A Drink with the Idler: David Graeber

From IDLER

Thursday 16th July | Online event

Join the Idler for a chat with anthropologist and anarchist David Graeber, Idler editor Tom Hodgkinson and philosopher Mark Vernon

LSE professor David Graeber’s influential books include Debt: the First 5000 Years, Utopia of Rules and, most recently, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. As economies across the world are ravaged by lockdown Tom and David will look at the big issues: debt, jobs and freedom. Could positive change come out of the coronavirus crisis?

Your hosts will be Idler magazine editor Tom Hodgkinson and Idler Academy director Victoria Hull.

We’ll have philosophical comment on the week from Dr Mark Vernon and the discussion will be followed by a live Q&A.

It’s free.

This is an online event using Zoom. Bring your friends. It should be like meeting up in the pub for an interesting conversation. We leave the meeting open at the end so you can carry on chatting.

About the speakers:

David Graeber is an American anthropologist and anarchist activist. Born and raised in New York, Graeber received his PhD from Chicago University and has held academic posts at NYU, Yale, Goldsmiths University and now the London School of Economics.

He is the author of a number of books, including Debt: the First 5000 Years,  Utopia of Rules and, most recently, Bullshit Jobs: A Theory. He has been actively engaged in social movements since 2000, when he threw himself into the Alter-Globalization movement. David was involved in the initial meetings that helped set up Occupy Wall Street and has been working with the Kurdish Freedom Movement in various capacities as well.

Dr Mark Vernon is a psychotherapist, writer, broadcaster and teacher. His most recent books include – The Idler Guide To Ancient Philosophy (Idler Books), Love: All That Matters (Hodder). He broadcasts on the BBC and can often be heard on Moral Maze. He began his professional life as a priest in the Church of England.

Tom Hodgkinson is editor of the Idler and author of How to be Idle, How to be Free and The Idle Parent. Other books include his account of living on a smallholding, Brave Old World, The Ukulele Handbook and a manual for creative entrepreneurs, Business for Bohemians.

Date: Thursday 16 July 2020

Time: 6pm-7pm

Location: Online via Zoom link

Cost: Free or donation if you wish

How to join: Register by clicking the ‘GET TICKETS’ button above

There are 10 Comments

HE LOOKS LIKE A FUCKED-UP ALCOHOLIC!! MEETS IN A PUB FOR A DISCUSSION OF ECONOMICS. FIGURES!

Its a bit ironic when one considers that academia is in itself full of mostly bullshit hot air jobs yet it places itself up above menial manual work which is actually necessary, like cleaning lavatories, nursing, rescuing people from burning buildings, stacking shelves at the supermarket, picking fruit, driving delivery vans. Unless he goes the full primmie and says the entire industrial/urban environment is bullshit, which it is, but one does not whine about it without offering a functional alternative and work at bringing a model to fruition, otherwise lecturing is itself a BULLSHIT HOT AIR EXERCISE!
So yeah, drink beer and blah blah blah!

yeah for the most part, and the same can be said about talking.

That especially becomes the case when one calls themselves an "activist". I don't want to completely shit on graeber though, debt and the first 5000 is pretty useful for understanding the historical origins of capitalism.

but if he wants to be an alcoholic cuz his life sucks at the university, i ain't gonna call him out for that in particular...

Yep fair enough, I used to enjoy a few cold beers with friends and exchanging ideas, UNTIL I BECAME A PAIN IN THE ASS SELF-RIGHTEOUS SANCTIMONIOUS TEETOTALLER.

Yes I originated that after being deleted alot. It gets THE MESSAGE ACROSS, without SWEARING and without using TOO MANY WORDS!!

as the generic one for the website is california, where is it 11:26 for you??

North Korea unfortunately. One thing we have in common is having a narcississtic fascist at the top of the pile.

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