--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is debt anyway? A debt is just the…" description: "\"What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and violence.\" — 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" --- # What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a… ![“What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and violence.” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aee/david-graeber-4667_corrupted_what-is-debt-anyway-a-debt-is-just-the-p_2427948.png) > “What is debt anyway? A debt is just the perversion of a promise. It is a promise corrupted by both math and violence.” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Debt is portrayed as a twisted promise, corrupted by calculations and coercion, undermining trust. **In simple terms:** Debt = corrupted promise. Key Takeaway Reevaluate financial obligations and their moral foundations. Themes economics ethics power social contracts Mood critical inquisitive Type economic ethical When to use this quote - personal budgeting - public policy - activist campaigns - legal reform Key Concepts debt theory moral economy financial coercion Questions to Reflect On - How does framing debt as a promise change our view of it? - What reforms can prevent debt from becoming violent? A Different Perspective Debt can be restructured to restore fairness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Perversion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perversion/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) ## Related quotes > [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/) > [People tend to think that paying a debt is like going out and buying a car, buying more food or buying more clothes. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/people-tend-to-think-that-paying-a-debt-is-like-going-out-and-buying/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [The biggest debt is always the government debt; it's always debt that government has run up on your behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-biggest-debt-is-always-the-government-debt-it-s-always-debt-that/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Bad debt is debt that makes you poorer. I count the mortgage on my home as bad debt, because I'm the one paying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/bad-debt-is-debt-that-makes-you-poorer-i-count-the-mortgage-on-my/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Be careful when you take on debt. If you take on debt personally, make sure it is small. If you take on large debt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/be-careful-when-you-take-on-debt-if-you-take-on-debt-personally-make/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Once kids get older, the list is longer. So here goes: Stay out of debt. Sometimes debt is necessary, to buy a home or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-kids-get-older-the-list-is-longer-so-here-goes-stay-out-of-debt/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [An example of good debt is the debt on the apartment houses I own. That debt is good only as long as there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/an-example-of-good-debt-is-the-debt-on-the-apartment-houses-i-own/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Let every man, every corporation, and especially let every village, town, and city, every county and State, get out of debt and keep out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutherford-b-hayes/let-every-man-every-corporation-and-especially-let-every-village-town/) [Rutherford B. Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutherford-b-hayes/) > [The charge is prepared; the lawyers are met; The judges all ranged (a terrible show!) I go, undismay'd. For death is a debt, A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gay/the-charge-is-prepared-the-lawyers-are-met-the-judges-all-ranged-a/) [John Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gay/) > [Thousands of Ohio families are going deeper and deeper in debt just trying to pay their heating bills, fill prescriptions, and buy groceries. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrod-brown/thousands-of-ohio-families-are-going-deeper-and-deeper-in-debt-just/) [Sherrod Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrod-brown/) > [When Americans think of college these days, the first word that often comes to mind is 'debt.' And from 'debt' it's just a short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/when-americans-think-of-college-these-days-the-first-word-that-often/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [Debt is not just a money thing. It's about owing and being owed. Money is just one thing you can exchange. You can exchange…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/debt-is-not-just-a-money-thing-it-s-about-owing-and-being-owed-money/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The debt we owe our parents can never be squared, and jolly good too, because doing so would threaten to nullify all relationship, all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rowland-smith/the-debt-we-owe-our-parents-can-never-be-squared-and-jolly-good-too/) [Robert Rowland Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rowland-smith/) > [Love is free in this world, so do not let it become debt just evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/love-is-free-in-this-world-so-do-not-let-it-become-debt-just-evil/) Meicee > [A debt is just as hard for a Government to pay as it is for an individual. No debt ever comes due at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/a-debt-is-just-as-hard-for-a-government-to-pay-as-it-is-for-an/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) ## 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/) [Explore all 106 David Graeber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## More Corrupted quotes > [The government is corrupted. It's corrupted. It is not about regular people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-schmidt/the-government-is-corrupted-it-s-corrupted-it-is-not-about-regular/) [Steve Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-schmidt/) > [The whole idea of the pursuit of goods and possessions has completely corrupted the human experience, along with religion, which I think limits the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/the-whole-idea-of-the-pursuit-of-goods-and-possessions-has-completely/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Whenever the speech is corrupted so is the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-the-speech-is-corrupted-so-is-the-mind/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My mind corrupted but my heart is still pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cj-fly/my-mind-corrupted-but-my-heart-is-still-pure/) [CJ Fly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cj-fly/) > [“Plantations of good morals are easily captivated, colonized and corrupted by the pests of a bad company. Spray away bad companies and you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/plantations-of-good-morals-are-easily-captivated-colonized-and/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“When mystical elements are introduced into morality, the whole system ends up being corrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-stefanelli/when-mystical-elements-are-introduced-into-morality-the-whole-system/) [Al Stefanelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-stefanelli/) > [“The U.S. financial markets had always been either corrupt or about to be corrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/the-u-s-financial-markets-had-always-been-either-corrupt-or-about-to/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [Even cohabitation has been corrupted - by marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/even-cohabitation-has-been-corrupted-by-marriage/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Have you ever found in history, one single example of a nation, thoroughly corrupted, that was afterwards restored to virtue? And without virtue there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/have-you-ever-found-in-history-one-single-example-of-a-nation/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [I am corrupted to the bone with the beauty of this forsaken world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-coetzee-2/i-am-corrupted-to-the-bone-with-the-beauty-of-this-forsaken-world/) [J. M. Coetzee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-coetzee-2/) > [Hey you.Fix your corrupted mind before you trying to fix me! You sucks. Yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farishta/hey-you-fix-your-corrupted-mind-before-you-trying-to-fix-me-you-sucks/) [Farishta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farishta/) > [Oh how unhappy is the prince served by such men who are so easily corrupted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/oh-how-unhappy-is-the-prince-served-by-such-men-who-are-so-easily/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [“I could no longer be equated with the Virgin Mary. I had been corrupted. I was like everyone else. My stone-casting credibility had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-simsion/i-could-no-longer-be-equated-with-the-virgin-mary-i-had-been/) [Graeme Simsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-simsion/) > [My wide eyes make me look much younger without make-up, and although it's fun to have a line in innocence corrupted, I doubt I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talulah-riley/my-wide-eyes-make-me-look-much-younger-without-make-up-and-although/) [Talulah Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talulah-riley/) > [I love Winston Churchill. I love the wisdom he had, the sagacity. I like people who are independent-minded. People who aren't part of clans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lapo-elkann/i-love-winston-churchill-i-love-the-wisdom-he-had-the-sagacity-i-like/) [Lapo Elkann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lapo-elkann/) Browse all 98 Corrupted quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What is debt anyway? 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