our Own Dreams (dt. Towards an anthropological theory of value: The wrong coin of our dreams ). Extensive field research in Madagascar resulted in his PhD thesis The Disastrous Ordeal of 1987: Memory and Violence in Rural Madagascar (dt. The disastrous ordeal of 1987: memory and violence in rural Madagascar ) in the graves with the ongoing social divide between the descendants of Nobility and the descendants of former slaves . Since May 2005 Graeber has been working on the publication of two books: Reinventing Revolution (German : reinventing the revolution , published as the fight against kamikaze capitalism ) and Direct Action: An Ethnography (German: Direct Action: An Ethnography ).

David Graeber (left, wearing IWW t-shirt ) at a May Day event in New York City, 2007

Graeber is a well-known social and political activist who took part in the 2002 protests against the World Economic Forum in New York City . He is also a member of the Industrial Workers of the World union and the International Organization for a Participatory Society .

Until June 2007 Graeber was Professor of Social Anthropology at Yale University , where the controversial decision was made not to renew Graeber's contract. Instead, he taught until summer 2013 Anthropology at Goldsmiths College of the University of London and then moved up to the anthropological faculty of the London School of Economics.

Positions

Graeber criticizes the foundations of the economic-social system from the perspective of the ethnologist. This would condemn people to senseless employment en masse instead of meaningful activity in moderation:

"In the year 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that, by century's end, technology would have advanced sufficiently that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have achieved a 15-hour work week. There's every reason to believe he was right. In technological terms, we are quite capable of this. And yet it didn't happen. Instead, technology has been marshaled, if anything, to figure out ways to make us all work more. In order to achieve this, jobs have had to be created that are, effectively, pointless. Huge swathes of people, in Europe and North America in particular, spend their entire working lives performing tasks they secretly believe do not really need to be performed. The moral and spiritual damage that comes from this situation is profound. It is a scar across our collective soul. Yet virtually no one talks about it. "

“In 1930, John Maynard Keynes predicted that by the end of the century technology would be so advanced that countries like Great Britain or the United States would have reached a 15-hour week. Everything indicates that he was right. In terms of technology, we are able to do this. Yet this does not happen. Instead, technology was used to make us all work more. In order to achieve this, jobs had to be created that are useless as a result. Large numbers of people, particularly in Europe and North America, have spent their entire working life doing jobs that they secretly think shouldn't be done. The moral and spiritual damage resulting from this situation here is grave. It's a wound in our collective soul. But nobody talks about it. "

Subsequent to the interpretation of the financial economy, Graeber dealt with Homo oeconomicus , as it is assumed not only in economics, but also derived from it in behavioral research on humans and animals. In it he refers in particular to Pyotr Alexejewitsch Kropotkin and speaks out against radical neo- Darwinism , for which he attaches Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett . Graeber proclaims a principle of playful freedom , according to which all life "under certain circumstances has an aim in exercising its most complex skills." His first publication on the subject was an essay in February 2014.

Graeber takes an active part in the public debate about ways out of the climate crisis . He is a co-signer of an open letter published in December 2018, in which politicians have failed in addressing the crisis and are called on to join movements like Extinction Rebellion and to refrain from consumption .

Awards

Fonts (selection)

Web links

Commons : David Graeber  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Interviews

Chronologically. Newest first.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ International Organization for a Participatory Society - Provisional Committee , accessed April 8, 2012.
  2. ^ LSE Anthropology, Departmental staff
  3. ^ On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs. August 17, 2013, accessed January 11, 2014 .
  4. ^ David Graeber: What's the Point If We Can't Have Fun? . In: The Baffler , No. 24, 2014
  5. ↑ Act now to prevent an environmental catastrophe. The Guardian, December 9, 2018, accessed January 22, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Let the betel nuts circle! in FAZ of October 6, 2012, page L31
personal data
SURNAME Graeber, David
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Graeber, David Rolfe (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American ethnologist and anarchist
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1961