The Manifesto for the Abolition of Interest Slavery

The Manifesto for the Abolition of Interest Slavery (1919) is a provocative and little-known work of early twentieth-century economic thought, written in the turbulent aftermath of the First World War. Emerging from a period marked by war debt, inflation, and financial instability, the text presents a radical critique of interest-bearing capital and its perceived effects on society.

The original German title of this work is Das Manifest zur Brechung der Zinsknechtschaft des Geldes, which may be translated literally as “The Manifesto for the Breaking of the Interest-Slavery of Money.” The concept at the heart of the text—Zinsknechtschaft—refers specifically to a system in which interest-bearing debt is seen as exerting a form of economic domination over productive labour and national economies.

In forceful and often polemical language, the author distinguishes between industrial (productive) capital and what he describes as “loan capital,” arguing that the latter—through the mechanism of interest—grows without natural limit and places an increasing burden upon the wider population. From this perspective, the work calls for sweeping reforms to monetary and financial systems, including the restructuring of public debt and the abolition of interest obligations.

Modern readers will encounter here not only a controversial economic argument, but also a revealing historical document. The text reflects the anxieties, intellectual currents, and political tensions of its time, offering insight into how questions of money, credit, and state finance were understood in the early twentieth century.

This edition is presented for historical and scholarly purposes. The views expressed in the original work are those of its author and reflect the context in which it was written. They do not represent the views of the publisher. Readers are encouraged to approach the text critically, as a primary source from a complex and often turbulent period of modern history.

This new 2026 edition aims to make an important and challenging document accessible to a contemporary audience.