9/17/14 - Tommaso Angelini

David Graeber's Debt presented a whole new side to the idea of debt. A side which I had scarcely thought about ever since I understood what the concept of debt is. However, what Graeber says that I found quite interesting and significantly accurate, is the fact that debt is incredibly misunderstood. He divides debt into two different cases: moral debt and economic debt. Economic debt is the type of debt that "most" people have a solid grasp of. For example, if I were to borrow 100 dollars from CitiBank I would then owe CitiBank 100 dollars plus interest. Interest is a percentage of the initial value of the money that I borrowed that I would have to pay back, on top of the money that I was lent, for every month (or every year depending on the loan) that I don't compensate CitiBank. The concept that is more difficult to understand is moral debt. Graeber goes into depth regarding how moral debt is ridiculously skewed as throughout history 3rd world countries have been plundered by major superpowers and used as refueling stations, military outposts, and strategic locations in wars, etc., These countries have had their resources plundered and their cities decimated, yet, for some reason they end up refinancing the "mother-countries"back. For example, in 1895 France usurped Queen Ranavalona III and colonized Madagascar. France then proceeded to build train tracks, military stations, bases, and other forms of infrastructure in order to mold Madagascar into a colony that would serve the purpose of enriching France and helping it claim a spot on the Indian Ocean. The people of Madagascar were then forced to pay taxes in order to allow these pieces of infrastructure to be built. And today, France still claims that Madagascar owes them money. After reading this piece I was given a new perspective regarding how the borrowers are treated on an international scale when it comes to countries borrowing from other countries, or being forced into submission to pay for things that they never wanted in the first place.