--- title: "16 Debt Quotes By David Graeber" description: "16 Debt quotes by David Graeber. Plus more from David Graeber and more Debt sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/david-graeber-4667_completion_a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not_1716040.png" --- > [A debt ... is just an exchange that has not been brought to completion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not-been-brought-to-completion/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/david-graeber-4667_completion_a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not_1716040.png) > [Debt is the most effective way to take a relation of violent subordination and make the victims feel that it's their fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a-relation-of-violent/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a_1618805.png) > [What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-perversion-of-a-promise-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png) > [As it turns out, we don't "all" have to pay our debts. Only some of us do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-it-turns-out-we-don-t-all-have-to-pay-our-debts-only-some-of-us-do/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/david-graeber-4667_debt_as-it-turns-out-we-don-t-all-have-to-pay_2502989.png) > [We are watching the beginnings of the defiant self-assertion of a new generation of Americans, a generation who are looking forward to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-are-watching-the-beginnings-of-the-defiant-self-assertion-of-a-new/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/david-graeber-4667_debt_we-are-watching-the-beginnings-of-the-de_3053625.jpg) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/david-graeber-4667_debt_if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exc_261571.png) > [Debt - like sin - implies that one party in the transaction didn't live up to expectations, at least in the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/debt-like-sin-implies-that-one-party-in-the-transaction-didn-t-live/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-like-sin-implies-that-one-party-in_1443926.png) > [If history shows anything, it is that there's no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to make such relations seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-there-s-no-better-way-to-justify/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/david-graeber-4667_better-way_if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-the_523209.png) > [Student loans are destroying the imagination of youth. If there’s a way of a society committing mass suicide, what better way than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagination-of-youth-if-there-s-a/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/david-graeber-4667_ability_student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagina_2613069.png) > [“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious-both-parties-to-a-transaction/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png) > [“Even in the Bible, the admonition in the Ten Commandments not to 'covet thy neighbor's wife' clearly referred not to lust in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/even-in-the-bible-the-admonition-in-the-ten-commandments-not-to-covet/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/david-graeber-4667_adultery_even-in-the-bible-the-admonition-in-the_2143256.png) > [The fascinating thing about standard economic stories is exactly that: they assume that everybody wants that kind of closure. That all human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-fascinating-thing-about-standard-economic-stories-is-exactly-that/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/david-graeber-4667_assuming_the-fascinating-thing-about-standard-eco_1321287.png) > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-graeber-4667_blame_people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-un_27394.png) > [Meanwhile, the U.S. debt remains, as it has been since 1790, a war debt; the United States continues to spend more on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/meanwhile-the-u-s-debt-remains-as-it-has-been-since-1790-a-war-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/david-graeber-4667_bases_meanwhile-the-u-s-debt-remains-as-it-has_2458320.png) > [“In fact this is precisely the logic on which the Bank of England—the first successful modern central bank—was originally founded. In 1694,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/in-fact-this-is-precisely-the-logic-on-which-the-bank-of-england-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/david-graeber-4667_banking_in-fact-this-is-precisely-the-logic-on-w_1956412.png) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/david-graeber-4667_crime_the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the_259151.png) ## Other authors on Debt ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“A revolution on a world scale will take a very long time. But it is also possible to recognize that it is already starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-revolution-on-a-world-scale-will-take-a-very-long-time-but-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“money has no essence. It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/about-the-only-thing-we-can-imagine-is-catastrophe/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-working-poor-are-the-people-suffering-out-subprime-mortgages-and/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/solitary-pleasures-will-always-exist-but-for-most-human-beings-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“IMF is really designed to protect creditors not debtors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/imf-is-really-designed-to-protect-creditors-not-debtors/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As Pierre Bourdieu was later to point out in describing a similar economy of trust in contemporary Algeria: it’s quite possible to turn honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-pierre-bourdieu-was-later-to-point-out-in-describing-a-similar/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [ \[A\] great embarrassing fact… haunts all attempts to represent the market as the highest form of human freedom: that historically, impersonal, commercial markets originate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-great-embarrassing-fact-haunts-all-attempts-to-represent-the-market/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As the events of 2011 reveal, the age of revolutions is by no means over. The human imagination stubbornly refuses to die. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-the-events-of-2011-reveal-the-age-of-revolutions-is-by-no-means/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/#itemlist", "name": "16 Debt Quotes By David Graeber", "numberOfItems": 16, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A debt ... is just an exchange that has not been brought to completion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not-been-brought-to-completion/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/david-graeber-4667_completion_a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not_1716040.