Support Ukraine through donations here

Shopping Cart

Your cart is empty

Continue Shopping
Home/Economics & Business/The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bureaucracy

David Graeber

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

€23,95

From the author of the international bestseller "Debt: The First 5,000 Years" comes a revelatory account of the way bureaucracy rules our lives

Where does the desire for endless rules, regulations, and bureaucracy come from? How did we come to spend so much of our time filling out forms? And is it really a cipher for state violence?

To answer these questions, the anthropologist David Graeber one of our most important and provocative thinkers traces the peculiar and unexpected ways we relate to bureaucracy today, and reveals how it shapes our lives in ways we may not even notice though he also suggests that there may be something perversely appealing even romantic about bureaucracy." "

Leaping from the ascendance of right-wing economics to the hidden meanings behind Sherlock Holmes and Batman, "The Utopia of Rules" is at once a powerful work of social theory in the tradition of Foucault and Marx, and an entertaining reckoning with popular culture that calls to mind Slavoj Zizek at his most accessible.

An essential book for our times, "The Utopia of Rules"is sure to start a million conversations about the institutions that rule over us and the better, freer world we should, perhaps, begin to imagine for ourselves."

Format: Paperback
Published: in USA in 2016
Publisher: Melville House Pub
Pages: 261
Language: English
ISBN 13: 9781612195186
ISBN 10: 1612195180
Edition: Reprint

Shipping & Delivery

Please allow us 24-48 hours to prepare your order. Once your order is ready to be dispatched, we will send it via Deutsche Post DHL which quotes the following delivery times:


Within Germany: 3-5 working days
Within Europe: 7-10 working days

We currently only ship to countries in Europe and the United Kingdom. If you have a request for shipping to another area of the world, please contact us at shakespeareandsons@gmail.com.

Refunds & Returns

At Shakespeare & Sons you can shop with confidence. We are happy to provide a refund or voucher of equal value where the goods are returned within 21 days of purchase unused, in original condition, accompanied by proof of purchase.

To return an online order within the refund policy period, please contact us and we will then give you instructions on how best to return your order so we can process your refund.

To return an in store purchase, please bring the purchased item and proof of receipt into the store, within 21 days of purchase.

Please note we do not offer discretionary exchange or refunds on Gift Vouchers, Sale Items, or damaged products. 

Gift Wrap & Cards

Shakespeare & Sons offer gift wrapping and greeting cards. To have your items gift wrapped, head to our Gift Wrap collection, choose the paper you prefer and add it to your cart. We will wrap the items for you and send them to the address you have submitted or have it ready in store for you to collect (depending on what option you select at check out).

Check out our Greeting Card collection here. If you would like us to include a message in your selected card, forward your purchase confirmation onto shakespeareandsons@gmail.com with some words and we will add these in for you. 

We're here to help

Can't find what you're looking for?

If the book you're after is not displayed on our website or is 'sold out' please feel free to contact us at shakesandsonsberlin@gmail.com or come into the store and we can let you know the cost of ordering it and expected arrival time.

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

€23,95