The Dawn of Everything
by David Graeber and David Wengrow
Mentioned once across 1 show · first heard May 2026 on Behind the Bastards.
The general take
Andrew mentions that "The Dawn of Everything" by Graeber and Wengru explores different approaches to state development in early recorded history, though he presents this neutrally without endorsing or critiquing the thesis. Based on the limited commentary, there's no clear sense of whether the hosts found the book's argument compelling or problematic.
About
"An all-encompassing treatise on modern civilization, offering bold revisions to canonical understandings in sociology, anthropology, archaeology and political philosophy that led to where we are today." - The New York Times A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts.
Who said what
Andrew💬 Mentioned
…discussing early human history and state development
“the dawn of everything by David Graeber and David Wengru kind of wrestles with some of this. In the early years of recorded history, there were many manners of approach to state development.”
Behind the Bastards — It Could Happen Here Weekly 232at 439:26:40
Listener reviews
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