How did David Graeber die?

And how might we best preserve his legacy?

Hey Gang,

For the better part of a year, I’ve been pretty obsessed with David Graeber, the anarchist activist best known for his central role in the Occupy Movement.

I’ve read three of his books, tons of his articles, watched countless interviews, and listened to a lot of his lectures.

I am convinced that David Graeber was among the greatest minds of his age, yet three years after his sudden death, I rarely see his ideas mentioned.

Furthermore, no one seems to be asking how exactly he died, which doesn’t sit well with me.

Part of the reason that I have been so obsessed with David Graeber is because he died mysteriously in 2020, and as soon as I learned certain details about his death, I suspected that he had been killed.

I started studying his work because I figure that when a dissident is assassinated, it’s because their ideas are dangerous.

As I explored Graeber’s work, my focus began to change.

I began to appreciate how brilliant his analysis was, and realized that someone really needs to take it upon themselves to make sure that his ideas aren’t forgotten.

So, this article will the first of a series in which I will explore the life and legacy of this brilliant scholar and revolutionary.

THE LEGACY OF DAVID GRAEBER

I believe that David Graeber will be remembered most of all for writing DEBT: The First Five Thousand Years, which is a paradigm-shattering masterpiece.

He will also be remembered as one of the people who started the Occupy Movement, although he didn’t like to take too much credit for that.

Although the Occupy Movement left a lot of people with a bad taste in their mouths, I do believe that it was an important movement, and well worth reflecting upon.

I suspect, in fact, that Occupy was a lot more consequential than most people realize. I think it really scared the ruling class in the U.S., who feared a populist movement against the bank bailouts of 2008, and that they launched a major campaign of ideological subversion in order to polarize society.

I have written about what I call “the New COINTELPRO” before, and I’ll direct the reader to a piece called The Secret History of Antifa if they want to learn more.

One should keep in mind that the Occupy Movement started in 2011, about two years after the Tea Party, which was a right-wing populist movement stridently opposed to the bank bailouts.

In retrospect, the Tea Party and the Occupy movement should probably have joined forces, because they were protesting the same exact thing, but unfortunately Democrats and Republicans have a very difficult time getting along in real life.

Personally, I think that the two-party system is designed in order to prevent powerful populist movements from threatening the status quo. It’s divide-and-conquer. Partisan politics keep half the American population thinking that the other half is the problem.

Regular Nevermore readers will know that we are big advocates for inclusive, pluralistic, ideologically diverse social movements. We believe that what is necessary now in Western countries is for working class people to put their differences aside and come together in a way that transcends the left-right political divide.

I believe that the ideas of David Graeber have a lot to offer us here. Really, Graeber was a utopian. If one delves into his work, one notices a very lovely quality of spirit permeating it. He really always appears to want the best for everyone, and to not see political conflict as a zero sum game. Over and over, he insists that another world is possible, and that it is largely due to our own lack of imagination that we continue to reproduce political realities that leave so much to be desired.

There is something pure and charming at the heart of his work, and I even occasionally find myself regarding Graeber as some kind of sage or saint. Certainly, he was someone who had a profound message for humanity.

When I started exploring his work, I wasn’t expecting to be so drawn in, but a year later, I’m convinced that Graeber’s ideas are vitally important.

Graeber was one of the Leftists who seemed to actually have a deep grasp of economics, and followed in Marx’s footsteps in predicting the collapse of the global capitalist system.

I will mention that some of you have probably been influenced by David Graeber without knowing it, because his work was clearly a major inspiration for the Crimethinc. Ex-Workers Collective.

If you’ve read Days of War, Nights of Love or Work, chances are you’re already familiar with some of Graeber’s ideas.

Although there are some areas in which Graeber and I have very different politics, and I will have some criticism of some of his ideas, my main purpose is simply to make sure that his most important insights don’t fall in obscurity.

Before I really start on in on his legacy, however, I do think that it is important to say a few things about his untimely death.

THE DEATH OF DAVID GRAEBER

David Graeber died on September 2nd, 2020 in Venice, Italy. He was 59.

