[ClearCase_guy]

Belloc was a great thinker. He knew that we could not snap our fingers and make Interest disappear overnight. But he also saw that Interest was a concept that carried certain problems with it. My understanding is that the world today carries about $600T in debt because of derivatives and related instruments. That's wealth that has not really been earned, but it is wealth which is now owed. The situation is utterly unsustainable.

At some point, our civilization will have to think long and hard about economic truths. I believe that much of the 20th century has seen economics explored from a Marxist standpoint (look at Krugman. He's a Nobel prize winner). If the thinking is skewed from the outset, it makes it hard to see clearly where the discipline has gone wrong.

I think that as we move into the 21st century it will become more and more clear that we have gone wrong, and then we will have to really think about a better way to run the marketplace.

[donmeaker]

His example of a sum with compound interest resulting in an astronomical sum leaves out the taxes that would be collected on such a sum. And for each 1000$ lent at interest, there would be some number at which the lender was unable to be repaid.

[annalex]

wealth that has not really been earned, but it is wealth which is now owed

Exactly.