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Can debt catalyse the next global rebellion? An interview with David Graeber
Excerpt:
...ever since Antiquity, there is this one revolutionary demand: cancel the debt and redistribute the land. There has been an analysis of the We are the 99% webpage carried out, and that is exactly the kind of demands you will find. It is no longer radical demands for self-organization or dignity at works, but rather about canceling the debts and giving back the basic means of subsistence. Debt seems to provide some kind of moral focus for rebellion, a focus that has radical implications and can mobilize coalitions that could not exist otherwise.
On the one hand, the ideology of debt is one of the most powerful tools ever created to justify situations of violent inequalities and not only make them seem moral, but also make them seem as if it is the victim who is to blame. But when it blows up, it blows up in a very big way! It happens over and over in human history, and I think this is what is remarkable about Occupy Wall Street.
Students are one of the largest groups in the movement, and what they say is basically: “we are the good kids, we took a loan and studied hard to enter into college, we played by the rules. And here we are. But we did not get bailed out. On the other hand, the bankers, those who cheated and lied and destroyed the world economy got bailed out by the government, and now we are going to spend the rest of our lives being told that we are irresponsible dead beats because we owe money to them. That doesn’t make any sense !”.
Even more interesting: 40 years ago, the problems of an indebted college student would not really speak to the heart of a transit or construction worker. But two years ago, we saw the working class massively supporting the Occupy movement. You can only understand that if you understand the power of debt and the kind of outrage it can create. It enables class alliances that would not be possible otherwise. After 2008, people in the USA tried their best to get out of their debt, but two categories of debt were inextricable: student loans and subprime mortgages. Students and the working poor were in a relatively similar situation, and that is why they formed this alliance within the movement. Such is the power of debt!
http://ouishare.net/2013/10/graeber-morality-debt/
On the one hand, the ideology of debt is one of the most powerful tools ever created to justify situations of violent inequalities and not only make them seem moral, but also make them seem as if it is the victim who is to blame. But when it blows up, it blows up in a very big way! It happens over and over in human history, and I think this is what is remarkable about Occupy Wall Street.
Students are one of the largest groups in the movement, and what they say is basically: “we are the good kids, we took a loan and studied hard to enter into college, we played by the rules. And here we are. But we did not get bailed out. On the other hand, the bankers, those who cheated and lied and destroyed the world economy got bailed out by the government, and now we are going to spend the rest of our lives being told that we are irresponsible dead beats because we owe money to them. That doesn’t make any sense !”.
Even more interesting: 40 years ago, the problems of an indebted college student would not really speak to the heart of a transit or construction worker. But two years ago, we saw the working class massively supporting the Occupy movement. You can only understand that if you understand the power of debt and the kind of outrage it can create. It enables class alliances that would not be possible otherwise. After 2008, people in the USA tried their best to get out of their debt, but two categories of debt were inextricable: student loans and subprime mortgages. Students and the working poor were in a relatively similar situation, and that is why they formed this alliance within the movement. Such is the power of debt!
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