Imagine you walk into Barclays to get a loan for a new business. Now imagine that they will lend to you only if you agree to give them complete control over your household, so that if your interest payments don’t come in fast enough, they can garnish your wages, liquidate your house and force your children to get jobs. Imagine, further, that you are not allowed to declare bankruptcy under any circumstances; if you can’t repay your loan you have to sell everything you own, stop feeding your children, stop buying whatever medicines you might need to stay healthy and channel all that money to the
...more
