To me, this is an interesting concept. Not people lending money to others interest free, as I don't see that ever happening. Most likely, this would lead to a society with little or no consumer debt. It seems like the level of debt of the average US citizen is getting a lot of attention right now, so the thought of a world in which people only spend the money they have is an intriguing one.
Aside from the issues already mentioned, I also can see where a society without usury would also lead to a society without interesting bearing savings and checking accounts. The banks would have no incentive to pay you interest on your money, if they were not going to be loaning it out at a higher rate (unless they would just investing it directly into the stock market, etc.). Actually, in a way, a savings account is like you loaning the bank money at a set rate (so they can loan it at a higher rate). When you look at it like this, it is possible to argue that a savings account itself is a form of usury, so those would have to go as well.
|