The developing world is facing dramatic debt and development crises. A debt crisis should not be narrowly defined as a matter of countries defaulting on their obligations to creditors. For many nations, the real default is not a legal or financial one, but a social and development one: They are defaulting on their people, their environment, and their future. The historic commitments made in 2015 with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), solemnly resolved by the UN General Assembly, are being voided. In the current geopolitical context, they are being repudiated by many governments in practice, and by some even in principle. To meet obligations to their external creditors, debt-distressed countries are sacrificing investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and climate resilience. Core aspects of national sovereignty are put into question as economic policy serves creditors rather than citizens. National politics is delegitimized if fiscal and financial policies are in the service of finance rather than in the service of development. […]