Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization
The purpose and hypothesis of this paper is to show that the rise of money (debts) is the spur of economic growth, but it is also the cause of underdevelopment and, furthermore, the collapse of global civilization. The methodology is based on a critical reading of the most relevant and heterodox eco...
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| Format: | Online |
| Language: | spa |
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Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia
2023
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| Online Access: | https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/cenes/article/view/15883 |
| _version_ | 1801705971300433920 |
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| author | Cante, Freddy Franco-Cuervo, Ana Beatriz |
| author_facet | Cante, Freddy Franco-Cuervo, Ana Beatriz |
| author_sort | Cante, Freddy |
| collection | OJS |
| description | The purpose and hypothesis of this paper is to show that the rise of money (debts) is the spur of economic growth, but it is also the cause of underdevelopment and, furthermore, the collapse of global civilization. The methodology is based on a critical reading of the most relevant and heterodox economic literature, in order to clarify the concepts of monetary debt, real wealth, growth and also the collapse that past civilizations have experienced and which is now a global risk; this is complemented by some historical evidence, and by relevant statistical data, particularly on debt. The argument is not limited to a positive approach (how things are), but transcends towards a normative vision (how the world should be), for which ethical discussions are recurrently incorporated. Findings: first: money is imaginary wealth, which implies the creation of debts (which increase exponentially with the compound interest rate), which goes against real wealth, which is degraded and destroyed, due to entropic processes (accelerated by economic growth, in turn spurred by debts); second: underdevelopment is a creation (of dominant countries and institutions), to keep third world countries as importers of capital, and exporters of raw materials and mining-energy resources (to pay onerous public debts and imports); third: neoliberalism has been consolidated as a strong defense of the creators of various forms of money, which has been imposed from the Washington Consensus to that of Wall Street; and, fourth: due to the prolonged interaction between borrowers and lenders, a gigantic discount of the future has been produced, which translates into colossal destruction of future life (global warming and global collapse of civilization). Regarding the implications, for the purposes of heterodox economic policy, powerful arguments are offered to insist on non-payment of debts, because the bankruptcy and radical transformation of the financial system is a condition, sine qua non, to save life on the planet.
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| format | Online |
| id | oai:oai.revistas.uptc.edu.co:article-15883 |
| institution | Revista Apuntes del Cenes |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publisher | Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | oai:oai.revistas.uptc.edu.co:article-158832024-03-20T22:32:43Z Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization Apogeo de la deuda y decrecimiento económico: el colapso de la civilización Cante, Freddy Franco-Cuervo, Ana Beatriz neoliberalism economic development sovereign debt fossil fuels neoliberalismo desarrollo económico deuda soberana combustibles fósiles The purpose and hypothesis of this paper is to show that the rise of money (debts) is the spur of economic growth, but it is also the cause of underdevelopment and, furthermore, the collapse of global civilization. The methodology is based on a critical reading of the most relevant and heterodox economic literature, in order to clarify the concepts of monetary debt, real wealth, growth and also the collapse that past civilizations have experienced and which is now a global risk; this is complemented by some historical evidence, and by relevant statistical data, particularly on debt. The argument is not limited to a positive approach (how things are), but transcends towards a normative vision (how the world should be), for which ethical discussions are recurrently incorporated. Findings: first: money is imaginary wealth, which implies the creation of debts (which increase exponentially with the compound interest rate), which goes against real wealth, which is degraded and destroyed, due to entropic processes (accelerated by economic growth, in turn spurred by debts); second: underdevelopment is a creation (of dominant countries and institutions), to keep third world countries as importers of capital, and exporters of raw materials and mining-energy resources (to pay onerous public debts and imports); third: neoliberalism has been consolidated as a strong defense of the creators of various forms of money, which has been imposed from the Washington Consensus to that of Wall Street; and, fourth: due to the prolonged interaction between borrowers and lenders, a gigantic discount of the future has been produced, which translates into colossal destruction of future life (global warming and global collapse of civilization). Regarding the implications, for the purposes of heterodox economic policy, powerful arguments are offered to insist on non-payment of debts, because the bankruptcy and radical transformation of the financial system is a condition, sine qua non, to save life on the planet. El propósito y la hipótesis de este artículo de reflexión es mostrar que el auge del dinero (deudas) es el acicate del crecimiento económico, pero también es causa del subdesarrollo y, además, del colapso de la civilización global. La metodología empleada se basa en una lectura crítica de la literatura económica más relevante y heterodoxa, con el fin de esclarecer los conceptos de deuda monetaria, riqueza real, crecimiento y también del colapso que han vivido pretéritas civilizaciones y que ahora es un riesgo global; esto se complementa con alguna evidencia histórica y con datos estadísticos relevantes, en particular sobre la deuda. La argumentación no se limita a un enfoque positivo (cómo son las cosas), sino que trasciende hacia una visión normativa (cómo debería ser el mundo), por lo cual se incorporan recurrentemente discusiones éticas. Hallazgos: primero: el dinero es una riqueza imaginaria, que implica la creación de deudas, que se incrementan exponencialmente con la tasa de interés compuesto, lo que va en contravía de la riqueza real, la cual se degrada y se destruye, debido a los procesos entrópicos (acelerados por el crecimiento económico, a su vez incentivado por las deudas); segundo: el subdesarrollo es una creación de países e instituciones dominantes, para mantener a los países tercermundistas como importadores de capital y exportadores de materias primas y recursos minero-energéticos (para pagar las onerosas deudas públicas e importaciones); tercero: el neoliberalismo se ha consolidado como una férrea defensa de los creadores de diversas formas de dinero, que se ha impuesto desde el Consenso de Washington hasta el de Wall Street; y, cuarto: debido a la prolongada interacción entre deudores y prestamistas se ha generado un gigantesco descuento del futuro, que se traduce en colosal destrucción de la vida futura (calentamiento planetario y colapso global de la civilización). En cuanto a las implicaciones, a efectos de política económica heterodoxa, se ofrecen potentes argumentos para insistir en el no pago de las deudas, porque la quiebra y radical transformación del sistema financiero es una condición, sine qua non, para salvar la vida en el planeta. Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia 2023-08-04 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Peer reviewed Article application/pdf text/xml https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/cenes/article/view/15883 10.19053/01203053.v42.n76.2023.15883 Apuntes del Cenes; Vol. 42 No. 76 (2023); 45-70 Apuntes del Cenes; Vol. 42 Núm. 76 (2023); 45-70 2256-5779 0120-3053 spa https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/cenes/article/view/15883/13467 https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/cenes/article/view/15883/13869 Copyright (c) 2023 Freddy Cante, Ana Beatriz Franco-Cuervo http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | neoliberalism economic development sovereign debt fossil fuels neoliberalismo desarrollo económico deuda soberana combustibles fósiles Cante, Freddy Franco-Cuervo, Ana Beatriz Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization |
| title | Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization |
| title_alt | Apogeo de la deuda y decrecimiento económico: el colapso de la civilización |
| title_full | Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization |
| title_fullStr | Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization |
| title_full_unstemmed | Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization |
| title_short | Debt Heyday and Economic Degrowth: The Collapse of Civilization |
| title_sort | debt heyday and economic degrowth the collapse of civilization |
| topic | neoliberalism economic development sovereign debt fossil fuels neoliberalismo desarrollo económico deuda soberana combustibles fósiles |
| topic_facet | neoliberalism economic development sovereign debt fossil fuels neoliberalismo desarrollo económico deuda soberana combustibles fósiles |
| url | https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/cenes/article/view/15883 |
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