Could the world work if all loans were banned or at least interest??

[hardcore_gamer]

I am starting to lean towards the idea that much of the world's evil can be blamed on the stupidty of modern fiscal systems, with the idea of the "loan" being the worst. Obviously we would still need some kind of banking system to manage the money supply and to give people a place to store their money but do you think we could create a working economic system where taking or offering loans in any way was just flatout banned? I know people sometimes depend on loans for certain things like buying homes and education but perhaps such things could be supplied to people through different methods.

EDIT: Title changed.

[Linguica]

Starting off 2016 with a bang I see

[esselfortium]

Could the world work if we were all loaves of bread?

[AirRaid]

No.

[Deleted_Account]

I'm much more interested in reading your thoughts on this, which is the better movie, Gremlins or The Goonies?

[Breezeep]

Do you even think before you post?

[hardcore_gamer]

Breezeep said:

Do you even think before you post?

Yes, and I find it to be a very interestin question. Do you disagree?

[AD_79]

esselfortium said:

Could the world work if we were all loaves of bread?

I feel like this is a much more interesting question you could be asking instead, hardcore_gamer. Do you disagree?

[Graf Zahl]

Yet another incredibly valuable hardcore_gamer-thread...



I won't even go into the details why your question must be answered with 'no'.

[SavageCorona]

hardcore_gamer said:

Yes, and I find it to be a very interestin question. Do you disagree?

Yes

[DooMAD]

There's nothing inherently wrong with lending, but I'm assuming it's the charging interest part you take issue with. It's kind of an important distinction.

[dew]

hardcore_gamer said:

I know people sometimes depend on loans for certain things like buying homes and education but perhaps such things could be supplied to people through different methods.

...for example? You present an incoherent theory worthy a highschool freshman pondering upon economy for the first time, find a glaring hole in it yourself almost instantly, yet we should indulge your fantasy? Do your thinking for yourself.

DooMAD said:

There's nothing inherently wrong with lending, but I'm assuming it's the charging interest part you take issue with. It's kind of an important distinction.

Inb4 hardcore_gamer converts to Islam for its superior economy model.

[DooM_RO]

Why do bees taste so good?

[Da Werecat]

hardcore_gamer said:

I am starting to lean towards the idea that much of the world's evil can be blamed on...

Oh, the variety of things you can read after such a beginning.

[Gez]

Let's ban all forms of loan.

Now you want to hire someone to do work for you. Problem is, if you pay that person before they provide the work, then you're essentially loaning them money; and if you pay that person after they provide the work, then they're essentially loaning you their work.

[Hellbent]

hardcore_gamer said:

I am starting to lean towards the idea that much of the world's evil can be blamed on the stupidty of modern fiscal systems, with the idea of the "loan" being the worst. Obviously we would still need some kind of banking system to manage the money supply and to give people a place to store their money but do you think we could create a working economic system where taking or offering loans in any way was just flatout banned? I know people sometimes depend on loans for certain things like buying homes and education but perhaps such things could be supplied to people through different methods.

Dad, is that you?

commongoodfinance.org

[printz]

Lots of spiteful replies here, and none useful. I'm curious how the world would work if all loan interests were banned.

[hardcore_gamer]

printz said:

Lots of spiteful replies here, and none useful. I'm curious how the world would work if all loan interests were banned.

Good point. I guess perhaps banning loans completely isn't ideal and instead we should just ban interest.

[RUSH]

DooM_RO said:

Why do bees taste so good?

[zZaRDoZz]

hardcore_gamer said:

I am starting to lean towards the idea that much of the world's evil can be blamed on the stupidty of modern fiscal systems, with the idea of the "loan" being the worst. Obviously we would still need some kind of banking system to manage the money supply and to give people a place to store their money but do you think we could create a working economic system where taking or offering loans in any way was just flatout banned? I know people sometimes depend on loans for certain things like buying homes and education but perhaps such things could be supplied to people through different methods.

EDIT: Title changed.

