Heh, that's a rather weird statement, considering the human lifespan used to be an average of maybe 30 years just a few centuries ago, and considering how comfortable we are with things like apps, podcasts, vlogs, twitters, snacks, and other short-term bits of information and activities.
To me, personally, interest is a guarantee that I will either get paid for use of my resources, or for taking on risk. No different than if I was to charge someone daily rental fee for using my power tools or my car, regardless of what they use it for.

In the long-run, though, if someone has an idea about something we have been using for a very long time, using very old technology, chances are someone else has thought of it hundreds of years ago already, and the idea already failed. I wouldn't be surprised if this stamp or destructive money idea was conceived many times in our past, or was simply destructive by it's nature, such as some culture using something that rots or withers (like tulips!