The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy

by

English language

ISBN:
978-1-61219-374-8
Copied ISBN!

View on Inventaire

(3 reviews)

The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy is a 2015 book by anthropologist David Graeber about how people "relate to" and are influenced by bureaucracies. Graeber previously wrote Debt: The First 5000 Years and The Democracy Project, and was an organizer behind Occupy Wall Street. Graeber signed a book deal with Melville House toward the end of 2014, and The Utopia of Rules was released on February 24, 2015.

11 editions

reviewed The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy by David Graeber

Solid Analysis of the Rise of Bureaucracy in Pricate and Public Spheres

Graeber is always a delight to read, even when he's just rambling on about some anthropological anecdote.

This is probably one of Graeber's more accessible books, in so far as it's not a massive tome to read through and sticks relatively closely to the thesis.

Particularly enjoyed the penultimate essay, relating play, games and bureaucracy in an attempt to clarify why anyone would even desire bureaucracy in the first place.

reviewed The Utopia of Rules by David Graeber

Bureaucracy, Games, Capitalism, and Batman

What an incredible book. A poignant look at how and why bureaucracies are created and maintained, how they are a form of game that’s opposed to actual play, how each of us has a responsibility to actively imagine a better world and create the conditions under which it can come into existence, and a surprise analysis of Christopher Nolan’s film “The Dark Knight Rises” which (trust me) makes sense in this context.

A clear recommendation for anyone who wants to look critically at how we as a society run the world. It’s also not too dense (as opposed to some other political philosophy works) and written in a very approachable way.

avatar for thneed

rated it

Lists