Graeber - Debt: The First 5,000 Years

"One has to pay one's debts." What a strangely complex concept. It is not so simply as it seems. The questions about justice raised by this simple phrase are far reaching. When we are forced to consider situations like the one in Madagascar, for example, the question becomes much more complicated. Should countries with no feasible way to repay their debts (debts which they don't deserve in the first place), should they have to? Some people may believe that it is as simple as that: One has gotten into a situation where they have accrued debts, so thus "one has to pay one's debts." However, this crosses over into the territory of morality and justice, similar to points raised in Sandel's article. It is not simply black and white. On one hand, it is difficult for government to develop a moral position on an issue because when it comes down to it, government should be as objective as possible when it comes to deciding what is right for people. On the other hand, most people know in their gut when something is morally wrong and many of them are outraged to see nothing done about such things. With situations like Haiti and Madagascar, it is fair to say that the average person would probably agree that those countries don't deserve the hand they've been dealt. But what can truly be done? That is a question that I'm not sure I have the answer to. In fact, due to the subjective nature of the issue, I'm not sure that anyone does.