Debt

Later I asked more about debt slavery and how it functioned in society. I wanted to know how we got where we are from his perspective.
“Consumer culture as a strategy began in earnest after World War II”, he said. “The propagandist Edward Bernays, you know him here as Eddie, helped build the image of the ideal consumer. The focus was on the nuclear family and individualism. He helped devise the modern debt system as it is now.”
“Are you saying that the debt so many people are in is intentional?”, I asked.
After a pause, he continued, “Yes, if your average person is not deeply in debt by the age of 30, the game is not working properly. We have designed it to maintain slavery and expand in such a way as to make the slaves believe they are free and have choices.”
I asked, “If that’s true then how and why do people believe in it. Why would anyone go along with it.”
He said. “They do, because it is a social taboo to be in debt. People consider it a private matter. No one wants to admit that they are in debt. It is the same as admitting to some social flaw or failure, and they also believe it is a temporary situation.”
“People want to believe they can work hard, make a living, and leave something to their children. That’s the story of the ideal consumer. They feel ashamed when they can’t meet their social expectations. They feel ashamed that their parents could not leave an inheritance. They feel that they are failing by societies standards. It is shameful to admit that their parents could not pay their own bills, or that their parents did not leave them enough money. People don’t want to discuss it.”
He went on, “It works, because it is the story we tell them in all of the marketing, advertising, and television shows, which they consume. The story of happy people that can give a better life to their kids. In reality, if they aren’t in debt from college tuition, they are in debt from easy to acquire credit cards, or the need to buy a car or house. Debt is advertised to them as a solution to their problems, until they take the bait."
“So, It's a trap?”, I said.
He agreed, “It is a trap, but if they were smart, they wouldn’t fall into it. They deserve to be in debt because they aren’t smart enough to recognize the trap, and stay out of debt."