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/david-graeber-4667_completion_a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not_1716040.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/david-graeber-4667_completion_a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not_1716040.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A debt ... is just an exchange that has not been brought to completion.” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Debt is the most effective way to take a relation of violent subordination and make the victims feel that it's their fault.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a-relation-of-violent/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a_1618805.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a_1618805.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a2/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-is-the-most-effective-way-to-take-a_1618805.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Debt is the most effective way to take a relation of violent subordination and make the victims feel that…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and violence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-perversion-of-a-promise-it-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As it turns out, we don't \"all\" have to pay our debts. Only some of us do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-it-turns-out-we-don-t-all-have-to-pay-our-debts-only-some-of-us-do/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/david-graeber-4667_debt_as-it-turns-out-we-don-t-all-have-to-pay_2502989.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/david-graeber-4667_debt_as-it-turns-out-we-don-t-all-have-to-pay_2502989.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/828/david-graeber-4667_debt_as-it-turns-out-we-don-t-all-have-to-pay_2502989.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As it turns out, we don't \"all\" have to pay our debts. Only some of us do.” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are watching the beginnings of the defiant self-assertion of a new generation of Americans, a generation who are looking forward to finishing their education with no jobs, no future, but still saddled with enormous and unforgivable debt.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-are-watching-the-beginnings-of-the-defiant-self-assertion-of-a-new/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/david-graeber-4667_debt_we-are-watching-the-beginnings-of-the-de_3053625.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/david-graeber-4667_debt_we-are-watching-the-beginnings-of-the-de_3053625.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/david-graeber-4667_debt_we-are-watching-the-beginnings-of-the-de_3053625.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are watching the beginnings of the defiant self-assertion of a new generation of Americans, a generation…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we still have a relationship, it's because there's a debt.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/david-graeber-4667_debt_if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exc_261571.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/david-graeber-4667_debt_if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exc_261571.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a4/david-graeber-4667_debt_if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exc_261571.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Debt - like sin - implies that one party in the transaction didn't live up to expectations, at least in the moment, and has done something wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/debt-like-sin-implies-that-one-party-in-the-transaction-didn-t-live/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-like-sin-implies-that-one-party-in_1443926.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-like-sin-implies-that-one-party-in_1443926.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fc/david-graeber-4667_debt_debt-like-sin-implies-that-one-party-in_1443926.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Debt - like sin - implies that one party in the transaction didn't live up to expectations, at least in the…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If history shows anything, it is that there's no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to make such relations seem moral, than by reframing them in the language of debt—above all, because it immediately makes it seem that it's the victim who's doing something wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-there-s-no-better-way-to-justify/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/david-graeber-4667_better-way_if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-the_523209.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/david-graeber-4667_better-way_if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-the_523209.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa4/david-graeber-4667_better-way_if-history-shows-anything-it-is-that-the_523209.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If history shows anything, it is that there's no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Student loans are destroying the imagination of youth. If there’s a way of a society committing mass suicide, what better way than to take all the youngest, most energetic, creative, joyous people in your society and saddle them with, like $50,000 of debt so they have to be slaves? There goes your music. There goes your culture. There goes everything new that would pop out. And in a way, this is what’s happened to our society. We’re a society that has lost any ability to incorporate the interesting, creative and eccentric people.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagination-of-youth-if-there-s-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/david-graeber-4667_ability_student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagina_2613069.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/david-graeber-4667_ability_student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagina_2613069.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/david-graeber-4667_ability_student-loans-are-destroying-the-imagina_2613069.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Student loans are destroying the imagination of youth. If there’s a way of a society committing mass…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it to indicate the amount owed, and then split it in half. The creditor would keep one half, called \"the stock\" (hence the origin of the term \"stock holder\") and the debtor kept the other, called \"the stub\" (hence the origin of the term \"ticket stub.)”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious-both-parties-to-a-transaction/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30d/david-graeber-4667_debt_tally-sticks-were-quite-explicitly-ious_2484632.