The Philosophy of Debt Alexander DOUGLAS, Abingdon: Routledge, 2016. 164 pp

Louis Larue ()
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Louis Larue: UNIVERSITE CATHOLIQUE DE LOUVAIN, Hoover Chair of economic and Social Ethics

No 2017017, LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES from Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES)

Abstract: In "The Philosophy of Debt", Alexander Douglas claims that we collectively have a duty to sustain the institution of debt. I discuss this claim on two grounds. First, I argue that one would need a more thorough examination of the sorts of goods the institution of debt is supposed to sustain. Not all debts are beneficial, and not all forms of production are desirable. Second, I contend that individual agents may not always be able to go into debt. It is not at all clear, therefore, that they have a duty to promote and sustain this institution.

Keywords: Debt; Economic Ethics; History of Economic Thought; Economic History (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B5 E5 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 4
Date: 2017-10-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme, nep-hpe and nep-mac
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctl:louvir:2017017

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