Losing Interest: The Antisocial History of Economic Growth

Synopsis

For centuries, charging interest was viewed with deep suspicion. Across cultures and religions, lending money for profit was often condemned as morally corrosive, socially destructive, or both. So how did interest become not only accepted but the engine of a global economic system built on perpetual growth? In Losing Interest, anthropologist Scott W. Schwartz traces this remarkable transformation, revealing how ideas once considered dangerous gradually became the unquestioned foundation of modern capitalism.

Moving from Renaissance banking and colonial expansion to financial markets and today's ecological crises, Schwartz uncovers the hidden history of the growth imperative that now shapes everyday life. Blending anthropology, economic history, and political theory with accessible, engaging prose, Losing Interest challenges readers to rethink assumptions about wealth, debt, and progress while imagining economic systems grounded in mutual wellbeing rather than endless accumulation. Timely, provocative, and deeply researched, it offers a compelling new perspective on one of the defining forces of the modern world.

About the Author

Scott W. Schwartz is an anthropologist and Adjunct Associate Professor at the City University of New York. His research examines how systems of exploitation, inequality, and economic power become normalized over time. He is also the author of An Archaeology of Temperature: Numerical Materials in the Capitalized Landscape. Losing Interest brings together anthropology, history, and political economy to examine the origins of modern capitalism's demand for perpetual growth.

Publisher

AK Press

Publication Date

May 1, 2026

Format

Paperback

Pages

236

Subjects

Economics · Political Economy · Economic History · Capitalism · Anthropology · Social Theory

ISBN

9781849356503