David Graeber’s book, Debt: The First 5000 Years - a discussion

This work by David Graeber (who is known as one of the theorists of the OWS and anarchist movement) has some very insightful facts from history and anthropology showing that debt has been in existence for millennia and is based originally on not barter (of which there is no real evidence), but on the trade of favors. Money on the other hand rose from the need to pay soldiers who were not neighbors, but mercenaries who could not be counted on to return favors or debts. Before the invention of coin or cash, the first agrarian empires used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods.

After a talk on the contents of this work by Glenn Turner, we will move into a lively discussion of its concepts along with questions and comments. How can these concepts help us understand the current Economic Depression and the Occupy movement?