It's useful to remember that not everyone agrees with you. A lot of people in the US see keeping promises (including paying debts) as a moral good. That's an important force that legitimates the system. Of course, the 1% exploits this legitimacy to feather its own nests, e.g., by imposing austerity on others.
Of course, there's often a big difference between morality in theory (e.g., Kant or the golden rule) and morality in practice (e.g., under capitalism). In abstract Kantian morality, paying debts is something one wants others to do (if they owe you money) so one should do it too. But in practice, as the Kuttner article explains, it's _only_ the politically-powerful (mostly capitalists, though it depends on the era and the country) who are protected by bankruptcy laws (getting to enjoy a pragmatic interpretation of the abstract morality). The hard-core morality is imposed on the "out" groups. (I don't understand the reference to "an anarchist" or the "liberal art of separation." who and what are you talking about?) On Thu, Apr 18, 2013 at 4:21 PM, Eubulides <[email protected]>wrote: > On 4/18/2013 11:13 AM, Jim Devine wrote: > > > Robert Kuttner writes: >>thepremise that “surely one has to pay one’s > > debts” is so persuasive, Graeber writes, “because it’s not actually an > > economic statement: it’s a > > > > moral statement.” A debt, by definition, is something you owe that > > must be repaid.<< > > > > > > The idea is that we should live up our promises. But pension plans, like > > debts, are promises, but corporations have repeatedly broken them, often > > using the law. > > -- > > =============== > > Morality schmorality; monetary debts and the dynamics they weave 'under' > capitalism are political phenomena. > > Is anyone really ready to concede what to do about the monetary mayhem > of our times to moral philosophers? > > Mirror, mirror on the wall -- who is the most moral of them all? > > It is interesting to read an anarchist practicing one of the more > problematic aspects of 'the liberal art of separation.' > > E > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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