In this blistering and lucid article on the delusions of microfinance, Dr Hickel exposes a model that the West have looked on so favourably these last few years as a way to bring people out of poverty. Yet it has been shown to keep poverty alive and well. Of course. Most microfinance works on at least a 40% interest rate on the micro loans, creating an endless cycle of debt.

We live in a world where the system itself, be that in the developed or developing world, thrives on financial debt servitude. The stage might be ‘legal’ debt slavery where the authority is the bank, or the ‘big man” with a stream of threats..backed by a government, or ‘illegal’ debt slavery, where the authority is the thug with guns. In truth, they are both the same. By trapping people into financial debt the masses become docile. Until they don’t.

Almost all of us know that feeling of being in financial debt. Our system is designed to create debt slaves of us all, with rare exception.

We are told it is the way to ‘get ahead’. Get the mortgage, buy the financed car, get the student loan.

It has been the prime operating system for thousands of years. The business of building debt slaves is the business of building high financial net worth. The masters at the game, those few who hold all the financial wealth, work hard to maintain the status quo.

It is becoming increasingly apparent that there is another way. Conversations are starting to spread about giving all people a sustainable base wage, just for being a citizen. We are diving deep into models of peer to peer, collaboration, co-operatives.

It will be a rocky road of trial and error. But at some point in the next 10 years…the debt based monetary system will collapse, as illusion built on illusion, like Dorothy’s Wicked Witch of the West, will be seen for what it is.

In the mean time, if you have debt, you are a pawn in the game. No shame in this. Just see it for the game it is.