Debt in History
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To Address Increasing Inequality and Global Poverty, We Must Cancel Debt
16 June 2021 - by Eric Toussaint, C.J. Polychroniou
Massive debt levels are a feature of contemporary capitalism that cannot be eradicated without radical change, says political scientist Éric Toussaint “The indebtedness of the working classes is directly connected to the widening poverty gap and (...) -
The economic response to the crisis benefits large companies
26 May 2021 - by Eric Toussaint, Roberto González Amador
Éric Toussaint is interviewed by Roberto González Amador from the Mexican daily La Jornada. The spokesperson for the international network Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debts (CADTM) argues for an end to patents [1]. The seeds of a (...) -
The Earldom of Larios Uses Debt Blackmail to Build a Golf-Course on Agricultural Land
29 April 2021 - by Eric Toussaint
Here we have a concrete example, in 2021, that plunges us into the debt system and history as it has been created through the class struggle. As I am short of time, I shall tell the story succinctly. It takes place in Nerja, a small town of (...) -
The Sankara Affair : Press release of the Network Justice for Sankara
19 March 2021 - by Réseau International « Justice pour Sankara justice pour l’Afrique »
The French authorities must immediately make all documents concerning the assassination of Thomas Sankara available to Burkina Faso courts Press Release On 28 November 2017, on official visit to Burkina Faso, Emmanuel Macron, the French (...) -
Paris Commune 150: the economics
18 March 2021 - by Michael Roberts
Today is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Paris Commune. The Commune (Council) was formed as result of what should be considered the first uprising and revolution led by the working class in history. This new class was the product (...) -
The Paris Commune of 1871, banks and debt
18 March 2021 - by Eric Toussaint
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the extraordinary experience of the Paris Commune, it is fundamental to draw a number of lessons from it. The measures a government takes regarding its Central Bank, the debts of working class people, (...) -
Russia: Origin and consequences of the debt repudiation of February 10, 1918
15 February 2021 - by Eric Toussaint
In February 1918, the repudiation of the debt by the Soviet government shocked international finance and sparked off unanimous condemnation by the governments of the great powers. This decision of repudiation was intrinsic to this first big (...) -
In memory of Patrice Lumumba, assassinated on 17 January 1961
17 January 2021 - by Eric Toussaint
On 17 January 2021, we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba (1925-1961). After a resounding victory in the first real elections in which the Congolese participated, Patrice Lumumba became Prime Minister of (...) -
Regrets, Apologies and Repair for Belgium’s Colonial Harms
3 December 2020 - by Valerie Arnould
Former colonial countries appear increasingly willing to engage in processes akin to transitional justice in order to confront the legacies of their colonial past. In this blog post, Valerie Arnould discusses recent initiatives in Belgium meant (...) -
CADTM - 30 years of struggle against debt
16 November 2020 - by CADTM, Chris Den Hond
CADTM - Committee for the Cancellation of Illegitimate Debt = 30 years of struggle against debt Badly impacted by COVID-19, our meeting days largely took place online, with activists contributing from countries such as DRCongo, Morocco, Sri (...) -
Liège Revolution: 1789-1794
26 October 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In the wake of the French Revolution that broke out on 14 July 1789, the Liège Revolution began on 18 August of the same year. The people of Paris seized the Bastille on 14 July and the people of Liège took the Town Hall and the Citadel on 18 (...) -
David Graeber (1961-2020): The Relevance of his Thought and his Struggle
16 October 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
The generally accepted idea that a debt must be repaid, with interest – which supposedly covers the risks taken by the bank, must be radically challenged. David Graeber did that through a historical analysis that takes into account humanity’s (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 20)
Presidents Barber Conable and Lewis Preston (1986-1995)
20 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Some historical illustrations of decisive actions relative to banks
16 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
What a government does or fails to do relative to banks has far-reaching consequences on the course of a country’s history. The Paris Commune made the mistake of not taking control over the Bank of France The seat of the Bank of France, its (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 19)
The World Bank and the IMF: the creditors’ bailiffs
14 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Caribbean reparations movement must put capitalism on trial
5 August 2020 - by Ajamu Nangwaya
From chattel slavery to the current period of neocolonial flag independence, the Caribbean labouring classes have yet to exercise substantive power over the political institutions that govern their lives. A system of popular assemblies with the (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 18)
The Mexican debt crisis and the World Bank
4 August 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 17)
The World Bank saw the debt crisis looming
21 July 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Reply to the letter by Philippe, King of the Belgians, about Belgium’s responsibility in the exploitation of the Congolese people
8 July 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
On 30 June 2020, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the former Belgian Congo’s independence, the news went viral over the planet: Philippe, King of the Belgians, had conveyed regrets for the colonial past, and particularly for the time (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 16)
The debt trap
1 July 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Series: 1944-2020, 76 years of interference from the World Bank and the IMF (Part 8)
Why the 1953 cancellation of German debt won’t be reproduced for Greece and Developing Countries
27 March 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In 2020, the World Bank (WB) and the IMF are 76 years old. These two international financial institutions (IFI), founded in 1944, are dominated by the USA and a few allied major powers who work to generalize policies that run counter the (...) -
Rosa Luxemburg and debt as an imperialist instrument
6 February 2020 - by Eric Toussaint
In her book titled The Accumulation of Capital, published in 1913, Rosa Luxemburg devoted an entire chapter to international loans in order to show how the great capitalist powers of the time used the credits granted by their bankers to the (...) -
The Debt System - book review
17 December 2019 - by Phil Armstrong
The Debt System argues that international debt is a system of exploitation of poorer countries, which should be regarded as illegitimate, finds Phil Armstrong This book tells a story of exploitation and the use of indebtedness by western (...) -
Nicaragua 1979-2019
18 July 2019 - by Eric Toussaint, Nathan Legrand
THE NICARAGUAN GOVERNMENT’S violent repression against demonstrators protesting its brutal neoliberal policies, resulting in more than 300 people being killed by regime forces since April 2018, is only one of the reasons why various leftist (...) -
Interview
In the debt system, it’s the people that lose out
5 July 2019 - by Eric Toussaint, Cristina Quintavalla, Vittorio Lovera, DIRE - news agency
Eric Toussaint, who presented the Italian version of his book The Debt System in Rome on 18 June 2019, holds that it is possible to “repudiate the dictatorship of the financial markets... Coercion by debt is an integral part of the global (...)
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CADTM
COMMITTEE FOR THE ABOLITION OF ILLEGITIMATE DEBT
35 rue Fabry
4000 - Liège- Belgique
00324 226 62 85
info@cadtm.org
