Book SummaryThe Dawn of Everything, by David Graeber

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Dawn of Everything

Why does inequality exist and when did it start? Is inequality a necessary evil of any large, complex society? In The Dawn of Everything, anthropologist David Graeber and archaeologist David Wengrow attempted to answer these questions by looking at historical and anthropological research. What they discovered instead is that our beliefs about the evolution of human societies have been wrong all along.

Throughout humanity’s long history, cultures have always been much more diverse than we tend to believe, and the presumed evolution of societies from “primitive” to “civilized” is a myth. Armed with this new worldview, the authors challenge us to use our imaginations to envision new possibilities for our world today.

David Graeber was an American anthropologist and professor at the London School of Economics. He was an anarchist and political activist and is credited with being [a driving force of the Occupy Wall Street...

The Dawn of Everything Summary Part 1: The Indigenous Critique: A Precursor to Enlightenment Values

Graeber and Wengrow’s examination of diverse social structures, values, and beliefs begins with a discussion of the relationship between the indigenous tribes and European colonists in North America. These interactions informed the European view of indigenous societies in general and ultimately came to influence European culture itself. This is because, the authors argue, European Enlightenment philosophy was inspired by the native North American people’s critique of European customs.

In the late 1600s, European colonists in North America became engaged in philosophical discussions with the indigenous peoples of that land. Some of the indigenous people and the colonists learned to speak one another’s languages fluently. Graeber and Wengrow explain that the native North Americans had strong philosophical traditions and skilled orators who challenged European colonial officials in debates. In particular, French Jesuits in the area around Montreal (known then as New France) had a series of lively intellectual and philosophical discussions with a leader of the Wendat people, named Kandiaronk. Many of these conversations were recorded in writing.

In these conversations,...

The Dawn of Everything Summary Part 2: The Conventional Anthropological Narrative

European colonists’ descriptions of indigenous societies made their way into academia, and the study of such cultures became known as anthropology. Early anthropologists used these descriptions (and sometimes their own fieldwork) to create theories about how human societies evolved. The conventional anthropological narrative has led to a simplistic idea about indigenous societies that persists even today.

Graeber and Wengrow explain that since Enlightenment thinkers were particularly fascinated with the indigenous people who had egalitarian ideologies, those descriptions received the most attention in Europe. Over time, Europeans came to view all indigenous peoples as living in societies where everyone was equal and there was no formal leadership. Likewise, when they looked at their own societies and others like them, which were arranged in monarchies, they believed that all modern societies were hierarchical. This was a gross oversimplification, as we will explain later. This flawed, established narrative led scholars to ask: _How did humans go from living in egalitarian societies that value personal liberty to hierarchical societies that value control over...

The Dawn of Everything Summary Part 3: Challenging the Conventional Narrative

After presenting these conventional views, Graeber and Wengrow argue that the truth is much more complex than our traditional narrative suggests. They say when you look at the historical evidence without an evolutionist bias, you find that people in all times and places have been conscious political actors making deliberate decisions about how to live, and they’ve chosen the kinds of social and political organizations that suit them best.

In this section, we’ll look at specific challenges to the myth that earlier societies were all egalitarian, and then explain why that myth may have been intentionally perpetuated to undermine the indigenous critique of European culture. Then we’ll examine the authors’ critique of the myth that agriculture led to inequality.

Debunking the Myth of the Egalitarian Tribe

Graeber and Wengrow argue that when we examine the anthropological evidence, the evolutionist narrative doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. They say the historical evidence shows us that hierarchy and equality have existed in a variety of ways alongside one another throughout all of recorded history.

The whole idea that societies have evolved—from bands to tribes...

The Dawn of Everything Summary Part 4: Conclusion: Is Inequality Inevitable?

To circle back around to the driving question of this project, Graeber and Wengrow ask: How did we come to view inequality as inevitable and get stuck in unequal state-level societies? Rather than answering this question, the authors simply raise it for the reader’s consideration, suggesting that understanding the complexity and diversity of different kinds of societies throughout history might prompt us to broaden our ideas about the possibilities for our contemporary societies.

Imagining Alternatives

A thorough examination of the literature shows us that people throughout history have deliberately changed social and political customs that weren’t working, and they were able to creatively envision different alternatives. Could we use these examples as templates to imagine alternatives for ourselves?

Graeber and Wengrow say that most citizens of modern states have a hard time even imagining a different social order than the one they live in. Indigenous people, however, are not only able to imagine it, they sometimes move back and forth between different social orders in cycles with the seasons. And some have abandoned their social organization entirely...

Shortform Exercise: Imagine an Alternate World

Graeber and Wengrow say one reason we’re stuck in systems of inequality today is that we lack the ability to imagine alternatives. Use your imagination to design a better society.

Imagine your ideal society. What would a perfect world be like, for you? Think about cultural values, norms, beliefs, structures, political and economic systems, and so on. List three that are especially important to you.