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https://theconversation.com/david-graeber-argued-against-great-man-approaches-to-knowledge-but-it-seems-his-fate-to-become-one-243594>
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Review: The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World – David Graeber, edited by
Nike Dubrovsky (Allen Lane)
David Graeber, who died in 2020 at the age of 59, was an anthropologist and a
political activist.
The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World is a curated
collection of his essays. Like a glitzy museum exhibition, it is part serious
memorialisation, part entertainment, and part invitation to play.
In her foreword, Rebecca Solnit assures us that the title is taken from
Graeber’s sensational line:
The ultimate hidden truth of the world is that it is something we make, and
could just as easily make differently.
He sounds like a prophet! But Solnit does not tell us where Graeber said this.
Worse, she makes it sound like the sentence sums up his lasting legacy.
The volume’s editor Nika Dubrovsky doubles down in her introduction, repeating
the “ultimate hidden truth” line and claiming it was Graeber’s “deep
understanding”. Again, there is no reference to where readers might catch the
great man actually saying this.
Solnit and Dubrovsky are not alone. This sentence is often attributed to
Graeber in the press. And it is true that he did write these words. But he did
so as an anthropologist attempting to elucidate an underlying principle of the
left, not as an activist promoting a position he seriously held."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
