From Debt to Paradise: The Economic Theology of Capitalism.
In capitalism, the efficient use of debt promises us paradise. But its misuse can also lead to the hell of over-indebtedness and bankruptcy.
The system of indebtedness in a speculative economy elevates debt to a creative principle, a dogma that perfectly mirrors our belief in a fundamental indebtedness of life to a higher being (God). Our existence thus becomes the first and ultimate speculation: that of the best possible investment of this initial debt to yield the eternal profit: paradise. God lends us life, which we must make fruitful to deserve salvation.
In the economic theology of capitalism, we first strive to become eligible for a loan. We invest this credit into an activity meant to improve our existence. Thus, we do not work merely to live, but to generate an income that allows us to service this debt we have contracted. Work becomes a form of financial penance.
Therefore, we strive to:
· Borrow to finance our studies, obtain a job, and repay this debt.
· Borrow to create a business whose profits will serve to settle this debt.
· Borrow (as a State) for infrastructure that, by stimulating growth, will generate the resources to repay this debt.
Thus, there exists a virtuous path of debt, a financial via dolorosa. Just as we must optimally invest the life lent to us (by seeking to please God) to obtain paradise, the capitalist system promises redemption through profit. This profit allows us to acquire well-being and happiness. We can thus purchase our terrestrial version of paradise – the ultimate reward for our efforts and our repayment discipline. Conversely, failure to manage one's debt is the supreme economic sin, leading to exclusion—this purgatory of credit.
Capitalism, founded on this economy of debt and promoting salvation through individual reward, both embraces and diverts the imagery of our relationship with the divine. The goal is no longer to please God, but the markets. This convergence between a secularized form of Providence and the logic of credit is key to its grip. This is one reason why capitalism, in its neoliberal and globalized form, has conquered the world.
This logic is based on a strictly personal salvation, an election by financial merit, which opposes collectivist visions. Since "a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand," capitalism, by making each individual a micro-enterprise in competition with others, avoids frontal class divisions and appears as the system most likely to prosper. Its preeminence stems from this ability to channel energies toward productive indebtedness rather than revolt. Communism had to metamorphose to survive within it, for "you cannot serve two masters": the abstract collective and rational individual calculation.
Long live debt, then, which, when used well, sells us the illusion of a terrestrial paradise on credit. But woe to those who stumble on their installments, for their fall has no safety net.
"You gotta get credit, no problem." (Zouglou Artist) — a sacred maxim in a world where faith has given way to credit scores.
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