Stuart Jeffries

The 17th-century Huron chief Kondiaronk can still teach us valuable lessons

His jeremiads against the European obsession with money and property are gleefully quoted by David Graeber and David Wengrow in their anarchist cri de coeur

The Huron chief Kondiaronk. [Alamy] 
issue 11 December 2021

Ten years ago, David Graeber was a leading figure of the Occupy Wall Street movement. He and his fellow protesters camped out in Zucotti Park, storing $800,000 of donations in trash bags because they didn’t believe in banks.

The American anthropologist and anarchist activist called this an experiment in ‘post-bureaucratic living’.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY A MONTH FREE
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Try a month of Britain’s best writing, absolutely free.

Comments

Join the debate, free for a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.

Already a subscriber? Log in