In addition to his academic work, Graeber has a history of both direct and indirect involvement in political activism, including membership in the labor union Industrial Workers of the World, a role in protests against the World Economic Forum in New York City in 2002, support for the 2010 UK student protests, and an early role in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Pored svog akademskog djelovanja Graeber se direktno i indirektno angažirao u političkom aktivizmu, uključujući i članstvo u sindikatu Industrial Workers of the World, sudjelovao je u prosvjedima protiv Svjetskog ekonomskog foruma u New Yorku godine 2002, a podržao je i prosvjed studenata i Velikoj Britaniji 2010., jedan je od osnivača Occupy Wall Street pokreta.