David Graeber on the Extreme 'Centre'
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- čas přidán 11. 10. 2020
- “It strikes me that what’s called the moderates are the most immoderate people possible”
Previously unreleased video of David Graeber talking about liberalism. Originally filmed at the start of 2020. We planned to make a dedicated film on the subject with David upon his return to London. We release this video with the blessing of his beloved wife Nika.
Rest in Power David Graeber
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Previously unreleased video of David Graeber talking about liberalism. Originally filmed at the start of 2020. We planned to make a dedicated film on the subject with David upon his return to London. We release this video with the blessing of his beloved wife Nika.
Rest in Power David Graeber
David & his wife Nika Dubrovsky started making plans to turn his childhood home in NY into a place for intellectuals, activists & artists to gather & imagine new futures together. In loving memory, you can help this become reality by clicking here ► t.co/5TQYTDbEkC?amp=1
❤️❤️❤️
Did a full film come out? Or do you know about any books or essays related to this? I’m very curious about this subject!
Did Graeber have anything to say about the left scuttling boat after boat and going AWOL?
Because he sounded like it is market centrists' and fascists' fault, this perception that our choice seems to end up limited to them. Why not the left? Well... Where is it? What on Earth is it doing?
Graeber was the rare kind of intellectual who really makes you believe a better world is possible and trying to build it doesn’t have to suck all the time. I can’t name another thinker who did more to make me more hopeful for the future.
Chomsky?
Oh damn, we need this man more than ever right now. And he's gone - and it's a horrible loss.
I miss this man's insights
I'd heard the name for years & literally just started getting into him less than a week ago. Even just the little bit I've seen/heard makes me sad I didn't get into him when he was still alive& sad we're never gonna get more of him.
You should move on and think for yourself
@@tuckerbugeaterlol what a deluded comment. “Thinking for yourself” implies a degree of free will, which is utter nonsense to anyone with more than one functioning neuron.
Remains by far the most accurate critique of liberalism
Double Down News should be complimented for this video. Whoever chose the visuals of Obama acting like the 'visionary' leader, or George Bush playing the yokel, did a great job of visually accompanying David's astute analysis.
The little smile Graeber gave the camera/his interviewer at the very end was really touching, in light of what we know of his character, his commitment, and now his passing. Rest in Power.
This perspective is so rare among those people who have any kind of platform and it will be sorely missed. Thanks to Yale for making the "mistake" of giving a true radical some credentials.
God I'm going miss this man. He was such a nice person and I'll never forget how he called out the bullshit regarding Corbyn being an anti-semite
@@cominroitover80 lol, ok, crazy person
@Berto who cares.
@@ariellekaplan707 Those of us who oppose anti-Semitism
@@ariellekaplan707 non anti semites care
@@Gabe-1997 David wasn't an "anti semite".
Such an incredibly bright guy. I will never forget him being one of the only people on the left to make a fearless case for Corbyn amidst the hysteria. That took courage. God we are gonna miss him.
yeah that video he put out was really good, and definitely brave - Jewish people sticking up for Corbyn got some of the worst abuse, it was almost like people were just looking for an excuse
His death was a terrible loss to humanity
Yes; he was an exceptional scholar; his work was actually impactful. I miss him.
One of the most beautiful minds working on the face of this planet. Rest in power!
A man of principle and intellect! His parents should be very, very proud!
His parents sucked
Rest in Peace David!
I am so thankful for the thoughts you gave me through your work!
I think about David pretty much every day. He is sorely missed. A great voice of reason, taken far too soon.
I didn't know of David while he was alive, but I very much feel the loss.
outstanding analysis ...RIP David....
Aha! Phew, everyone was telling me I was a racist idiot for voting Green and being disappointed in Obama/Biden - ok now I feel better 🤣😂🤣😂
The Blair/moderate/deatherate centre got us into the Iraq war, an extreme alliance with Bush, inaction on climate change, financial deregulation, the PFI, shall I go on?
With tory/right wing support.
