Introduction: On the ethics of debt

Abstract

Debt is fundamental to finance and society. Derived from the French finir, ‘finance’ has long been associated with the settling of debts. Today, the financial industry mediates between unprecedented levels of indebtedness among households, businesses, and governments, on the one hand, and record levels of financialised assets, on the other. The ethical questions raised by contemporary practices of borrowing, lending, repayment, and default are thus central to the ethics of finance today.