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[This is the last of a series of essays on debt, prompted by recent revelations about how the issue was handled in ancient Mesopotamia.]
According to Michael Hudson’s new book Forgive Us Our Debts, the efforts of the rising moneyed classes in the ancient world to stamp out the long standing tradition of periodic debt amnesties were awe-inspiring in their tenacity.
For example: the historical record has convinced Hudson that Jesus Christ’s core mission was to restore Clean Slate Amnesties, or Jubilee. In his very first sermon, at the age of 15, Jesus said;
“…the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the meek, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to set the spiritual prisoners free; to proclaim the year of God’s favor and the day of our God’s reckoning.”
All of which can be interpreted figuratively, to say God wants everybody to be happy, or literally: God wants all the debts cancelled.
Jesus taught his followers to pray, “forgive us our debts.” Only centuries later was the translation of the Lord’s Prayer changed to the more opaque, “forgive us our trespasses.” (Coincidence? Not hardly, says Hudson.) Forgiving debts was anathema to the Pharisees, and to the newly ascendant moneyed class snuggled into the Roman Empire, and as Jesus’s message gained traction, so did their desire to see him dead. Jesus did not die for our sins, says Hudson, he died for our debts. ”To understand the crucifixion of Jesus is to understand it was his punishment for his economic views,” says Hudson. “He was a threat to the creditors.”
The Old Testament gave Big Money some headaches, too. For example the commandment against coveting your neighbor’s wife, Hudson says, can be shown to have been not about forbidding adultery but about forbidding the common practice of lending money for the purpose of foreclosing on the borrower’s wife. There are many other references and stories in the Bible, says Hudson, that have been edited, truncated, re-translated, or otherwise redirected so that they no longer point toward debt forgiveness by the upper classes, but toward obedience of the lower classes leading to spiritual, not economic, well being.
The money lenders won, but not every battle, not in every era. The Greek Orthodox Church held on to regular debt cancellation for a few centuries. The Catholic Church in medieval Europe refused the sacraments, and Christian burial, to anyone who charged any interest on any loan. But such setbacks for the wealthy were few and relatively brief.
But the money lenders won, and it is firmly established in the communal mind of Western civilization that debts and the rights of creditors are sacred and eternal, as is the obligation of debtors to repay every penny borrowed. The larger obligations of the creditors to the civilization that nurtures them, well, those have been expunged from our consciousness.
But not from the record, as Dr. Hudson has found and reported:
”If you want to be like Jesus then you become political and you realize that this is the same fight that has been going on for thousands of years, across civilization – the attempt of society to cope with the fact that debts grow faster than the ability to pay.”
Michael Hudson’s work presents us with a stunning, mind-altering lesson about ancient history and about the capacity of human government for compassion or, if you prefer, enlightened self-interest. In writing about his work, to the extent I have been able to comprehend it, I am not advocating anything (and I don’t think he is either) other than a necessary re-examination of possibilities. Let me repeat what I said at the end of Part One:
A new discovery about the history of western civilization tells us that there is a road not recently traveled here, one that successfully dealt with the intractable problem of debt for many thousands of years. There’s no way it can save us from the crash already in progress, but it certainly is worth knowing about when we start over.
In the meantime, Brace for Impact.
Now anyone can negotiate with his creditors and get debt cancelled, at least partially. Of course, the forgiven debt is considered income by the IRS. Bummer.
re: the advocacy, or lack thereof, of Michael Hudson
Tom, Hudson is hardcore MMT proponent, and has been for a long, long time.
His writings on the history of debt, interest, and jubilees, is indeed “mindblowing,” but it is essentially, side work.
Money creation is Michael Hudson’s true area of expertise, as his prolific writings on the subject, and the extensive number of interviews, seminars, and international symposiums he either gives, grants, or attends, all attest.
It is necessary and important to understand the individual trees, as long as we don’t lose sight of the fact that money creation is the forest.
I’m concerned about Hudson’s interpretation of the 10th commandment. He seems to be getting the 7th and the 10th confused.
The 7th deals with adultery. From an economic standpoint the problem was not money, rather it was human resources. Strong men were the primary source of raw physical power among the tribal Hebrews, as with most ancient peoples. For every man killed in the heat of another’s jealousy, a widow and one or more orphans were created. Aging parents and minor siblings may have been affected as well. The dead man had not only been a worker, but a soldier as well. So dear was the man as a resource, that the law stipulated that the deceased’s brother was required to take on the widow as his wife and reproduce with her, lest she grow old without children to provide for her needs, and thus become an economic burden on the tribe as a whole. Even during the best of times the Hebrews lived pretty close to the bone, and everyone’s efforts were crucial to the survival of the clan.
The 10th commandment deals with the concept of covetousness – the desire or the actual taking of more than one needs to sustain one’s household. Again, economics played a part; material goods and natural resources were limited. Simmering resentments turned to acts of violence could ignite a vendetta cycle lasting years – if not generations! Enough such behavior could cause a tribal system to lose efficiency at best – collapse at worst.
