I have just finished David Graeber’s Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia, the fourth of his books I have read so far. It was a nice read, though the English was a bit challenging for me.

This book feels like a companion to The Dawn of Everything. It looks at how pirate communities and Malagasy societies, particularly the Betsimisaraka confederation, developed distinctive forms of governance in the early 18th century. Instead of monarchies or centralized states, these societies tried out egalitarian and participatory structures that in some ways anticipated ideas later linked to the European Enlightenment.

On pirate ships, captains were chosen by the crew, decisions were made collectively, and there were checks on power. When pirates settled in Madagascar, these practices blended with local traditions, including attitudes toward sexual freedom and the role of women. The Betsimisaraka confederation reflected this mix. Leadership was not imposed from above but shaped through open debate and negotiation. It was called Libertalia years later.

A key part of Malagasy political life was the kabary, a tradition of extended public discussion where issues were talked through until agreement was reached. Graeber shows how this resembled the councils on pirate vessels, creating a shared culture of dialogue and collective decision-making. He suggests that these experiments were early forms of democracy, challenging the idea that such principles were born only in Europe. Stories of pirate societies traveled back to Europe, feeding into Enlightenment debates about freedom, equality, and governance. In this way, Madagascar becomes part of a wider history of political experimentation, not just a marginal case.

Graeber’s book is sometimes detailed, sometimes not so much, sometimes too complex weaving together anthropology, history, and political theory in about 150 pages. It’s a short book compared with The Dawn of Everything, and it brings a different perspective on where democratic ideas came from and how they were lived outside Europe.