A Jubilee Call For Debt Forgiveness

An epic journey through the economies of ancient civilizations, and how they managed debt versus social instability. Shocking historical truths about how debt played a central role in shaping (or destroying) ancient societies (viz: Rome), and that the Bible is preoccupied with debt, not sin, which has been disturbingly inverted in modern times.

We were drowning in in record levels of debt before the COVID-19 crisis, and we are now deluged in it. U.S. private-sector loans have tripled relative to income since 1950 – and government debt is also at an all-time high. Soaring debt burdens individuals, stifles growth, compounds inequality, and brings falling living standards for millions. Richard Vague’s new book argues that, contrary to mainstream assumptions, we cannot simply hope that the trend will correct itself. Mounting debt is a feature of our economic system, not a bug: debts perpetually grow and compound, polarizing and impoverishing economies if not overtly dealt with. He offers a detailed plan for how we can restructure a range of debts – such as student loans, auto loans, medical debt and more – and offer hard-pressed debtors a ‘jubilee’ now, not in some utopian future. Vague’s bold polemic contains a wealth of ideas that will free millions from modern-day debt peonage, reduce inequality and bring new vigor to the economy as it struggles to emerge from the pandemic.

At the close of one millennium and the beginning of a new one, this conference volume reflects on the past and looks forward to a new era in terms of the development of faith. Although most of the papers in the volume address issues concerning Christian faith, the volume is not confined to such a perspective, since the concept of faith is treated here in an encompassing and broad manner. The historical perspective reaches back several millennia, addresses contemporary issues of economics and justice as they have a bearing on faith, and looks to the future as a new millennium presents its own problems and potential opportunities.

Love, Redemption, Vocation, and the Church Volume 4, Number 2, June 2015 Edited by David M. McCarthy Roman Catholic Teaching on International Debt: Toward a New Methodology for Catholic Social Ethics and Moral Theology M. Therese Lysaught Narrative, Social Identity and Practical Reason: On Charles Taylor and Moral Theology Mark Ryan Hobbes Contra Bellarmine Matthew Rose Grace Is the Emotion of the Love of God Edward Collins Vacek No Woe to You Lawyers: A Virtue Ethics Approach To Happiness Within the Legal Profession John J. Fitzgerald Dignity and the Body: Reclaiming What Autonomy Ignores Joel J. Shuman and Brian Volck More Than Self-Gift and Sex: The Role of Receptivity in Catholic Marital Ethics Robert Ryan Review Essay on Catholic Higher Education: After Ex corde Ecclesiae Jason King

“Martha Minow is a voice of moral clarity: a lawyer arguing for forgiveness, a scholar arguing for evidence, a person arguing for compassion.” —Jill Lepore, author of These Truths In an age increasingly defined by accusation and resentment, Martha Minow makes an eloquent, deeply-researched argument in favor of strengthening the role of forgiveness in the administration of law. Through three case studies, Minow addresses such foundational issues as: Who has the right to forgive? Who should be forgiven? And under what terms? The result is as lucid as it is compassionate: A compelling study of the mechanisms of justice by one of this country’s foremost legal experts.