The biggest problem in the modern world: Money as debt

Gregory Williams7 said:Maria Thomas48, you must accept this reality. Unless you intend to suggest involving Germany or China, there is little to be done; those nations already possess the appropriate currencies. A prerequisite for such stability is a competitive economy, which they maintain while we simply do not.

Who’s actually claiming Germans have a currency that works for them? They’re sitting there wondering why employment looks great while the economy is basically flatlining. Sure, they barely took on new debt this year because of their trade surplus, but last year was a total disaster. Their debt keeps climbing regardless, even with those top-tier results.

Basically, it means other economies are just waiting to go broke. There's nothing to "accept" here because this isn't some minor issue for us. This changes everything for our lives, and it changes it for the better.

Mods, feel free to move this if I've picked the wrong sub—I'm trying to bridge this over to currency talk here.
If every country just collectively decided to pull a disappearing act on their debts—basically refusing to pay back a cent—and cut off all incoming cash flow from other nations and banks to start from scratch, I assume their credibility would be tied strictly to whatever gold they have left to swap for digital tender. But what happens if a country burns through its entire gold reserve? Can they be bullied by other nations into producing everything themselves, essentially forcing them back into an 18th-century style existence until the economy stabilizes and they can rebuild through "natural" means?
I’d expect riots and chaos, obviously, but theoretically, no country ever actually pays back its full debt anyway—so what’s the point of debt at all? We might as well just grab the cash, borrow until we hit the ceiling, build our infrastructure, and then go bankrupt and leave the bill to someone else. Of course, the trick would be avoiding selling off the land or energy assets to foreign monopolies—or letting anyone, local or otherwise, take control.
..I’m not as interested in the internal fallout within a single nation, but rather how these countries could continue to function, communicate, and trade goods with one another.

Bottom line: what happens to global trade, the economy, and food supplies if everyone's debt is wiped clean, no new debt is allowed, and central banks lose their role as the primary medium for money transfer and control?

Thanks for bearing with me. I'm a total newbie here, even though I've been lurking for ages...

respect

Mass starvation and a population collapse, most likely...

The result would be total economic isolationism for the country. Creditors like China and Germany wouldn't bother trading goods with debtors like the USA or the European Union.

Quote:USA or the European Union.

Carl Foster8 says: The end result would basically be economic isolationism for the nation. Creditors, like China or Germany, just wouldn't be swapping goods with debtors like the

Unless, I don't know, maybe about a hundred of these isolated players show up and start trading amongst themselves, bypassing the creditor nations entirely. That could happen, right?

Maria Thomas48 said:Quote:USA or the European Union.

Carl Foster8 says: The end result would basically be economic isolationism for the nation. Creditors, like China or Germany, just wouldn't be swapping goods with debtors like the

Unless, I don't know, maybe about a hundred of these isolated players show up and start trading amongst themselves, bypassing the creditor nations entirely. That could happen, right?

That seems like the most logical outcome, I guess. 😁

Debtors have to manage within their own means or deal with those who still trust them. I suppose the biggest advantage for creditors is that they get to hold onto capital goods used to produce finished products.