The Democracy Project is an exploration of anti-capitalist dissent and new
political ideas from David Graeber, author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years
and a leading member of the Occupy movement. From the earliest meetings for
Occupy Wall Street, David Graeber – activist, anarchist, and anthropologist
– felt that something was different from previous demonstrations. As events
gathered pace, from local actions like illegally teaching a seminar in the
Bank of America lobby (in a tweed jacket he”d borrowed to look the part) to
his harassment and attempted intimidation by New York police in Zuccotti
Park, Graeber saw the other Occupy movements in Cairo, Athens, Barcelona
and London and knew that times were truly changing. This witty,
provocative, yet wide-ranging and ideas-driven look at the actions of the
99% is a vital read in today”s protest climate, and asks: why did it work
this time? What went right? And what can we all do now to make our world
democratic once again? An energetic account of contemporary events, The
Democracy Project will change the way you think about anarchism and
political organization. David Graeber is a radical anthropologist at
Goldsmiths, University of London, who has been involved with the Occupy
movement, most actively at Wall Street. He has written for many
publications including Harper”s, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, and
The Guardian. He is also the author, most recently, of the widely praised
Debt: The First 5,000 Years, as well as many books on social organization
and revolution including Towards an Anthropological Theory of Value,
Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology, Direct Action: An Ethnography. ”I
have twice given away David Graeber”s Debt: The First 5,000 Years, and
Christmas will not change my habits. The book is more readable and
entertaining than I can indicate” Peter Carey, Observer, Books of the Year
”Debt:The First 5,000 Years by Goldsmiths College anthropologist David
Graeber has become one of the year”s most influential books” Paul Mason,
Guardian Books of 2011