Photo: Guido van Nispen from amsterdam, the netherlands / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
David Graeber is, for me, a model of what public intellectual life should look like. He did not retreat into the academy; he wrote Debt to overturn five thousand years of assumptions about money and violence, named the modern absurdity of Bullshit Jobs, and then actually marched, helping shape the Occupy movement. That fusion of rigorous anthropology and hands-on activism is rare and, frankly, brave. What I admire most is his refusal to treat the way things are as the way things must be. His early death in 2020 robbed us of a genuinely original mind, but reading him still feels like having the dust blown off your assumptions.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- David Graeber
- Name (Japanese)
- デヴィッド・グレーバー
- Reading
- でゔぃっど・ぐれーばー
- Born
- February 12, 1961 – September 2, 2020
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aquarius / Ox
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- anthropologist / university teacher / writer / trade unionist / social anthropologist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- State University of New York at Purchase
Awards & achievements
- Fulbright Scholarship
- Bread and Roses Award
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology | — | |
| Notable work | Debt | — | |
| Notable work | Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value | — | |
| Notable work | The Utopia of Rules | — | |
| Notable work | Direct Action | — | |
| Notable work | The Democracy Project | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was David Graeber born?
February 12, 1961 – September 2, 2020.
Where is David Graeber from?
David Graeber is from New York City, New York, United States.
What does David Graeber do?
David Graeber works as anthropologist, university teacher, writer, trade unionist, social anthropologist.
What is David Graeber known for?
Notable works include Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology, Debt, Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value.
Anthropologist — see all → · University teacher — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.