... you can't get away from the fact that, except for someone who 'prints money', if the wealth of one person (or company, or country or whatever) increases then there has to be a corresponding decrease in wealth of one or more other people (or companies, countries etc.). At any point in time, there is a finite and defined amount of 'wealth' (money or assets) in the world, and all one can change is how it's distributed.Not really John .... there would be no transfer of wealth from customers/savers who are divorced from a savings/lending process which would generate wealth in the event of positive returns on the investment.
Kind Regards, John.
Wow John, that was like reading an old text book Although I grant you that the definition of wealth is not agreed upon, thinking has changed since we left the gold standard in 1931 !!! Fractional reserve lending means that deposits create deposits, which create (or facilitate the creation of) wealth. Alternatively, think of it in practical terms: if a bank issues a loan to an individual, what mechanism is in place to ensure that the bank's savers reduce their consumption, and by the same proportions? The answer of course is that there isn't one ....