Episode 28 - Debt End

This episode is all about debt. Where does debt come from? Why is the concept of borrowing and lending mired in moral confusion and contradiction? What is the purpose of debt and who ultimately pays?

To get to the heart of all these questions, one hast to navigate through economic myth, blood and ultimately the human soul. Join us as we travel back through time and explore the systems that led to this tool that shapes our world for better and for worse.

Full Transcript Available

Subscribe now on: iTunes | Google Play | Stitcher | Soundcloud | RSS | or search "Ashes Ashes" on your favorite podcast app.

Chapters

  • 04:43 Consumer Foundation of Economy Driven by Debt
  • 07:46 Origin of Money
  • 13:00 War and the Need for Currency
  • 20:33 South Africa
  • 31:30 International Development
  • 35:20 Blood Runs in Rivers
  • 38:33 Violence and Economics
  • 42:44 Haitian Independence Debt
  • 51:23 Debt at the Individual Level
  • 53:24 Moral Contradiction: Who Has to Pay?
  • 59:16 Moral Contradiction: Industrious Poor
  • 1:00:51 Why Intererst?
  • 1:04:05 Going Forward
  • 1:07:27 Jubilee

Recommended Reading

Sources

@book{graeber_2014, place={Haryana, India}, title={Debt: the first 5000 years}, publisher={Penguin Books}, author={Graeber, David}, year={2014}}


@book{goldman1964comparative,
title={Comparative economic systems: a reader},
author={Goldman, M.I.},
lccn={64014898},
url={https://books.google.com/books?id=tPI9AAAAIAAJ},
year={1964},
publisher={Random House}
}


@misc{aclu_2018, title={A Pound of Flesh: The Criminalization of Private Debt}, url={https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/022118-debtreport.pdf}, journal={ACLU}, publisher={ACLU}, author={ACLU}, year={2018}, month={Feb}}


@misc{ap_2012, title={Hundreds Of Suicides In India Linked To Microfinance Organizations}, url={http://www.businessinsider.com/hundreds-of-suicides-in-india-linked-to-microfinance-organizations-2012-2}, journal={Business Insider}, publisher={Business Insider}, author={AP}, year={2012}, month={Feb}}


@misc{biswas_2010, title={India's micro-finance suicide epidemic}, url={http://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-11997571}, journal={BBC News}, publisher={BBC}, author={Biswas, Soutik}, year={2010}, month={Dec}}


@misc{bond_2004, title={South Africa's Frustrating Decade of Freedom: From Racial to Class Apartheid}, url={https://monthlyreview.org/2004/03/01/south-africas-frustrating-decade-of-freedom-from-racial-to-class-apartheid/}, journal={Monthly Review}, author={Bond, Patrick}, year={2004}, month={Mar}}


@book{budhoo_1990, place={New York}, title={Enough is enough: dear Mr. Camdessus-- open letter of resignation to the managing director of the International Monetary Fund}, publisher={Apex Press}, author={Budhoo, Davison L.}, year={1990}}


@misc{cannonlawmadeeasy_2014, title={What Does the Church Say About Usury?}, url={http://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2014/09/04/what-does-the-church-say-about-usury/}, journal={Canon Law Made Easy}, author={cannonlawmadeeasy}, year={2014}, month={Sep}}


@misc{de côrdoba_2004, title={Impoverished Haiti pins hopes for future on a very old debt}, url={https://web.archive.org/web/20101112093243/http://www.odiousdebts.org/odiousdebts/index.cfm?DSP=content&ContentID=9636}, journal={Wall Street Journal}, author={De Côrdoba, José}, year={2004}, month={Jan}}


@misc{ftc_2015, title={FTC Action Stops Scammers Who Collected Millions in Phantom Payday Loan Debts}, url={https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/09/ftc-action-stops-scammers-who-collected-millions-phantom-payday}, journal={Federal Trade Commission}, author={FTC}, year={2015}, month={Sep}}


@misc{inman_2018, title={Global growth too dependent on cheap borrowing – OECD}, url={https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/30/unemployment-to-drop-to-lowest-level-since-1980-says-oecd}, journal={The Guardian}, publisher={Guardian News and Media}, author={Inman, Phillip}, year={2018}, month={May}}


@book{klein_2008, place={Toronto}, title={The shock doctrine: the rise of disaster capitalism}, publisher={Vintage Canada}, author={Klein, Naomi}, year={2008}}


@book{perkins_2004, place={San Francisco}, title={Confessions of an economic hitman}, publisher={Berret-Koehler Publishers}, author={Perkins, John}, year={2004}}


@misc{sperling_2017, title={In 1825, Haiti Paid France $21 Billion To Preserve Its Independence -- Time For France To Pay It Back}, url={https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/12/06/in-1825-haiti-gained-independence-from-france-for-21-billion-its-time-for-france-to-pay-it-back/#33512ced312b}, journal={Forbes}, publisher={Forbes Magazine}, author={Sperling, Dan}, year={2017}, month={Dec}}


@misc{st. thomas_2016, title={Aquinas on Usury}, url={http://oll.libertyfund.org/pages/aquinas-on-usury}, journal={Online Library of Liberty}, author={St. Thomas}, year={2016}, month={Apr}}


@misc{werth_2018, title={Taxi Drivers In New York City Are Taking Their Own Lives Due To Debt}, url={https://jalopnik.com/taxis-drivers-in-new-york-city-are-taking-their-own-liv-1826369292}, journal={Jalopnik}, publisher={jalopnik.com}, author={Werth, Elizabeth}, year={2018}, month={May}}

Credits

Daniel Forkner & David Torcivia

Published