The Utopia of Rules

The Utopia of Rules

Author: David Graeber

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2015-02-24

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1612193757

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From the author of the international bestseller Debt: The First 5,000 Years comes a revelatory account of the way bureaucracy rules our lives Where does the desire for endless rules, regulations, and bureaucracy come from? How did we come to spend so much of our time filling out forms? And is it really a cipher for state violence? To answer these questions, the anthropologist David Graeber—one of our most important and provocative thinkers—traces the peculiar and unexpected ways we relate to bureaucracy today, and reveals how it shapes our lives in ways we may not even notice…though he also suggests that there may be something perversely appealing—even romantic—about bureaucracy. Leaping from the ascendance of right-wing economics to the hidden meanings behind Sherlock Holmes and Batman, The Utopia of Rules is at once a powerful work of social theory in the tradition of Foucault and Marx, and an entertaining reckoning with popular culture that calls to mind Slavoj Zizek at his most accessible. An essential book for our times, The Utopia of Rules is sure to start a million conversations about the institutions that rule over us—and the better, freer world we should, perhaps, begin to imagine for ourselves.


Utopia

Utopia

Author: Thomas More

Publisher: e-artnow

Published: 2019-04-08

Total Pages: 105

ISBN-13: 8027303583

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Utopia is a work of fiction and socio-political satire by Thomas More published in 1516 in Latin. The book is a frame narrative primarily depicting a fictional island society and its religious, social and political customs. Many aspects of More's description of Utopia are reminiscent of life in monasteries.


Debt

Debt

Author: David Graeber

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2014-12-09

Total Pages: 709

ISBN-13: 1612194206

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Now in paperback, the updated and expanded edition: David Graeber’s “fresh . . . fascinating . . . thought-provoking . . . and exceedingly timely” (Financial Times) history of debt Here anthropologist David Graeber presents a stunning reversal of conventional wisdom: he shows that before there was money, there was debt. For more than 5,000 years, since the beginnings of the first agrarian empires, humans have used elaborate credit systems to buy and sell goods—that is, long before the invention of coins or cash. It is in this era, Graeber argues, that we also first encounter a society divided into debtors and creditors. Graeber shows that arguments about debt and debt forgiveness have been at the center of political debates from Italy to China, as well as sparking innumerable insurrections. He also brilliantly demonstrates that the language of the ancient works of law and religion (words like “guilt,” “sin,” and “redemption”) derive in large part from ancient debates about debt, and shape even our most basic ideas of right and wrong. We are still fighting these battles today without knowing it.


The Utopia Reader

The Utopia Reader

Author: Gregory Claeys

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 1999-11

Total Pages: 436

ISBN-13: 0814715710

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Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news. Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective. Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between other forms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.


Direct Action

Direct Action

Author: David Graeber

Publisher: AK Press

Published: 2009-09-01

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 1849350353

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A radical anthropologist studies the global justice movement.


Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Anarchy, State, and Utopia

Author: Robert Nozick

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 1974

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 063119780X

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Robert Nozicka s Anarchy, State, and Utopia is a powerful, philosophical challenge to the most widely held political and social positions of our age ---- liberal, socialist and conservative.


Utopia Is Creepy: And Other Provocations

Utopia Is Creepy: And Other Provocations

Author: Nicholas Carr

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2016-09-06

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0393254550

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A freewheeling, sharp-shooting indictment of a tech-besotted culture. With razor wit, Nicholas Carr cuts through Silicon Valley’s unsettlingly cheery vision of the technological future to ask a hard question: Have we been seduced by a lie? Gathering a decade’s worth of posts from his blog, Rough Type, as well as his seminal essays, Utopia Is Creepy is “Carr’s best hits for those who missed the last decade of his stream of thoughtful commentary about our love affair with technology and its effect on our relationships” (Richard Cytowic, New York Journal of Books). Carr draws on artists ranging from Walt Whitman to the Clash, while weaving in the latest findings from science and sociology. Carr’s favorite targets are those zealots who believe so fervently in computers and data that they abandon common sense. Cheap digital tools do not make us all the next Fellini or Dylan. Social networks, diverting as they may be, are not vehicles for self-enlightenment. And “likes” and retweets are not going to elevate political discourse. Utopia Is Creepy compels us to question the technological momentum that has trapped us in its flow. “Resistance is never futile,” argues Carr, and this book delivers the proof.


Revolutions in Reverse

Revolutions in Reverse

Author: David Graeber

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781570272431

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Today's capitalist systems appear to be coming apart - but what is the alternative? In a generation or so, capitalism may no longer exist as it's impossible to maintain perpetual growth on a finite planet. David Graeber explores political strategy, global trade, violence, alienation and creativity looking for a new common sense.


The Utopia of Rules

The Utopia of Rules

Author: David Graeber

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2015-02-24

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 1612193749

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From the author of the international bestseller Debt: The First 5,000 Years comes a revelatory account of the way bureaucracy rules our lives Where does the desire for endless rules, regulations, and bureaucracy come from? How did we come to spend so much of our time filling out forms? And is it really a cipher for state violence? To answer these questions, the anthropologist David Graeber—one of our most important and provocative thinkers—traces the peculiar and unexpected ways we relate to bureaucracy today, and reveals how it shapes our lives in ways we may not even notice…though he also suggests that there may be something perversely appealing—even romantic—about bureaucracy. Leaping from the ascendance of right-wing economics to the hidden meanings behind Sherlock Holmes and Batman, The Utopia of Rules is at once a powerful work of social theory in the tradition of Foucault and Marx, and an entertaining reckoning with popular culture that calls to mind Slavoj Zizek at his most accessible. An essential book for our times, The Utopia of Rules is sure to start a million conversations about the institutions that rule over us—and the better, freer world we should, perhaps, begin to imagine for ourselves.


Summary of David Graeber's The Utopia of Rules

Summary of David Graeber's The Utopia of Rules

Author: Everest Media

Publisher: Everest Media LLC

Published: 2022-03-01T21:00:00Z

Total Pages: 25

ISBN-13: 1669349284

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Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 I had to take care of my mother, who was having a series of strokes. She had saved up six thousand dollars, which was enough to qualify her for Medicaid, but she needed power of attorney over her bank account in order to pay her monthly rent bills. #2 The next week, the notary duly appeared to officially complete the paperwork. I was surprised the bank insisted on having its own separate power of attorney form, but I figured the notary knew what she was doing. The bank would not accept the forms in their current state, so my mother died soon after. #3 One can fairly say that bureaucracies are utopian forms of organization. They set demands they believe are reasonable, and then blame the individuals when they fail to live up to them. #4 I was forced to confront the fact that I was doing a lot of foolish things because I was trying to understand and influence the government officials who had the power to change the rules. I realized that I needed to stop worrying about how not to seem like I was rubbing notaries in their faces, and just focus on the task at hand.