The moral principle involved here is not "debt = guilt"; but rather usury. We've been programmed to the believe that not repaying a debt is a moral failing. But that's only true when a friend loans another friend money at no interest. Once interest is charged, it's no longer a moral contract, it's a business contract. The rate of interest is based on the risk of loan default. If there were never any defaults, there would only be a single low interest rate. The fee taken in interest is payment for taking a risk. That's how investing works. When a creditor behaves as though all loans must always be repaid in every instance, he is not an investor. That's just organized crime. And the moral principle involved is called usury.
The moral principle involved here is not "debt = guilt"; but rather usury. We've been programmed to the believe that not repaying a debt is a moral failing. But that's only true when a friend loans another friend money at no interest. Once interest is charged, it's no longer a moral contract, it's a business contract. The rate of interest is based on the risk of loan default. If there were never any defaults, there would only be a single low interest rate. The fee taken in interest is payment for taking a risk. That's how investing works. When a creditor behaves as though all loans must always be repaid in every instance, he is not an investor. That's just organized crime. And the moral principle involved is called usury.
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