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The article explores the complexities of private debt globally, shedding light on its shift from an issue affecting primarily the Global South to its recent emergence in the Global North. It discusses how debt intertwines with status, solidarity, and stigma, analyzing various case studies to showcase its impact on social relationships, personhood, and socioeconomic hierarchies.

The author discuses the concept of debt as multi-layerd concept that ecompasses several experiences and attempts to capture conflicting notions. Topics discussed include debt perceived by economist akin to grease of the economic machine and ensure smooth running of engine of production, importance of dept in comprehending effects and influences, and understanding of the experiences of the undebted.

The author discusses the formalisation of monetary support between acquaintances and friends in form of interpersonal loans that can reveal notions of personhood. Topics discussed include creditor and debtor posited by loan money as imagined equals, investment of individuals in mantaining an image of being respectable persons, and formalisation of exchange within social networks.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses several reports within the issue on topics including developments in economic anthropology exploring economic practices morality, debt relations in South Africa, and morality of indebtedness.