This is one of the biggest fallacies about money even in the academic world. If debt is money then the more debt you have in a community the more wealthy is that community as a whole. But NO! It is not strange at all that most indebted nations think they are the richest ones.

If I have a piece of gold in my hand nobody owes me anything. If I have 1 bitcoin in my wallet nobody owes me anything.

This is why ethers is fuel while bitcoins is money!