@Steve Pike You are an anti-semite, why are you here? Capitalism is not Jewish, it has no ethnicity, culture or religion. It just consumes, perverts and destroys everything that is not the search for profit. It is particularly offensive that you dare to come out with your filth on a video by our recently deceased comrade David, who was himself of Jewish ethnicity.
No cagues en nuestros muertos.
@@wirklichnicht2073 You aren't well.
We need more people like comrade David in the movement. A huge loss. Rest in power, comrade!
Thanks for your gifts to the world. Rest in power, David.
Legendary revolutionary thinker, David Graeber will be greatly missed by many RIP
Rest in peace Professor Graeber.
May his soul rest in peace.. Goodness, death is more within our grasps than we'd like to acknowledge.
Sorry to find that the man who made this video is no longer with us, we need more like him!
an actual genius... i love him so much
He gave us the insights- the best tribute we can give this man, who has left all too soon, is to live those insights.
A great loss to those of us on the left.
He was an anarchist
@@End-Result and you think that's a bad thing?
@@End-Result Y...yes, he was a left anarchist. As are many on the left.
a great loss to all of humanity.
@@End-Result Hell yeah he was buddy
I first heard the term 'extreme centre' from Tariq Ali, Graeber obviously got it as well. It's a terrifying and very real phenomenon which looks set to overshadow politics around the world for years to come.
It's the perfect cover for denial, for avoidance
The centre/liberals are the FAKE left
The joke is on all of you. Apart from "extreme centrist" being an oxymoron, it's also yet another term to demonise a group of people (and haven't we already got too many of them already?!), and in this case it's used to demonise people who won't play into this bullshit "left vs. right" dichotomy that is so prevalent on the internet.
Furthermore, Obama's intentions were definitely left wing. He was only forced to look like a centrist because he had a huge debt and financial crisis to deal with (hence he couldn't spend as much as he liked or return taxation to Clinton-era levels) and because his actions were moderated by both the strong Republican senate and his friends in the business community (and you can't forget or piss off the business community or Wall Street if you want to be the US president).
@@djn48 so what's the difference between someone who wants to act like a centrist, and someone who's forced to act like one, if the results are exactly the same? What do his personal intentions matter? (If you could even be sure what they were, when there's no evidence of them being put into any kind of action)
And there's nothing oxymoronic about "extreme centrism", it's centrism as an ideology taken to an extreme. Being so dedicated to the idea of not being on the right or left that you prioritise that over things like actual principles. Defending the current system so hard that you, for example, don't bother pushing through your Supreme Court nomination when the Republicans break the rules and try to block it. Letting bad outcomes happen, and the right getting what they want, because you care more about "taking the high road"
@@cactustactics To answer the first question, intention matters more than anything. If someone holds a gun to someone else's head and says "I'm going to kill this person and then that person, and then the guy over there with the red sweater vest..." and you shoot him first, you are a hero in the eyes of society. But without the intention, you are a murderer, because he never actually killed anyone, he only intended to.
As for Obama, it's true that we can't know his true intention, but we can see that he put through a small mountain of left-wing social reforms, and we can also see that his economic policy had to be muted because of the financial crisis. As for him not pushing through the judge, that's not being a centrist, that's just being a pussy!
Graeber was one of the few Marxist leaning economists whose ideas as a capitalist make me think seriously about them (whether I agree or not).
Most accurate description of politics in the western world today... Can we do something about it?!
At 0:29 he gives a hint of what to do. In the same interview he explains why he endorsed Corbyn, in face of the big rebuttal and smearing of the left-wing by liberals czcams.com/video/H6oOj7BzciA/video.html
Gore Vidal called this phenomenon the "dead centre."
I feel so validated listening to this man. Stop falling for the same lies people 😢
best description of Obama LOL
Brilliant analysis put in simplistic terms. So sad this man is gone. I discovered his insight too late.
Seeing him once again, makes it just hurt so much more. :(
RIP David, I will miss hearing your thoughtful provocative insight.
Thanks for covering this
This is fabulous!
An amazing and succinct analysis.
So insightful. RIP.
