For anyone currently in debt, a world without debt probably sounds like a great solution. Some debts - like those between friends or family members - can easily be written off, or at least delayed. But what about debts from financial institutions or between governments? They may be a little more difficult to simply wipe the slate clean.
Is that even a position we want to be in? The whole concept of money is built around a model of debt. A world without debt would require a really drastic change, both economically and morally. It could spell financial ruin for smaller countries and would dramatically impact our everyday lives.
In our infographic we investigate the history of debt, the current position in the world and answer the question: could we ever have a world without debt?
Infographic Sources:
1. Abbas, S.A., et al. (2011). Historical Patterns and Dynamics of Public Debt - Evidence From a New Database. International Monetary Fund.
2. Die Zeit. (2015). Thomas Piketty: ‘Germany Has Never Repaid its Debts. It Has No Right to Lecture Greece’. The Wire.
3. The Economist. (2015). Public debt: How much is too much?
4. The Economist. (2015). The debt trap.
5. Graeber, D. (2015). Promises, Promises: A History of Debt [Radio]. BBC Radio.
6. Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Translated from French by A. Goldhammer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7. Santiago, J. (2015). The 20 countries with the greatest public debt. World Economic Forum.
8. Stewart, H. (2015). Beyond Greece, the world is filled with debt crises. The Guardian.
9. Stiglitz, J.E. (2015). A Greek morality tale: why we need a global debt restructuring framework. The Guardian.
10. Walker, P. (2009). Back to 1694: Britain at the birth of the Bank of England. The Guardian.
1. Abbas, S.A., et al. (2011). Historical Patterns and Dynamics of Public Debt - Evidence From a New Database. International Monetary Fund.
2. Die Zeit. (2015). Thomas Piketty: ‘Germany Has Never Repaid its Debts. It Has No Right to Lecture Greece’. The Wire.
3. The Economist. (2015). Public debt: How much is too much?
4. The Economist. (2015). The debt trap.
5. Graeber, D. (2015). Promises, Promises: A History of Debt [Radio]. BBC Radio.
6. Piketty, T. (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Translated from French by A. Goldhammer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
7. Santiago, J. (2015). The 20 countries with the greatest public debt. World Economic Forum.
8. Stewart, H. (2015). Beyond Greece, the world is filled with debt crises. The Guardian.
9. Stiglitz, J.E. (2015). A Greek morality tale: why we need a global debt restructuring framework. The Guardian.
10. Walker, P. (2009). Back to 1694: Britain at the birth of the Bank of England. The Guardian.
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