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Debt can also be simply written off. There is a long practice of mass debt relief called a jubilee: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_jubilee https://en.wiki
by pavlov 3y ago
Debt can also be simply written off.
There is a long practice of mass debt relief called a jubilee:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_jubilee https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debt_jubilee
In the Bible, references are made to a Hebrew jubilee every 49 years when “slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven, and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest.”
The permanence of debt is an illusion created by our current political and economical system.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> long practice of mass debt relief called a jubilee The concept has long heritage. In reality, very few actual debt forgivenesses are documented. Note, too, that in a Malthusian economy, debt has a tendency to be wealth transferring: the capital capacity of the system is limited. In a growing economy, that need not be the case. > permanence of debt is an illusion created by our current political and economical system We continuously poof debt. It’s called bankruptcy.
- pavlov 3y agoNot just bankruptcy, as there are other, less drastic kinds of write-offs that commonly occur.
- JumpCrisscross 3y agoYou’re right, I should have said restructuring. Jubilees are a crude predecessor to lawful restructuring.
- api 3y agoWe write off debt via two methods: bankruptcy and inflation. The latter effectively writes down the principal of all outstanding debt. If we hit hard limits to growth it might actually look like a boom for a while, a very inflationary one where number go up a lot. In reality a lot of debt is being vaporized and prices are going up.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago> latter effectively writes down the principal of all outstanding debt Emphasis on outstanding. The aggregate indebtedness doesn’t change with inflation; that’s only restructuring. (The new money is created with debt—loans create money.)