Debt Resisters’ Operations Manual

by Strike Debt (Editor), George Caffentzis, David Graeber

For debtors everywhere who want to understand how the system really works, this handbook provides practical tools for fighting debt in its most exploitative forms. Over the last 30 years as wages have stagnated across the country, average household debt has more than doubled. Increasingly, people are forced to take on debt to meet their needs; from housing to education and medical care. The results—wrecked lives, devastated communities, and an increasing reliance on credit to maintain basic living standards—reveal an economic system that enriches the few at the expense of the many. Detailed strategies, resources, and insider tips for dealing with some of the most common kinds of debt are covered in this manual, including credit card debt, medical debt, student debt, and housing debt. It also contains tactics for navigating the pitfalls of personal bankruptcy, as well as information on how to be protected from credit reporting agencies, debt collectors, payday lenders, check-cashing outlets, rent-to-own stores, and more. Additional chapters cover tax debt, sovereign debt, the relationship between debt and climate, and an expanded vision for a movement of mass debt resistance.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics, Finance

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2012

Reviews

[Stephie Jane Rexroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read. I've spent years isolated in shame because of debt. Outrage is an understatement.

Download for free at: http://strikedebt.org/#initiatives

"The chapters of this manual highlight various forms of debt injustice. Hopefully reading them has made you angry. Debt can be isolating and demoralizing. The most common emotion associated with debt is shame. We hope to transform that shame into outrage—and that outrage into action.

In writing this manual we’ve struggled to balance advice that you, the reader, can use to survive under this debt regime with a structural analysis of the system that put you in debt. The reason you have tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt or medical bills that you cannot pay is because we live in a society that refuses to make education and health care accessible and free to all. You didn’t make some horrible mistake to get into the situation you are in. You are not a failure, and millions of people are in similarly dire straits. To again quote one of Strike Debt’s early slogans: You are not alone/You are not a loan.
...
We should be clear: we are not against all debt nor are we against credit. Rather, we call for new, fair arrangements that help us exceed the boundaries of the present (as credit does) without burdening the future in chains of compound interest."

[kz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was a great introduction into how leftist think about debt and ways we can get through some debt situations we find ourselves in. Up until the last 3 or so chapters, as the municipal and state debt, national debt, and climate debt don’t relate very much to the more individualized debts in the earlier chapters, as they’re already collective debts that need to be worked on together. I would’ve liked to see them talk more about the El Barzón movement in Mexico, or the vivir bien idea they touched on for like a paragraph. Or more about the 1992 formation of the UNFCCC. Or the problems with microfinancing in India and Bangladesh, which if anybody know some further readings on that, I’d be interested as I had a feeling that Muhammad Yunus was leaving out something in his books that I’ve read. I know they were trying to keep it short and light but i know I would’ve enjoyed it.

A cool part about the earlier chapters is that though the debts are more individualistic in nature, Strike Debt explained some collaborative collectivist actions that could be taken. I’d recommend this book to anybody dealing with medical, student, credit card, or payday loan debts.

[Joeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book clearly demonstrates how we collectively live in a debtocracy: entire nations, but also individual lifes are predominantly governed by debt. The manual especially shows how glaring this is in the US and how devastating the impact is on people (especially because of medical and student debts). The book offers advice on how to resist different types of debt. It's main focus is debt in the US, which makes alot of passages not very relevant for readers in other countries, but on the other hand, because many countries - especially in the EU - follow America's model, we should feel warned when we read on how lifes of people are destroyed by debt and how debt also further deepens the gap between the rich and the poor on a collective but also individual level.

The book saddens reading all the examples of how debt induces suffering, but it more importantly inspires in the way it gives practical advice on resisting debt.

[Raleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is absolutely solid. Must read for anyone who lives in the stolen land that some call the United States

[John Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This brief book begins and ends with flawed assertions: that defaulting on contracts is not a moral issue, and that the writers and their subscribers owe "the establishment" nothing. Sandwich between are the tired, worn out claims of victimhood. Then there is the vilification of entire segments of society, business, and government without any consideration for the regular people who work within them who do not deserve such indictments. To its credit, the book does point out the pitfalls of entering into agreements with financial services, alternative and mainstream alike. It also give us clear, instructive suggestions regarding navigating the financial landscape.

[Blue Inessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well researched and supported exposé on the American debt crisis. I think the fact that Americans have been sold the idea that they are alone and should be ashamed of the debt they have accumulated is just disastrous. We have high cost of living and low wages, we have predatory lenders, and pitfalls at every corner. We should recognize the systematic nature of this oppression and resist together.

I found out about this book from debtcollective.org where you can draft letters to force collectors to provide their legal due diligence when it comes to the paperwork they are required to keep. I am going to be taking these types of action myself and teaching my friends how to do so as well.

[Samrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interestingly practical in a schematic way. I didn't anticipate the inclusion of municipal, national, and climate debt, but they contribute to the book's understandings of taxation as a debt-adjacent process and of debt as including moral discourses that are selectively deployed for some subcategories of debt.

[Kevin Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best overview's of Americas debt landscape I've ever read.

[Mark Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

With tips on law breaking, including tax evasion, (use extreme caution to avoid getting caught) and providing advice to “use your best judgement” choosing what to eat when dumpster diving, this book thoroughly walks you through all varieties of debt from the anti-capitalist "occupy" point of view. The authors believe repayment of debt is not necessary because "we're not paid enough in the first place." They contend "most people have no choice but to accrue debt simply to survive." This contention, of course, ignores the lower standard of living most humans in history have experienced prior to our current age, as well as conditions in other countries today. I happen to agree with their critique of predatory lending practices and the disturbing trend toward greater and greater wealth inequality; still they go too far. But I'm glad I have given them a hearing.

[Derek Neuland · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has some good info on how debt works, but they also inter-spliced it with some Crimethinc 101 stuff that was kind of out of place.

[Cerese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very handy. Saved me so much time and research. Great resource!

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are able to glance over the occasional SJW police "oppression" one-liner, the book offers detailed insights into various debt schemes and shows how badly misaligned their incentives are with how the US (and, partly, the EU's) politics work today.

Irrespective of what your stance is, regarding the effectiveness and required extent of goverment regulation of the economy, or whether you believe essential services should be private or public, the examples given in the manual show enough to conclude that a solution to the conflicts of interest is not available without exiting the confines of whatever mode of capitalism it is we have today.

The only major quarrel i have with this book is the poor sourcing - it is based mostly on news articles and activist websites, which in turn are equally poorly sourced.