I was unimpressed by Graeber’s Debt: The First 5,000 Years. Its conclusions were juvenile, a moralist’s wish to abolish the machinery that sustains civilization. Debt is not an aberration of justice; it is its ledger. The financial edifice may be flawed, but it is constructed and destroying it is not an option. Even sovereign adversaries,Continue reading “Financial Warfare Redux”
Tag Archives: Russia
Rewind the Clock
Arnold Toynbee’s A Study of History is a 12-volume monster. I have read only the two-volume abridgement (many years past), which preserves Toynbee’s central thesis that there is a pattern to history. Civilizations rise and fall primarily in response to specific challenges; whatever those challenges are will be defining, and they must also be of the right pressure.Continue reading “Rewind the Clock”
Graeber’s “Debt”
Too many books sit unread on my shelf. This weekend, I finally made my way to Debt, The First 5,000 Years by David Graeber (2011). The first chapter prepared me for disappointment. Graeber proudly announces his role in protesting the IMF and occupying Wall Street (I did not know his background before buying his books).Continue reading “Graeber’s “Debt””
Protective Arts 