The 2008 Massey lectures entitled, Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Life are given by the award-winning writer Margaret Atwood. The five lectures (in English) cover not how to get out of debt or avoid it, but rather the debtor/creditor relationship in the broadest sense and debt as a human construct. As Margaret Atwood says, “What we owe and how we pay is a feature of all human societies, and profoundly shapes our shared values and our cultures.”

Each lecture lasts just over 50 minutes (there is an introduction of around 2 minutes before each lecture starts).

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/massey-archives/2008/11/06/massey-lectures-2008-payback-debt-and-the-shadow-side-of-wealth/

Lecture 1: Ancient Balances

The principle of fairness underpins any system of borrowing and lending, and this lecture explores the history of balances (e.g. in terms of mythology and religion). Weights and scales as well as balances represent justice, fairness and reciprocity, where we weigh one thing against another. How do we determine equivalent values for fair trade, and what constitutes imbalance and debt?

Lecture 2: Debt and Sin

People once took the utmost care not to get into debt, which was seen as the very worst sin of all. Later it became seen as harmless and then, in fact, fashionable, before the cycle has begun again with it being viewed as something sinful to be fought and overcome. But, are debtors sinful? Or, are creditors sinful? Is the art of ‘living within our means’ lost to us?

Lecture 3: Debt as Plot

All debt involves a story—or plotline—of how the debt was incurred, the means and terms of payback, and the ultimate consequences of discharging the debt or not. Debt can in some instances become a life plotline, such as taking out a mortgage or paying a dowry… Being in debt can at times cause anxiety and pain, but does getting into debt—and trying to get out of it—create an element of excitement in our ordinary daily lives?

Lecture 4: The Shadow Side

What happens when people can’t/won’t/don’t pay their debts? What if their debts can’t be paid back by money, such as debts of honor and debts from crime? How are the scales of justice, with the debtor and creditor on each side, balanced for the many forms of debt? The shadow side of debt is explored in this lecture.

Lecture 5: Payback

Are the enjoyable things in life mainly those available on credit and to be paid back for later in life? We all have payback dates that we must meet within a finite time: moral debts to fellow men, financial debts, and so on. What is the cost benefit analysis for these?

We found these lectures fascinating and we hope you like them too. Also, you can find previous years’ lectures too: http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/masseys.html. Happy listening!