The cause of death, according to his wife, was necrotic pancreatitis. On October 6th 2020, Nika Dubrovsnky, who had married Graeber a year earlier, made a blog post entitled “My opinion on David’s cause of death”, in which she wrote:

Many people asked me what the reason for David's death was. The Venetian hospital stated in autopsy's results that the cause of death is massive internal bleeding caused by pancreatitis necrosis. I want to add my own conspiracy theory: I firmly believe it is related to Сovid…

It was tough for David to abide by the rules of isolation, not go to the cafes, not meet with neighbors; he hated masks and continuously tried to reuse single-use gloves.

David (gently) complained about me to his friends, telling them how I "torture" him. In general, David was a heartfelt person, and his whining was in many ways boasting: "Look how Nika takes care and worries about me! "

However, I send rays of hatred to the careless idiots who giggled at my efforts to isolate and advised David to ignore my demands.

Of course, I know that I am the one to blame. David was an obedient Jewish husband. I could have put my foot down and demanded we leave immediately and spend the entire lockdown self-isolating in a remote village somewhere. But I didn't. I don't know why. I didn't want to be a control freak or a "strict wife."

We both started having strange symptoms in March. About once a week, we'd get headaches, felt muscle pain, tingling in the lungs, extreme tiredness (to the point of not being able to talk on the phone). Just continually wanting to sleep.

Then everything would go away, but after 5-8 days, the symptoms would repeat. We cared for each other tenderly: we brought tea with ginger and lemon and vitamins to each other. I mostly slept all day, and David took hot baths.

Later I recovered completely, while David developed strange new symptoms. It all started with a peculiar soapy taste in his mouth. He felt it after meals and said it continued throughout the day. We stopped using washing liquid on our dishes. David went to the dentist and had his gums deep cleaned several times to prevent inflammation. He got (several!) root canal treatments. We didn't know what else we could do.

He got an antibody test. The result was negative.

A while later, he began feeling a tingling sensation in his fingertips. He attributed this to practicing too much guitar playing. Then the tingling began in his toes and legs too. Fatigue. Mild but persistent abdominal pain; digestive disorders. But primarily constant fatigue. We consulted various doctors. We did various tests. First, in London, then in Berlin.

All the doctors said the same thing: there are no obvious symptoms, but you have "post-viral syndrome, wait, and everything will pass."

And we waited.

David was tested for Covid at clinics in Venice, with negative results. When I asked if his death could be related to Covid, the doctor replied, "if you test positive for Covid, then you have Covid. A negative test does not mean that you do not have it." And I feel the same way as his doctor. I feel that Covid was a reason why he developed this strange and bizarre illness so rapidly. I blame for this the joke-government of Boris Johnson and general human stupidity and self-reliance.

David died of necrotic pancreatitis and internal bleeding, but why suddenly the healthy, totally never-drinking-alcohol David would develop this disease. Why would it be so sudden and quick?  Why did such strange symptoms accompany it? Why did it start right after we thought we had Covid?

I’m curious, dear reader, about how this little missive sits with you, because I personally find it difficult to detect much in the way of what I would consider genuine grief.

Am I a little screwed up in the head? Or is Nika’s letter extremely bizarre? I’m really curious how this lands with other people.

Most grieving widows wouldn’t write such a thing, but grief is a strange beast, I suppose.

Let’s recap. One of the most important anarchist thinkers in the world dies mysteriously after complaining to his friends of a soapy taste in his mouth, which is a symptom of poisoning, and no one finds his death a wee bit suspicious?

Furthermore, his wife, who presumably inherited his estate, blames his death on a non-existent virus, despite the fact that he died of internal bleeding. Do viruses cause the rapid onset of internal bleeding now? Since when?

Honestly, it blows me away that no one seems willing to jot the dots. Is the New Normal? Do people just die for no reason now? Are we supposed to just get used to this?

No one seems interested in raising the possibility that David Graeber may have been murdered, and let’s be honest, it’s not hard to see why.

It is with significant trepidation that I raise the question that I am about to ask. I considered taking a more cautious approach, but in the end I decided to take a more direct approach.

I’m not a detective. I didn’t know David Graeber and I don’t know Nika Dubrovsky. I don’t have autopsy results, and I’m not a trained investigative journalist or anything. If someone can get to the bottom of this case, it probably won’t be me.

If I am totally off-base, and Nika Dubrovsky really is just an innocent bereaved widow, I’m guessing this won’t really go anywhere.

If, on the other hand, there are other people out there who feel, as I do, that the circumstances of David Graeber’s death were strange, perhaps someone might come forward with more information which could help us figure out how David Graeber died.

