The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity

A radically new interpretation of human history that challenges our most basic beliefs about the growth of society, from the beginnings of agriculture and cities to the state, democracy, and inequality, and opens up new avenues for human liberation.

Our distant ancestors have been portrayed for centuries as primitive and innocent, either as equal and free beings or as thuggish and warlike. We are persuaded that the only ways to attain civilization are to give up those first liberties or to subdue our baser desires. According to David Graeber and David Wengrow, these views originated in the eighteenth century as a conservative response to strong criticisms of European civilization made by Indigenous thinkers and observers. Looking back at this interaction has profound consequences for understanding the history of humanity, including the beginnings of cities, farming, property, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself.

The authors demonstrate how history becomes a considerably more fascinating place if we learn to break free from our mental shackles and see what is really there by drawing on groundbreaking studies in anthropology and archaeology. What were humans doing at that time if they were not living in small groups of hunter-gatherers for ninety-five percent of their evolutionary history? What type of social and economic structure did agriculture and cities lead to if they did not represent a descent into dominance and hierarchy? The results are often surprising and imply that, contrary to what we usually believe, there may have been more play and hope throughout human history than has been recorded.

The Dawn of Everything radically alters our perception of human history and provides a framework for conceiving about new freedoms and social structures. This enormous book has an impressive intellectual breadth and is driven by moral clarity, curiosity, and a belief in the efficacy of direct action.