The first 1000 years of Christian dominance banned the charging of interest as the sin of usury. Only Jews were allowed to make loans with any charges attached. Seeing as Jewish people were forbidden from owning property, charging huge fees for loans was the only way to make money in such a system. Needless to say, the whole scheme didn't historically workout too well.

[Quast]

hardcore_gamer said:

but perhaps such things could be supplied to people through different methods.

Such as?

This exactly is why people aren't fans of your threads. You have presented an idea and offered no personal thoughts on it other than 'if things were ran different, things sure would be different'.

[Obsidian]

Hardcore_Gamer, do you actually even like Doom? I never see your posts outside of this forum. Pondering the great mysteries of life is all well and good, but I feel like your time would be spent better playing some Doom.

Run along now...

[Du Mhan Yhu]

Obsidian said:

I feel like your time would be spent better playing some Doom.

Run along now...

This.

[RestlessRodent]

esselfortium said:

Could the world work if we were all loaves of bread?

If we managed to make it this far in the technological age, I would say that despite being loaves of bread we have done quite well. We are on the great path of eradicating insects and animals that feed on us, and once we have completed said goal our lives will be far happier and breadful. The only problem is that global warming is not going fast enough, we need to lose our oceans and stop the rain cycle since being soggy is a true downer. There are many who are for the insects and animals and want to stop global warming, but are you willing to let yourself get eaten or get all soggy for their ideals?

[Inkie]

A majority of the stupidity stems from people making loans they can't pay, and banks making loans to people who can't pay. Banks exist to transfer wealth from those who have excess to those that lack it, with interest serving as payment for service. Like any system on earth, there are failures and abuses.

hardcore_gamer said:

Obviously we would still need some kind of banking system to manage the money supply

hardcore_gamer said:

a working economic system where taking or offering loans in any way was just flatout banned

You can't have both of these. Most of a bank's effect on the money supply comes from extending credit. In other words, giving out loans.

And the central bank controls the money supply by... loaning to banks. Or by buying and selling bonds... which are basically loans.


Moreover, why would anyone run a bank in this universe? Where are they earning their paycheck?

[40oz]

Wow I'm sorry you have to deal with this hardcore_gamer. Shame this forum is saturated with drooling animals wearing T-shirts that say "I'm too smart to answer your pathetic questions"

Unfortunately we do live in a world where its appropriate to ask for things you can't immediately afford with the promise that you'll return the favor. It's not practical for everyone to be able to build their own homes, make their own cars, or do anything innovative to advance science or technology or anything to benefit mankind. So unless you want to spend the rest of your life camping in tents and hunting for food, we will need to have money lended to us in order to keep the world moving.

Personally I find interest to be a bit of a ripoff, and high interest rates to be downright insulting, but like any business that has products or services to sell, being able to drop a lump sum of money on someone who knows how to make good use of it as just as much of a service as anything else, so people who want to benefit from using a loan will have to pay for that service in the form of interest. Asking for a world where people can't charge interest for loans is like asking people to wash your car for free just because they have soap and water. People who have money had to work hard or think critically to get it, and you can't expect someone to take a hit worth hundreds of thousands of dollars only to have the exact amount paid back in 0.01% increments a month. Thats not fair is it? You had to work long and hard for that money, and the other guy just had to ask for a favor.

So what I'm saying is that in theory, if all loans were banned, everyone would need to work from the ground up, repeating the same methods to make a living and generations will go by without any sort of scientific or technological advancement because things can't be streamlined with loans. And if people who are able to give loans can only do it with no benefits, no one will be able to get loans from anyone, which would cause the same problems.

[dew]

Here's your answer to zero-interest loans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_banking_and_finance

Any takers?

[fraggle]

I recommend asking in an economics forum rather than one about video games. Then you can be laughed at with authority. But maybe that's too scary a concept.

[Kontra Kommando]

dew said:

Here's your answer to zero-interest loans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_banking_and_finance

Any takers?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vix_pervenit

The Vatican enforced similar rules too; condemning collecting interest as a form of usury. That is, until they realized that system was terrible.

[BaronOfStuff]

Yeah it could. No loans in the animal kingdom and they're doing fine.

Next.