What I do know is this - people in good health don’t just keel over and die for no reason, and that premature death is an occupational hazard for anarchist revolutionaries.

I don’t think that it’s at all crazy to ask questions when someone such as David Graeber suddenly dies.

Was David Graeber poisoned by his wife?

When someone dies by poisoning, the prime suspects are whoever had access to his or her food and drink.

If Dubrovsky was living with Graeber, she would presumably have had the means to poison him. In the note included above, she specifically mentions bringing him tea and vitamins. Ergo, she had access to the means to poison him.

She also had a motive. As his spouse and next-of-kin, she presumably stood to financially benefit from his death. Although Graeber described himself as “not that rich”, he was a world-famous author and scholar. He could have easily had a couple million dollars worth of assets. People will kill for a lot less than that!

It is worth noting that Dubrovsky seems to have had quite definite (and bizarre) ideas about how her husband’s wealth could best be spent.

The couple had previously started an activist group called The Yes Women, which advocates for East German divorcees who are apparently being screwed out of their pensions for some reason.

Honestly, you really just have to poke around The Yes Women website a bit to get the feeling that the whole thing is some kind of sick joke or something.

Check out this, for instance:

What the hell are we supposed to make of something like that? Is this some kind of feminist humour that’s going over my head? What is a “yes-human”?

Personally, I detect a mocking tone here, but maybe I’m reading too much into this.

If you check out the “PROJECTS” tab on The Yes Women website, you’ll also see a definite sympathy towards women who are seen as “bad mothers” or as criminals.

I suppose that The Yes Women could be a genuine attempt to help East German divorcees, but something seems very fishy to me here.

Is this really a real organization? What kind of budget were they operating with? Is it still active?

I suspect that this might be a fraudulent organization, but who knows, maybe I’m just insensitive to the plight of East German pensioners.

A week before his death, Graeber said that he was ‘Under the Weather’ but was starting to feel better.

On August 28, Graeber said in a YouTube video that he had been feeling “a little under the weather” but was beginning to feel better. The same day, Graeber tweeted that he had “not been in tip-top shape.”

If you watch the video, Graeber certainly appears to be in good health, speaking with the characteristic enthusiasm that so endeared him to his fans.

It’s worth noting that Graeber was also active on Twitter up until the day of his death.

No one has suggested that he died of suicide or of a drug overdose, and I think that we can rule out those possibilities.

For what it’s worth, I’ll mention that Graeber, who was an unabashed technophile, had previously expressed his desire to “live forever” on multiple occasions. That’s kind of the opposite of suicidal, isn’t it?

Also, I’ve never seen anyone suggesting that Graeber was a drug user, making an unintentional drug overdose an unlikely scenario.

So how did David Graeber die? Well, we may never know, but what we do is that the explanations that have been offered so far are entirely inadequate.

"The simplest explanation is usually the best one."

According to Occam’s razor, the simplest explanation is usually the best one.

Graeber died suddenly and unexpectedly. No plausible explanation has yet been offered to explain his death.

The most probable cause is murder by poisoning. And who is the prime suspect in cases of poisoning?

Well, whoever had access to the food and drink they were consuming, obviously.

If the poisoning occurred in a hospital, one might suspect a nurse or doctor, but in most cases, the prime suspect would be an intimate of the victim. If that intimate happens to be the victim’s heir, they would be doubly suspect.

You don’t have to be a detective to figure this out.

Am I saying that Nika Dubrovsky definitely murdered David Graeber?

No, I am not. I don’t know how David Graeber died, but I suspect that he was killed. Perhaps his wife killed him, or perhaps he was killed by someone else.

In any case, he’s dead, and I plan to explore his life’s work in great detail in the coming months and years.

If new information comes to light, I may write more about David Graeber’s death at some point, but I don’t plan to obsess over how he died. Maybe the truth will come to light, but it might not.

I hope that someone better-qualified than myself does a thorough investigation at some point. I feel that all I can really do is raise the issue.

What’s more important to me is the legacy he left behind, and that is what I intend to delve into in the coming months.

I hope that you liked this piece. As always, your comments are welcome and appreciated.

If you have any particularly relevant information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. I can be reached at thecrowisamessenger@riseup.net.

Love & Solidarity,

Crow Qu’appelle