NI 464 - July, 2013

Debt - a global scam

A note from the editor

Another day older and deeper in debt

I know it makes some people tremendously uncomfortable, but I can’t say it has bothered me much. Often, contrarily, it makes me feel appreciated, gives me a warm glow.

I’m talking about being socially indebted, being on the receiving end of acts of kindness from friends or strangers. Funnily enough, the overriding feelings I get are of being valued and connected, rather than any immediate obligation to repay. I believe these things even out in the end anyway and if it costs me little to help, then I certainly don’t keep score! The reward of helping out is in the doing.

My feelings about my mortgage debt are, sadly, entirely different – not only will the wretched thing haunt me until I am old and grey, it has turned me old and grey already. Such contractual, monetized debts are of a different order, of course; there is no trace of the social about them. And they can hang heavy indeed, especially when one feels tricked or forced into having taken on something unmanageable.

Fifteen years ago, a New Internationalist edition on debt would have been almost entirely on ‘Third World’ debt. Today, debt of all kinds is much more global, but it can be just as extractive and unjust. That still needs to change.

We also carry a report this month on the plight of the Kashmiri Pandit minority, many of whom were driven from their homes when the conflict in the region first began to escalate. In India, rightwingers exploit their example to spout anti-Muslim hatred, while progressive media often remain uneasily silent.

A warm welcome to Eduardo Galeano, the treasured Uruguayan author, whose books have permanent residence in our library. He answers our questions with his usual wit and concision – and, I for one, will greedily devour his views, even on football.

Dinyar Godrej for the New Internationalist co-operative.
www.newint.org

The big story

Besieged: police cordon off the HQ of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, Germany, during the anti-capitalist ‘Blockupy’ demonstrations this June.

Ralph Orlowski/Reuters

NI 464 - July, 2013

Debt - a global scam

A note from the editor

Another day older and deeper in debt

The big story

The standard response to the current financial crisis has been to punish the presumed debtors. Are the creditors blameless, then? asks Dinyar Godrej.

Features

Vulture funds buy up ‘bad’ debt owed by countries in distress and aggressively sue for full payment, plus compound interest.

At any given time countries both owe debts and have them owing to them. Who owes what and what's the bigger crisis – foreign or domestic debt.

The austerity prescription fattens the creditors and punishes the innocent. Susan George laments a leadership subservient to the desires of finance.

Debt is used to break nations. But resistance is fertile – and the North could learn a few lessons from the South, argues Nick Dearden.

Fired up? Here’s were to get more info and tool up to fight the global debt scam.

Sofi Lundin reports on the story of the Kashmiri Pandits, a minority group driven from their homes in the beautiful but strife-torn Kashmir Valley.

Blogs

Chris Lunch believes we are only just scratching the surface of video technology’s potential.

Opinion

Teachers Stephanie Schneider and Matt Christison go head-to-head.

New agreements that enhance corporate power are bad news, writes Mark Engler.

Chris Coltrane imagines a world where everyone is equal.

Agenda

As the British parliament debates the damage they cause in churches, Dawn Starin argues that it’s time to revise the ‘creepy’ animal’s reputation – before it’s too late.

Regulars

The co-founder of an eco-village is creating the future he wants to see, as Rin Simpson discovers.

He talks to Vanessa Baird about dreams, football, justice – and the legs of his very first teacher.

Botswana’s tradition of community meetings could invigorate democracy, says Wame Molefhe – if done right.

Armenia, land grabs, maximum wage, West Papua, party pooping, bickering and the ‘Global South.’

Film, Book & Music Reviews

Documentary film is taking its rightful place on commercial screens beside the usual fictional offerings. Richard Swift views some of this year’s entrants at the Toronto Hotdocs festival.

Droit dans la Gueule du Loup and Stand Up People: Gypsy Pop Songs from Tito’s Yugoslavia.

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