Beautiful tribute to David Graeber! His work has had a profound impact on so many people. I'm grateful for the inspiration he provides for building more compassionate and equitable systems.
great post Will - thanks - I have not read any of his work and am grateful for your summations as I can sense into the connections to your work and my philosophies - it's wonderful when we can 'find' pieces within other spaces and connect the links - exactly what both our work leads with
When “Debt” came out I was in full young children mode and kind of dismissed it in my near infinite hubris having felt like I was well read bla bla bla.
I only picked it up this year, and as it turns out, it’s excellent….
I didn’t even know he had died.
Bullshit jobs is so spot on. it’s what i keep saying was my “favourite” part about covid. how apparent it made the banality of the making and chasing of trinkets and accolades.
those jobs stopped, briefly, and no one missed them.
here’s to seeing if new economies can grow and supplant the current ones.
Good angle on UBI. I dismiss it because I don't want the state controlling everyone's basic income, but yes, breathing room to grow everyday communism.
- Must be universal, unconditional, and sufficient; otherwise it turns into workfare lite.
- Not a swap for public goods. He warned that a neoliberal UBI could be used to dismantle services; his version sits alongside robust healthcare, housing, education, and commons.
- Pair with checks on rent extraction (e.g., land/monopoly/rentier taxation) so landlords and creditors don’t just capture the dividend.
- Works best with debt relief and strong labor rights (consistent with his debt/jubilee arguments and emphasis on bargaining power).
//// so.... yes Graeber promoted UBI because it extends the everyday communism that already sustains us, weakens hierarchical compulsion, and reduces bureaucratic harm = if .....
BIG if
.... it’s designed as a universal floor that strengthens, rather than replaces, the commons.
I don't think any of these design cautions of Graeber are the case for governments implementing UBI.
But - and ... great that governments will/are/can redistributing their cash - and I/we would would like to move from distribution to generation of living systems and not wait on governments ... I think we're all aligned.
Thanks for this list -- and thanks for the beautiful tribute to David Graeber.
Yes, that is exactly it, without those conditions being met it wouldn't work. Wondering what is the closest we can come to generating UBI for ourselves. I love the idea of "breathing room".
yes, that's the problem isn't it – don't see any electable party in the west implementing those things. states could introduce ubi to prop up capitalism, but can't see them keeping it if those pesky plebs start building alternatives to capitalism. Good to have a commons-friendly state, but let's not hold our breath. Predistribution to stop wealth concentrating in the first place, rather than redistribution after the fact.
Beautiful tribute to David Graeber! His work has had a profound impact on so many people. I'm grateful for the inspiration he provides for building more compassionate and equitable systems.
great post Will - thanks - I have not read any of his work and am grateful for your summations as I can sense into the connections to your work and my philosophies - it's wonderful when we can 'find' pieces within other spaces and connect the links - exactly what both our work leads with
When “Debt” came out I was in full young children mode and kind of dismissed it in my near infinite hubris having felt like I was well read bla bla bla.
I only picked it up this year, and as it turns out, it’s excellent….
I didn’t even know he had died.
Bullshit jobs is so spot on. it’s what i keep saying was my “favourite” part about covid. how apparent it made the banality of the making and chasing of trinkets and accolades.
those jobs stopped, briefly, and no one missed them.
here’s to seeing if new economies can grow and supplant the current ones.
Good angle on UBI. I dismiss it because I don't want the state controlling everyone's basic income, but yes, breathing room to grow everyday communism.
I am really keen on UBI for this very reason -it feels like the only way to gain space in order for something more to rise
design matters (Graeber's cautions on UBI):
- Must be universal, unconditional, and sufficient; otherwise it turns into workfare lite.
- Not a swap for public goods. He warned that a neoliberal UBI could be used to dismantle services; his version sits alongside robust healthcare, housing, education, and commons.
- Pair with checks on rent extraction (e.g., land/monopoly/rentier taxation) so landlords and creditors don’t just capture the dividend.
- Works best with debt relief and strong labor rights (consistent with his debt/jubilee arguments and emphasis on bargaining power).
//// so.... yes Graeber promoted UBI because it extends the everyday communism that already sustains us, weakens hierarchical compulsion, and reduces bureaucratic harm = if .....
BIG if
.... it’s designed as a universal floor that strengthens, rather than replaces, the commons.
I don't think any of these design cautions of Graeber are the case for governments implementing UBI.
This diagram sums up the likely outcome https://x.com/wor/status/1649839169718349824
But - and ... great that governments will/are/can redistributing their cash - and I/we would would like to move from distribution to generation of living systems and not wait on governments ... I think we're all aligned.
Dance on.
Thanks for this list -- and thanks for the beautiful tribute to David Graeber.
Yes, that is exactly it, without those conditions being met it wouldn't work. Wondering what is the closest we can come to generating UBI for ourselves. I love the idea of "breathing room".
If we're talking about breathing room for everyday communism.
There is a network dedicated to exactly this. sarafu.network
and a free book willruddick.substack.com
'Money' 'Income' ... time to let the traditions go. imho.
yes, that's the problem isn't it – don't see any electable party in the west implementing those things. states could introduce ubi to prop up capitalism, but can't see them keeping it if those pesky plebs start building alternatives to capitalism. Good to have a commons-friendly state, but let's not hold our breath. Predistribution to stop wealth concentrating in the first place, rather than redistribution after the fact.