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Tally sticks were quite explicitly IOUs: both parties to a transaction would take a hazelwood twig, notch it…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even in the Bible, the admonition in the Ten Commandments not to 'covet thy neighbor's wife' clearly referred not to lust in one's heart (adultery had already been covered in commandment number seven), but to the prospect of taking her as a debt-peon—in other words, as a servant to sweep one's yard and hang out the laundry.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/even-in-the-bible-the-admonition-in-the-ten-commandments-not-to-covet/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/david-graeber-4667_adultery_even-in-the-bible-the-admonition-in-the_2143256.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/david-graeber-4667_adultery_even-in-the-bible-the-admonition-in-the_2143256.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/david-graeber-4667_adultery_even-in-the-bible-the-admonition-in-the_2143256.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Even in the Bible, the admonition in the Ten Commandments not to 'covet thy neighbor's wife' clearly…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The fascinating thing about standard economic stories is exactly that: they assume that everybody wants that kind of closure. That all human relations are forms of exchange, because if everything is an exchange then it's true that we're both equals. We walk up, I give you something, you give me something, and we walk away. Or I give you something, you don't give me something right now, and you owe me. So if we have any ongoing relationships at all, it's because somebody is in debt.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-fascinating-thing-about-standard-economic-stories-is-exactly-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/david-graeber-4667_assuming_the-fascinating-thing-about-standard-eco_1321287.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/david-graeber-4667_assuming_the-fascinating-thing-about-standard-eco_1321287.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/david-graeber-4667_assuming_the-fascinating-thing-about-standard-eco_1321287.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The fascinating thing about standard economic stories is exactly that: they assume that everybody wants that…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and therefore one party is probably to blame - more likely than not, both are. Sociality itself seems to become like a matter of sin, and inherently wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-graeber-4667_blame_people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-un_27394.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-graeber-4667_blame_people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-un_27394.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/596/david-graeber-4667_blame_people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-un_27394.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Meanwhile, the U.S. debt remains, as it has been since 1790, a war debt; the United States continues to spend more on its military than do all other nations on earth put together, and military expenditures are not only the basis of the government's industrial policy; they also take up such a huge proportion of the budget that by many estimations, were it not for them, the United States would not run a deficit at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/meanwhile-the-u-s-debt-remains-as-it-has-been-since-1790-a-war-debt/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/david-graeber-4667_bases_meanwhile-the-u-s-debt-remains-as-it-has_2458320.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/david-graeber-4667_bases_meanwhile-the-u-s-debt-remains-as-it-has_2458320.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c63/david-graeber-4667_bases_meanwhile-the-u-s-debt-remains-as-it-has_2458320.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Meanwhile, the U.S. debt remains, as it has been since 1790, a war debt; the United States continues to…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In fact this is precisely the logic on which the Bank of England—the first successful modern central bank—was originally founded. In 1694, a consortium of English bankers made a loan of £1,200,000 to the king. In return they received a royal monopoly on the issuance of banknotes. What this meant in practice was they had the right to advance IOUs for a portion of the money the king now owed them to any inhabitant of the kingdom willing to borrow from them, or willing to deposit their own money in the bank—in effect, to circulate or \"monetize\" the newly created royal debt. This was a great deal for the bankers (they got to charge the king 8 percent annual interest for the original loan and simultaneously charge interest on the same money to the clients who borrowed it) , but it only worked as long as the original loan remained outstanding. To this day, this loan has never been paid back. It cannot be. If it ever were, the entire monetary system of Great Britain would cease to exist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/in-fact-this-is-precisely-the-logic-on-which-the-bank-of-england-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/david-graeber-4667_banking_in-fact-this-is-precisely-the-logic-on-w_1956412.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/david-graeber-4667_banking_in-fact-this-is-precisely-the-logic-on-w_1956412.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eef/david-graeber-4667_banking_in-fact-this-is-precisely-the-logic-on-w_1956412.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In fact this is precisely the logic on which the Bank of England—the first successful modern central…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community, everyone normally was both a lender and borrower. One can only imagine the tensions and temptations that must have existed in a community—and communities, much though they are based on love, in fact because they are based on love, will always also be full of hatred, rivalry and passion—when it became clear that with sufficiently clever scheming, manipulation, and perhaps a bit of strategic bribery, they could arrange to have almost anyone they hated imprisoned or even hanged.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Graeber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/david-graeber-4667_crime_the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the_259151.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/david-graeber-4667_crime_the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the_259151.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/426/david-graeber-4667_crime_the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the_259151.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be…” — David Graeber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/", "name": "Debt Quotes by David Graeber", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/609/david-graeber-4667_completion_a-debt-is-just-an-exchange-that-has-not_1716040.png" }, "description": "16 Debt quotes by David Graeber. Plus more from David Graeber and more Debt sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Debt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "David Graeber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debt/david-graeber/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```