Debt Forgiveness and Poverty Reduction : Some Thoughts from a Skeptical Supporter

In the previous article, Stephen Smith offers thoughtful arguments as to why “Christian teaching offers no support for unconditional debt forgiveness,” but rather supports “highly conditioned, prudentially-managed debt forgiveness.” In the brief thoughts that follow, I fully endorse Stephen's core point, even as I disagree with him on some details of second-order importance. As appealing as the idea of debt forgiveness may be to the Christian - indeed to anyone espousing compassion for the poor - the connection between debt forgiveness and poverty reduction is loose at best. As I have argued previously, the case for debt forgiveness for the world's poorest countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, remains both economically and ethically ambiguous