Noam Chomsky talks about this in great detail as well
He was well ahead of his time in regards to his thoughts on society. I only landed on david by accident reasonably recently and his views are nothing like any of the left that i have known and really does make you reconsider what you know!
May we learn off this man. May he rest in peace & i truly hope what this man taught can be used to progress society.
Most people only know the left through the prism of billionaire right wing propaganda.
@@jgmediting7770 unfortunately. It is a damn shame as the great minds like David's are rarely heard or listened to.
You know you are a great thinker when the majority of the left all know you have left this world. He has however planted enough seeds I think to allow the rest of us to build a better society!
To be honest, I wouldn't even call these people centrists. They are right-wing, if not, far-right economically speaking. They are nothing socially, only slaves to what the economic establishment dictates.
They might claim to be centrists, but only strongarm a right-wing economic system. I honestly think centrists have a bit more integrity than that, not to say they don't have their own problems also.
Far right economically = Handing everything over to Banker & Corporation control.
That's what every western government practices whether they are right or left wing/populist or progressive.
Right-wing liberals.
Obama's "vision was not to have a vision" 😂
I didn't know of David Graeber until watching this - sincerely RiP and thank you.
Curious, I googled him; seems he was cut from the same cloth as Bertrand Russell and Buckminster Fuller... Great minds.
You should read his book "Debt."
@ sincerely, thank you; "Debt : The First 5000 Years" added to reading list.
@@CasparMacRae
It's absolutely excellent, utterly buries mainstream accounts of the emergence of money and capitalism.
Goddamn we've lost an important voice in Mr. Graeber. RIP sir.
Funny how democracy works nowadays. All arguments and facts flushed down the toilet, lots of identity focussed narrative, style over substance and class without intrinsic value and hardly anyone that stands aside and says: 'Wait a minute...." Graeber seems to have noticed that we have - to phrase it in one of Pink Floyd's songs on 'the Wall" .."twenty channels of shit on our TV to choose from." Muddling through and public relations as the core business of politics. Richard Feymnman put it like this a long time ago: "For a , reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled" Replace technology with policy and we arrive at where we are today. PR has taken over. Our phones are smarter than we are.
@Raw Engineer I guess you are right. No civilization falls prey to decay at some point , just like metal shows fatigue after long periods of stress. Looking back the last 40-30 years western society has been under stress ever since most thought the Soviet Union was our last big enemy and we arrived at the 'End of History'as Francis Fukuyama wrote in 1991. It seems to me every society needs an enemy or a strong opposing force to keep it honest, modest and resilient, yet in a kinder, more humane way than the neoliberal/neoconservatives tend to make the latter happen. Another thing I noticed is that teamwork as such appears to be something from a forgotten era. Many seem to regard society as a wishing well that has to satisfy every individual desire, yet very few are willing to make that happen by making small sacrifices in order for the team - society - to work seamlessly. I have very fond memories of my time in the military in that respect. Brothers in arms (sisters included) was not a hollow phrase but actual practice. Nowadays most it looks like everyone is on his/her own and has to fend for himself/herself, when only the ones willing to use their elbows coming on top.
I truly wish we could start living together again as a team. Each with his/her own qualities and weaknesses, yet everyone valuable and valued. But I guess we're beyond repair.
Rest in power David
Ain't right that he's gone. Right when we need him most. At least we have these videos, essays and books!
✊👊🖤☮️🥀🏴🌐A///E
This shit just blew my fucking mind!, 🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Society of the Spectacle, plain and simple.
No crust in this guy's eyes.
May David Graeber’s memory be a blessing.
I love that turn of phrase. Rest in peace has never sat right with me. In our collective memory is where you truly find immortality.
I've always found it strange that Americans used the terms liberal, progressive and left for one and the same thing. In my country, the Netherlands, liberals are (except in the eyes of populist supporters) right-wing pro capitalism, small government. Obama was never concidered a left winger. He was just a good-looking, moderate alternative to any republican president. And it shows how undemocratic the american political system is. In a truly democratic system, in which every vote counts and there would have been more then two political parties, non of the last presidents would have been elected. If the US would be truly democratic they would have, possibly, had a center-left-progressive government. Because even now the largest caususes within the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives are either progressive, labor orientated and/or social democratic, making up 141 of the 233 democratic seats.
