Say I produce furniture. I borrow from you. I now have debt. I sell furniture. Now I can pay you back some part of it (up to 100%). You (and other parties) s

Say I produce furniture. I borrow from you. I now have debt. I sell furniture. Now I can pay you back some part of it (up to 100%). You (and other parties) see that I'm quite good at what I do and my products sells. I now can borrow from you and other parties again to produce more (and possibly diversify my business). I sell more, I open new businesses etc. I pay you and other parties back. And borrow again. I can and will have debt (and it will grow over time) because this is what allows me and my business to grow. I can borrow and be in debt till the day I die. This basic concept is too foreign for people for whom "debt" is just a sum of money they borrowed from their friend and somehow now feel ashamed.