Description

From DeepSeek:

"In this comprehensive work, Michael Hudson synthesizes four decades of research from the ISLET colloquia to present a history of debt from its origins in the Bronze Age to its modern manifestations. The book's central thesis is that interest-bearing debt, while a catalyst for economic growth, inherently grows faster than the ability to pay it. If left unchecked, this dynamic leads to the concentration of wealth, the erosion of social liberty, and economic collapse. Hudson argues that the great civilizations of the Bronze Age understood this and successfully maintained social and economic stability for centuries through the regular practice of royal debt cancellations—"Clean Slates"—which are the historical antecedents of the biblical Jubilee Year .

Key Concepts and Arguments:

The Invention of Interest-Bearing Debt: The book traces the origins of interest-bearing debt to the palaces and temples of Bronze Age Mesopotamia (3500-1200 BC). These institutions advanced seeds, animals, and land to farmers, creating the first formal credit relationships. The research was conducted "in conjunction with Harvard's Peabody Museum" over 40 years .

The "Clean Slate" as an Economic Tool: Hudson documents dozens of royal edicts, from the Sumerian ruler Urukagina (2350 BC) proclaiming amar-gi (freedom from debt bondage) to the Babylonian mīšarum edicts. These were not acts of charity but pragmatic economic policies to restore the agricultural workforce, return land to its traditional cultivators, and maintain a viable tax base for the palace and military .

The Struggle Between Oligarchy and the Crown: A recurring theme is the conflict between the palace/temple (representing the public good) and a rising class of private creditors (oligarchy). When creditors gained power and prevented debt cancellations, they were able to concentrate land holdings, leading to a debt crisis, the collapse of central authority, and a "dark age" .

The Religious and Moral Legacy: The book traces how this Near Eastern tradition of debt amnesty was encoded in biblical law as the Jubilee Year (Leviticus 25). Hudson shows how this concept was later spiritualized in Christianity—the Lord's Prayer's "forgive us our debts" becoming "trespasses" or "sins" in translation—and ultimately abandoned in the modern world, which enforces the inviolability of contracts above all else."

Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption from Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year

Contents

Description

Contents

Part. I: OVERVIEW.

Part II: SOCIAL ORIGINS OF DEBT.

Part III: THE BRONZE AGE INVENTS USURY, BUT COUNTERS ITS ADVERSE EFFECTS.

Part IV: THE BIBLICAL LEGACY.

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