I think you mean "libertarian" not "liberal". Also, not all libertarians are right-wing. Social libertarians are left wing. Economic libertarians are right wing, as you describe.
@@djn48 No I don't. What Americans call libertarians are liberals to the rest of the world. Liberals are right of center in the political spectrum. They are in favor of small government, low taxes, free market and little social intervention in society. Because liberals/libertarians look progressive or left wing in American terms doesn't make them so.
It's not just where you live.
The belief that liberals are leftists seems to be one shared almost exclusively by people in the US and fascists.
The Cold War propaganda broke Americans' understanding of politics so thoroughly we're still reeling from it.
@@fortheloveofmusic860 I love it when people assume that just because I am a native English speaker that means I must be American... no way.
And no, you are definitely referring to libertarians. The word itself comes from the root word "liberty", free from interference, which is everything you are describing.
Liberal and conservative are terms that have been co-opted into political debate from ordinary language. Consider when you do something like spread butter on your toast for breakfast. If you spread it liberally, it means you put a lot on. If you spread it conservatively, you don't put much on. Or if you are a liberal spender, it means you buy a lot of things with your money, but if you are conservative with your money you don't spend much. Same with politics.
But it's a bullshit argument anyway because they are just descriptive terms. The important thing is what people do, not what they call themselves.
American political language is rooted in words like "liberty, freedom" etc - it's a big part of the identity, it's aspirational and useful propaganda. So I wouldn't be surprised if the usage grew from that. A lot of people assume "liberal" means "socially liberal" anyway, at least in the "likes freedom" sense
Also "libertarian" is not liberal. The original meaning of that word is rooted in leftist poltical thinking, but americanisation (especially through the internet space) means that "libertarianism" has become at least ~more~ associated with the right-wing version.
And that's not liberalism either - for one thing, the liberal concept of inalienable rights vs the libertarian focus on property rights has "libertarians" arguing that people should be able to sell themselves into slavery, i.e. an agreed contract transferring property rights from one person to another. I'm not saying they all believe that, I'm just saying it's a thing right-libertarian philosophy allows for. They're mostly just about private corporations being able to own everything and who cares if that's bad for everyone else
I can't believe we lost this incredible mind....
When a true warrior dies. His last word should help or eligthen someone else. Even if his head is serverd from his body.(Ghost dog/Bushido).
I don't think 🤔 we can easily have someone else like him.
A first class mind, such a loss!
This is so accurate my god
RIP
Wow that sums it up. R.I.P my friend🙏
This guy nails the entire problem in 3 minutes.
OMG he is so smart. We miss him so much.
RIP a good man.
Rip in peace ✌️
Rest In Power ✊
you just said "rest in peace in peace"
Hard hitting!
This hits home in a real way....
amazingly insightful
Love and prayers 2 all dearly departed, never insult but support and goodwill like a normal human being.
Be at peace Sir. Love 2 your family
We don't care or have anything to do with the goofy right or goofy left. Pple today need to stop hating over utterly petty bullshit.
Take your ball and go home to live your own life purpose gifts etc.
Thanks!
The Scottish people don't fall for it
Seems they’re more informed than the English working class.
I miss my comrade
This was very insightful
RIP. brilliant minds are departing us every day. We need to be much more proactive to change this world
RIP David. Well said.
reagan was the first of this kind of prez....."b" actor made the big time.
Wish there were hundreds of these videos of David in his office just spilling his thoughts. RIP.
The thing about this is that there’s no unity of the classes . Only academic phrasing. It comes to no ones surprise that the whole of America don’t want another Obama nor trump. They wanna work, they wanna provide, they simply want to sustain.
Stating the obvious but the book he wrote on debt is brilliant. RIP brother.
RIP. I have just discovered this channel. Just to pick up a couple of points about the centre being 'reduced to pragmatism and compromise'.
