I must say that I find banker-conspiracy theories odd. In these theories, I get the impression of a cabal of bankers that is trying to take over the world by manipulating the world's currencies or something like that. How that would work I've never been able to find out.
Many banker-conspiracy theorists mention specifically that it's Jewish bankers that are doing the conspiring, as if there is something especially villainous about Jews in general. Unfortunately, this anti-Semitism often obscures the general issue of banker conspiracies.
That aside, there is a potentially real issue behind banker conspiracies. Lending at interest, essentially charging for the use of one's money. That tends to transfer money from debtors to creditors. This is what's behind economist Thomas Piketty's famous equation r > g -- the rate of return on investments is usually greater than the rate of growth of the economy, meaning that investors will, on average, gain money from the rest of the population. Investors are a kind of creditor, so that agrees with this analysis.
There are various solutions that have been tried, solutions like:
There are some charities that buy debt and then forgive it:
These Former Debt Collectors Decided to Ditch the Industry, Buy Up Medical Debt, and Forgive It by Araz Hachadourian — YES! Magazine
Rolling Jubilee
One would naturally expect banker conspiracy theories to be most popular on the Left, but such conspiracy theories are surprisingly popular on the Right. That side is usually the side that says that capitalism is absolutely great, so they have an uphill battle when they try to argue that lending money at interest is an illegitimate form of capitalism. Thus having a problem that the Left doesn't have.
Many banker-conspiracy theorists mention specifically that it's Jewish bankers that are doing the conspiring, as if there is something especially villainous about Jews in general. Unfortunately, this anti-Semitism often obscures the general issue of banker conspiracies.
That aside, there is a potentially real issue behind banker conspiracies. Lending at interest, essentially charging for the use of one's money. That tends to transfer money from debtors to creditors. This is what's behind economist Thomas Piketty's famous equation r > g -- the rate of return on investments is usually greater than the rate of growth of the economy, meaning that investors will, on average, gain money from the rest of the population. Investors are a kind of creditor, so that agrees with this analysis.
There are various solutions that have been tried, solutions like:
- Decreeing cancellations of debts -- that has been done in some early societies.
- Bankruptcy laws -- creditors won't be able to collect some of what they are owed.
- Restricting interest rates
- Printing lots of money -- the resulting inflation makes debts effectively shrink
There are some charities that buy debt and then forgive it:
These Former Debt Collectors Decided to Ditch the Industry, Buy Up Medical Debt, and Forgive It by Araz Hachadourian — YES! Magazine
Rolling Jubilee
One would naturally expect banker conspiracy theories to be most popular on the Left, but such conspiracy theories are surprisingly popular on the Right. That side is usually the side that says that capitalism is absolutely great, so they have an uphill battle when they try to argue that lending money at interest is an illegitimate form of capitalism. Thus having a problem that the Left doesn't have.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/1PaPQST
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