The culture you describe is wealth-extractive through cleverness. It is anti-moral.
Morality is patterns of human engagement which stabilize a society in the long term, so that it can work together in-concert.
Michael Hudson, intelllectual papa of the petrodollar (accidentally) describes his economic history theory that the cime for which Jesus was crucified was his advocacy of "Jubilee", periodic elimination of debts and slave-status. In the previous 200-300 years a creditor-class had taken over, and civil wars had just been fought in Egypt and Greece over debt. The creditor-class won, and the Roman law was like Greek law, favorable to creditors. People became debt-slaes, and women/children got sold into slavery. That's what "not coveting your neighbor's wife" reportedly refers to.
Debt at interest ("usury") grows faster than material wealth, and grows relentlessly, creating debt-slaves and chattel-slaves.
Such societies are weakened by the diversion of human talent away from constructive public endeavor. Kings and religious leaders used to forgive debts periodically (most of the debts were to them) in order to maintain a healthy society and economy.
The culture you describe is wealth-extractive through cleverness. It is anti-moral.
Morality is patterns of human engagement which stabilize a society in the long term, so that it can work together in-concert.
Michael Hudson, intelllectual papa of the petrodollar (accidentally) describes his economic history theory that the cime for which Jesus was crucified was his advocacy of "Jubilee", periodic elimination of debts and slave-status. In the previous 200-300 years a creditor-class had taken over, and civil wars had just been fought in Egypt and Greece over debt. The creditor-class won, and the Roman law was like Greek law, favorable to creditors. People became debt-slaes, and women/children got sold into slavery. That's what "not coveting your neighbor's wife" reportedly refers to.
Debt at interest ("usury") grows faster than material wealth, and grows relentlessly, creating debt-slaves and chattel-slaves.
Such societies are weakened by the diversion of human talent away from constructive public endeavor. Kings and religious leaders used to forgive debts periodically (most of the debts were to them) in order to maintain a healthy society and economy.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/12/michael-hudson-died-debt-not-sins.html