That is literally the point of classic Liberalism, or Centrism as you might call it now. To minimise the inherent disagreement and state of antagonism in which people will inevitably find themselves. Agree with it or not, this IS the vision. That people are bound to disagree and fight, and that the best that can be achieved is a reduction of harm (see JS Mill's harm principle) and a keeping of the peace, whilst allowing people to exercise their liberty. Of course this has evolved over the years but that's the central premise.
So you can disagree with this political philosophy, but characterise it as a failure of Centrism is to miss the point in my view.
The world is poorer without David
WTF? I didn't even know david graeber was dead until the end of this video. How did I not hear about that? RIP
What! I just discovered him through this vid and now i learn he passed? 🥺 RIP
I think the 'Extreme Centre' was a term first coined by Tariq Ali.
In loving memory, indeed.
Donald Trump in the 70’s and 80’s actually sounded a lot more intelligent than he does today, especially if you watch his interviews. He obviously put on a persona while he was in presidency.
This is so clear with Starmer at the moment - he has more chance of becoming the pope than PM but that is not the point. He is there to discipline (cack handedly) the left for having some useful ideas. That is off Piste, not cricket etc. Miss this guy xx - ps all read the dawn of everything - it is the best book ever
He is missed. Rest in Power David Graeber
😢
this is the first video of this man I came across only to find out he passed away, :( I wish I had known about him sooner
He was an original thinker, but moreover an extraordinarily sharp analyst with a rare ability to see the broader lines. I became aware of him when he nailed 'the bullshit jobs'. In the meantime, we've got more of them and less of Graeber :-(
Perfect.
What people want from centrists is Social Democracy. That is, things that everyone MUST have: healthcare, water, sewage, power, public transport and affordable housing for the low paid, should be centrally managed by Goverment. The things one can CHOOSE to buy, like cars and other consumer products, should be left to the free market. Far from being a "mish-mash" this works perfectly well all over Europe.
I agree that's probably what people want from a centrist. Though, in the mainstream environment today, that would be called 'extreme left'.
There is also a problem with that system you've described, however. In the sense that, it cannot maintain itself. It allows private power to accumulate resources to such a degree that they can buy the media and, hence, buy public opinion and therefore ensure their pick of government and therefore push everything to the right again.
why are fascists rising in popularity all over europe if this is "works perfectly" - who is it working perfectly for? wealthy liberals and centrists
teddy it depends what you mean by fascist. There is a big reaction among the working classes because of globalism - all their jobs are being sent abroad and at the same time they are having to compete with increasing flows of migrants. If they complain they are shut down as racists, so they look for people that appear to have their interests at heart.
Anna Lieff-Saxby I would consider myself a centrist and I agree with you on the aims - although I don’t know if I want all of that power being wielded by the centralised government. As a liberal I like Liberty and therefore as small a government as is workable. The government should be procuring these services for its citizens rather than running them itself. I think there needs to be Civic space between the wholly private and government controlled assets - I’m not sure what that could be? Perhaps a coop model, or not-for-profit or something like that, a sort of mediating economy that shares between public and private. If anybody has any thinking on this sort of thing I’d love to hear it.
It's why I don't think these people are centrists. They're right-wingers economically and don't give a shit about social policy, they'll just go to whatever winds call their name, so long as it serves their financial bottom line. It's ultimately just a defence force of neoliberal capitalism.
Now I understand what was going on in Spain with Rajoy some years ago
❤✨
More true today than in 2019. I miss this dude. Frøken Thordis Dottir.
Anyone know of books or essays that elaborate on this subject? Or related subjects too. Thank you!
Amén
Wow that's correct.
💔rest in power, beautiful man
Damn. I've been calling myself "staunchly centrist" thinking I was communicating that I didn't like either the extreme left or right...What's the political term for "I follow Double Down News"?
An evidence-based thinker, I dunno...
Left-wing
like what do you mean by "extreme left"? If you mean tankies then like, lots of people on the left aren't a fan. If you mean anarchists then that includes lots of cool people like David Graeber
Where can I find the full interview?
Performative Centrism devoid of any moral courage