We are born in the red: amongst the blood and flesh of our mothers—already indebted. What we owe our families—a debt of the body. And slowly the circle widens. Our debts to our friends: the price of acceptance; our debt to our communities: the price of civilization. Then come the banks, with credit cards and student loans and car loans and home loans and loans to pay off other loans until the entirety of our life is one big red circle of debt. * Like genes in the body, ideas make up a culture through a process of replication, interaction, and mutation. This is the basis of Richard Dawkins’ concept of the meme, which he defines as an “idea, behavior, or style that spreads from person to person within a culture.” But the strength of a meme—that is, the extent to which it has taken hold in society—does not denote any moral quality, or even suggest that it is the best, most efficient way of living. Instead of a healthy cell, an idea may be …