Most of the Levitical laws deal with such basic economic matters as well. Down home shit – not the stuff of 21st century macroeconomic theory at all.
Oh, okay, now I understand. Thanks Mark. We are dealing with the expert testimony of another government apologist. There is no end to the bullshit they issue in the name of whatever pseudo science they propound. And, of course, this Hudson, being a true expert in the area of government “money creation”, feels qualified to extend his expertise into any related field whatsoever. Ordinary people can clearly see how well these folks are doing with their theories of easy money creation. Must have been a slow period on the lecture circuit.
I recall a definition of “expert” I heard years ago; a former drip, under pressure. Hudson appears to be an expert in expertise. He likely has his PHD— “piled higher and deeper”.
Darrell and Max: Snide ad hominem attacks are not wanted here. If your research into the history of the Akkadian Empire has led you to a different conclusion than Hudson’s, by all means share it with us. But please forgo the vague sarcasm.
“Ordinary people can clearly see how well these folks are doing with their theories of easy money creation.”
Yes we can. They are clearly not doing very well, because not one single person in power is listening to them now, or ever has in the past.
But even worse for completely marginalized folks like Michael Hudson, is ordinary people are not even making an desultory effort to grasp their simple message.
As for “easy money creation,” during the height of the crisis in this country in 2008, to give one example among many, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke pressed a button and wired $500 billion directly into the coffers of the European Central Bank.
Are you in favor of this? Because the Michael Hudson is diametrically opposed to this kind of money creation, and in fact considers this particular $500 billion dollar transfer, and many others like it, including the whole of the $14 trillion quantitative easing program, high crimes against the people of the United States.
Sorry Tom, and Darrel. I got the message too late.
I don’t think there was anything ad hominem on my part, and for sure I’m not feeling like I’m on the attack; MMT people are, after all, defending themselves against attacks from the most powerful people the world has ever known, from a position of total irrelevance.
But, as is my tendency, I might have let a little sarcasm drip in there, and for that I apologize.
Thanks, Max, we’re good to go….
I have always been a fan of Michael Hudson. It sounds as if he has been born again. Why invoke Christ to illustrate his thesis, sounds a little over the top! I think Nassim Tabel’s opinion of economics and economist is right on.
Jesus’ impact on economic thought was profound. I would argue he had a greater influence on economic history than any member of the Mr. Rushmore of modern economics: Adam Smith, Karl Marx, John Maynard Keynes, and Milton Friedman.
Note: It’s still too early to say for sure, but if current trends continue, then I think we can safely say, that the antithesis of Jesus (and all human goodness), Ayn Rand, will one day rank above them all.
Apparently you guys are way the hell above my pay grade when it comes to economic issues, but it’s worth noting that, shortly after the death of Jesus, Peter establishes what appears to be the first communist community – share and share alike – with the central authority being the strict interpretation of the doctrine of Jesus. It’s quite remarkable, check it out: Acts of the Apostles, chapter five, starting at vs. 32
I think you meant Chapter 4?
32 The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common.
34 None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the money from the sale of them,
35 to present it to the apostles; it was then distributed to any who might be in need.
The infamous gathering of the communists. How the prosperity gospel would like to expunge that from the record!
Hell, most Christians would like to eliminate everything Jesus ever said about wealth, especially Matthew 19:24, the eye of needle parable. That crystal clear economic message has been the bane of capitalists for more than two thousand years.
How many failed attempts have “Christians” made over the past 20 centuries to spin that one? Many, many millions.
Friedrich Nietzsche captured the irony and the dichotomy best, in what I consider a straightforward economic dictum: “The last Christian died on the cross.”
You’re right – chapter 4 is the one I meant…a bit of dyslexia in most of what I do and say. Thanks for the heads up!
Oh, an odd aside: When Peter and Jesus were fishing at one point, they pulled up a whopper. In its gut they found a gold coin – a drachma (I believe that a drachma equaled an average day’s wages at the time). Peter asked, “how shall we spend this money?”. Jesus answered,”we shall pay our taxes.” (Mathew 17:24)
Given His disdain for Rome and his open hostility toward the Jewish secular and religious governing configuration, I find this whole dialogue puzzling.
OK, it’s safe to say that the Palestine-Transjordan area was of strategic importance to the Roman Empire, due to its central location between Egypt and the Greco-Persian provinces to the east. Let’s then assume that Jesus was one of a number of Jewish revolutionaries who threatened to break the bonds with Rome and re-establish Solomon’s empire. He as much as said so himself: “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and unto God that which is God’s.” Or, in today’s vernacular: “get the hell out of Israel because it belongs to God; Caesar can have everything else, but not Israel!” The message was not lost on Annas, Antipas or Pilate…or perhaps even Tiberius himself.
In this sense, I can see the larger economic implications of a Jewish rebellion, not to mention the example such a rebellion might set for other Roman provinces. But there were numerous other factors at work here – more visceral motives like national pride, religious zeal, and a manly sense of duty…And raw hate. Let us never forget the power of hate, especially in the ancient world.