I've never written an obituary before. I'm not sure that I know how to. But what I do know is that I was gutted to hear that David Graeber is dead at the age of 59.
I found him inspirational, as a speaker and a writer. He was an anarchist who cut through the bullshit which props up our rigged capitalist society. He was also an activist who was involved in Occupy Wall Street and is credited with coining - "We are the 99%" - although he claims he didn't.
I have most of his books and they're all worth reading. I started with The Democracy Project which talks about Occupy and the democratic deficit in the USA. Probably his most important work is Debt: The First 5000 Years. As he says in the book he was amazed that nobody had ever written a book about debt, its origins, and consequences, before. I recommend you watch this short video that debunks the myths surrounding debt.
He will also be remembered for Bullshit Jobs, which exposes the many useless office jobs that people are trapped in and how bureaucracy - long blamed on government and socialism - is an inherent part of the capitalist system.
I learned a lot from David and he'll be sorely missed, not just by me, but thousands of others who enjoyed his exposures of our corrupt and unequal society. The world will be a poorer place without him.
RIP.
