There have been many gyrations, but the trend is pretty clear. It's easier to pay past (more expensive) debt with new current (cheaper) debt. The UK is still rolling forward debt from the South Sea Bubble (1700s), Napoleonic Wars (early 1800s), Crimean War (late 1800s), and World War 1 (1910s):
As a person, your accounts come 'due' in your lifetime, so when you die your estate holdings will be sold off, and remaining debts will be paid off. If there's not enough to pay it off, then the creditors are S.O.L.; if there's extra left over your heirs can get something.
A country/nation on the other hand just 'keeps going' (short of revolutions or being conquered), and so there's no cut-off date when accounts have to be settled.
Actually, you probably can. The long-term trend of interest rates, at least in the West, has to decline over the course of 700 years:
* https://www.visualcapitalist.com/700-year-decline-of-interes...
There have been many gyrations, but the trend is pretty clear. It's easier to pay past (more expensive) debt with new current (cheaper) debt. The UK is still rolling forward debt from the South Sea Bubble (1700s), Napoleonic Wars (early 1800s), Crimean War (late 1800s), and World War 1 (1910s):
* https://www.theguardian.com/business/blog/2014/oct/31/paying...
* https://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/oct/31/uk-first-wo...
As a person, your accounts come 'due' in your lifetime, so when you die your estate holdings will be sold off, and remaining debts will be paid off. If there's not enough to pay it off, then the creditors are S.O.L.; if there's extra left over your heirs can get something.
A country/nation on the other hand just 'keeps going' (short of revolutions or being conquered), and so there's no cut-off date when accounts have to be settled.