大象传媒

In the second episode, anthropologist David Graeber asks the obvious question - what actually is a debt?

It might seem that the answer is perfectly simple - a debt is a promise by one person to pay another person a certain sum of money, usually under certain specified terms and conditions, at some point in the future. But what about other forms of debt that have nothing to do with money? We also speak of debts to society, debts of honour and debts of gratitude.

Attitudes to debt vary wildly across the globe. We hear an account written by a European missionary in a distant land of a situation in which he saved a native's life only to find that, as a result, he was now in the native's debt.

Debts have a very different meaning when there is a power imbalance between debtor and creditor. Normally, when a debt is between equals it can be renegotiated and even written off entirely. However when the creditor has all the power, debts transform into absolute imperatives that must be repaid, no matter what the cost.

Crucially, David argues that a debt is an obligation which can be quantified. It's not just a matter of owing someone a favour. We can specify exactly what is owed. This has the advantage that we can know precisely when the debt has been paid. But it has further effects - it means a debt is impersonal, and transferable.

Producer: Max O'Brien
A Juniper production for 大象传媒 Radio 4.