It's actually the money system that's the scam, economic principles merely give respectability to the system, a legal Ponzi scheme which is a little different to a pyramid scheme.
The scam begins when you enter a bank to borrow money. The bank creates an account, enters a number into that account, you walk out and buy your new car or whatever. Money was created out of nothing, because the bank never had it, nor did you when you bought the car. Now since the original loan only covered the principle, not the interest, total debt must continue to expand. If that slows down and too many default, the system collapses.