> ...much of it is his struggle to even define what it means

Exactly. Like many of us, Graeber writes to understand.

His stated purpose is abundantly clear. Many, many people were sharing with Graeber complaints of a similar theme. So he tried to name and describe it.

Rightly, wrongly, or otherwise, it's all in the book. For other people to pick apart and response to.

How else is scholarship supposed to function?

Would Graeber have been more effective as an op ed columnist, churning out saccharine blather which confirms everyone's priors? eg The World is Flat and Bobos in Paradise?