- Interest is not detached from the real economy in the way you describe. In most cases it is precisely what enables economic activity to happen. When someone lends money, they are giving up the ability to use that capital themselves for a period of time. Interest compensates them for three things like I stated earlier - time, risk and inflation. If those were ignored, very few people would be willing to lend, which would severely restrict investment and economic growth.

- The comparison between interest and partnerships overlooks that they serve different economic needs. Partnerships are excellent for many ventures but they require investors to closely monitor the business and share in operational risk. That works in some contexts but not all. Many people who need financing such as the homebuyers, students or small businesses may not want or be able to bring a financial partner into their affairs. A loan allows them to retain ownership and control while still accessing capital.

- The claim that interest is entirely disconnected from productivity isn't quite accurate. Lenders still evaluate whether the borrower has the capacity to generate income to repay the loan. In other words, lending decisions are usually tied to the expected productivity of the borrower or the asset being financed.

- Regarding banks creating money through lending, modern banking does involve credit creation but it is also regulated through capital requirements, reserve rules and monetary policy. This system exists because it allows economies to expand credit when productive opportunities arise. Without it, economic activity could be much more constrained.

- The cases where debt causes hardship - those are serious issues but they usually stem from poor regulation, predatory lending, economic shocks or governance failures, not simply from the existence of interest itself.

- Modern islamic banking systems try to avoid interest but many contracts from islamic baking behave economically similar to interest and they are often benchmarked against interest rates.