Interest Rates Cause of Wasteful Consumption?

Interest is steering us towards non-sustainability, argues Jeremy Wakeford, writing for the South African New Economics Network, a group described on their site as an independent network for the creation of a humane, just, sustainable and culturally appropriate economic system in South Africa.

Not only does interest act as a constantly active mechanism for the transfer of value from the poor to the rich, it is also an incentive for wasteful consumption. The result is the thoughtless use of resources which by rights should not only be left in place but should be lovingly cared for, to ensure the survival of future generations.

The debate about interest has been carefully kept from public view and the great confusion over the necessity and the effects of interest taking is generally not ever resolved by economists.