Can't Pay, Won't Pay

The Case for Economic Disobedience and Debt Abolition

By: The Debt Collective, Astra Taylor - foreword

Narrated by: Nancy Peterson

Debtors have been mocked, scolded, and lied to for decades. We have been told that it is perfectly normal to go into debt to get medical care, to go to school, or even to pay for our own incarceration. We’ve been told there is no way to change an economy that pushes the majority of people into debt while a small minority hoard wealth and power. The coronavirus pandemic has revealed that mass indebtedness and extreme inequality are a political choice.

In the early days of the crisis, elected officials drew up plans to spend trillions of dollars. The only question was: where would the money go and who would benefit from the bailout?

The truth is that there has never been a lack of money for things like housing, education, and health care. Millions of people never needed to be forced into debt for those things in the first place.

Armed with this knowledge, a militant debtors movement has the potential to rewrite the contract and assure that no one has to mortgage their future to survive.

Debtors of the world must unite. As isolated individuals, debtors have little influence. But as a bloc, we can leverage our debts and devise new tactics to challenge the corporate creditor class and help win reparative, universal public goods. Individually, our debts overwhelm us. But together, our debts can make us powerful.

©2020 The Debt Collective (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Recommended Readings

This book did a really good job at explaining the debt relationships that we have in not just the American economy but global economy. The book felt like it was an expansion of the book Debt: The First 5000 Years by the late David Graeber. By far one of the best reads on historical debt based systems. This book however focuses on the current systems in place. Which reading David’s book will help anyone better understand this book.

good, not revolutionary.

I would have preferred more historical context, putting the current state of things into better perspective.

Must read for social change

Critical to our capacity as a society to stay afloat and thrive is a restructuring of how our society operates - no big changes, just restricting the preeminence of institutions who are involved in the world of finance as well as local, state & federal budgets. Audits of city finances will bring the clarity we need. Thank you!!

Fantastic

This wonderful little book punches well beyond its weight. Starts as a strategy for debt restructure and ends up as a tactical plan for revolution. Well done

far left bias book

praises every democrats and socialist country while blaming capitalism and right wing politicians nothing useful to help your debt