Important discussion. Even on a selfish level, most debt is bad. Buying personal things (houses, cars, vacations, etc.) with debt because you can’t afford to pay cash will hurt your finances and your ability to build wealth. Only the Leiden use of investment debt (such as to purchase a rental house) will help you make money. Most debt will make you poor. On the level of society, money is not a zero-sum game where if one person makes more someone else has to make less. In fact, everyone can make more, which has been the trajectory of history as people all over the globe are far richer today than they were a few decades ago. Sure there are some predatory practices out there that should be discouraged, but overall capitalism has done far more for the poor than any other system. Hundreds of millions have been lifted out of poverty, so don’t throw out the baby with the bath water!