>this sort of solution to the problem would never be instituted in our society. Precisely because it exposes flaws in our concept of the relation between debt a

>this sort of solution to the problem would never be instituted in our society. Precisely because it exposes flaws in our concept of the relation between debt and slavery. Exactly. We have decided that you can't be placed into involuntary servitude without criminal charges being brought against you, due process, etc... I think this is a good thing. Personal bankruptcy is an essential check on "freedom of contract" I think. Sort of how you aren't allowed to sign yourself into slavery. Aside from giving someone who really screwed up a second chance, personal bankruptcy places some of the risk of a poorly considered loan on the creditor, which is fair, I think. That said, we do need to be careful that corporate bankruptcy doesn't protect decision makers from criminal liability for their own actions. There are certainly some problems with the current implementation, but bankruptcy was never intended to protect you from criminal acts, fraud or otherwise. But personal bankruptcy is essential, as you imply, because most of us feel that indentured servitude is enough like slavery that we don't want it in our society.