Red cover with black text and a small eight-pointed sun burst image in the cover center.

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia

by David Graeber Author

Pirates have long lived in the realm of romance and fantasy, symbolizing risk, lawlessness, and radical visions of freedom. But pirates and pirate society have long had a rich history in self-governance while living outside of the law. Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia considers how the protodemocratic practices of the Zana-Malata, an ethnic group descended from pirates who settled in Madagascar at the beginning of the eighteenth century, came to shape the Enlightenment project that has been defined for too long as distinctly European. By illuminating the non-European origins of what we consider to be “Western” thought, this book endeavors to highlight the forgotten forms of social and political order that can help us move towards a new and hopeful possibility for our future.

(This title may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.)

Comments & Reviews

Sean P. Aaberg 3/23/2007: It's rough because the economics are stacked against you. I love living in poorer neighborhoods mostly because there are no uptight neighborhood organizations curbing noise & making it harder to drink or do graffiti on the streets. What needs to be done is a separation between the economics & the culture that one is going after. If you can at first agree what kind of a neighborhood you want it to be, then you can begin organizing around making this happen. The economics should come after that initial agreement. Unfortunately, this is rare & most often, because this is America, economics come first.