Anthropological Varieties of Debt Governance

Project Stream 9 · Prof. Dr. Bertram Lomfeld / Ruth Lipka

Debt as a social phenomenon most likely precedes the introduction of money as formal medium of economic exchange. In broadest terms, debt could be paraphrased as the relation of one subject owing an object or an action to another subject. Debt, in that general, sense is a fundamental structure of human interaction—an essential element of ever more complex societies.

Indeed, each of these more complex societies also developed rules for debt default and debt relief. As such, debt could be considered a very basic element of human communal life. Nonetheless, debt relations and debt relief have assumed various cultural forms. Over the past millennia, human approaches to debt have drawn a map of cultural diversity and societal development.  

Adopting a comparative anthropological perspective, we seek to explore the diverse approaches to debt relations, enforcement and relief. We have a twofold goal: to better understand the cultural diversity underlying debt practices which are still present today; and to explore debt conceptions distinct from our current (predominantly economic) perception of debt.

And yet, "alternative" does not always equal more desirable. Debt relations and enforcement often assumed violent forms, including severe punishment or debt slavery, as seen in ancient Babylon or among Germanic tribes. Other cultures provided debt relief through symbolic rituals or in-kind exchange, like those observed by the Māori of New Zealand. In any event, these alternatives transcend purely financial conceptualizations of debt, opening the door to a more reflexive understanding of debt—what might be called reflexive debt.