This is just a hypothetical for each person to ponder on his own:
Imagine if worldwide the people of Earth were to wipe the economic slate clean? Everyone's savings would be transformed to $0. Everyone's debts would be transformed to $0. Lives ruined, lives restored. Imagine if we just agreed to say, "Look, let's start the Money Game all over again."
(a) What forces would be necessary to make this happen?
(b) What forces would be necessary to prevent this from happening?
(c) Which of these has the power-struggle advantage in today's world?
(d) Would it really solve anything to do this? or would we just wind right back up where we started from?
The reason I bring this up is because I was thinking to myself, "What happens when the entire planet owes itself money it cannot hope to repay?" e.g. America owes China, China owes X, X owes Y, Y owes Z, Z owes America, (endless loop). I'm reminded of the old saying that you can't squeeze water out of a rock: you can't get your money back if the guy you lent it to is dead, incapacitated, or otherwise incapable of getting it back for you. It's gone. Forever. Period. It doesn't matter that you got hosed. Ze money iz goooone. And so what happens when ...
- Europe receives loans from America
- America receives loans from China
- China receives loans from (I dunno)
And you just keep on doing this? Only one of two things can be true. Either the money trail is cyclical (and we'll wind right back up at the country we chose to start with) or else the money trail ends with some guy who (according to paper) basically owns the entire world.
Is it ethical, then, for the entire world to default on this hypothetical man? To tell him, "Fuck off, we're not going to pay you what we owe you after all"? Is it unethical? Is it the best option the world has?
Imagine if worldwide the people of Earth were to wipe the economic slate clean? Everyone's savings would be transformed to $0. Everyone's debts would be transformed to $0. Lives ruined, lives restored. Imagine if we just agreed to say, "Look, let's start the Money Game all over again."
(a) What forces would be necessary to make this happen?
(b) What forces would be necessary to prevent this from happening?
(c) Which of these has the power-struggle advantage in today's world?
(d) Would it really solve anything to do this? or would we just wind right back up where we started from?
The reason I bring this up is because I was thinking to myself, "What happens when the entire planet owes itself money it cannot hope to repay?" e.g. America owes China, China owes X, X owes Y, Y owes Z, Z owes America, (endless loop). I'm reminded of the old saying that you can't squeeze water out of a rock: you can't get your money back if the guy you lent it to is dead, incapacitated, or otherwise incapable of getting it back for you. It's gone. Forever. Period. It doesn't matter that you got hosed. Ze money iz goooone. And so what happens when ...
- Europe receives loans from America
- America receives loans from China
- China receives loans from (I dunno)
And you just keep on doing this? Only one of two things can be true. Either the money trail is cyclical (and we'll wind right back up at the country we chose to start with) or else the money trail ends with some guy who (according to paper) basically owns the entire world.
Is it ethical, then, for the entire world to default on this hypothetical man? To tell him, "Fuck off, we're not going to pay you what we owe you after all"? Is it unethical? Is it the best option the world has?
