On Commerce and Usury (1524)

On Commerce and Usury (1524)
Author: Martin Luther
Publisher: Anthem Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2015-09-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1783083859

This volume presents Martin Luther’s contribution to the modern economic sciences, providing a detailed introduction and revised translation of his major pamphlet on economic matters, ‘On Commerce and Usury’ (‘Von Kauffshandlung vnd Wucher’, 1524). In his teachings on indulgences Luther picked up on the question of hoarding money, and was among the earliest voices in early modern Europe calling for an ‘ethical’ economics. Luther’s work prefigured many later contributions to modern economic theory, from the mercantilists and cameralists to the German Historical School.

Human Flourishing

Human Flourishing
Author: Greg Forster
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2020-08-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725259451

Beyond an internal transformation or mere "moment of salvation," how does Christian faith envision the good life? This question demands not only a Christian view of how individuals should live, but of how social institutions are best arranged for human flourishing. In the advanced modern world, our common public life is mainly lived out in the domains of work and commerce, so a Christian view of economic life is essential to a modern Christian view of human flourishing. In this volume, established evangelical scholars in theology, biblical studies, and history explore their disciplines in connection with economic wisdom to yield insights about what it means to live wholly, fruitfully, and well. Faithful and provocative, these essays uncover fresh ground on topics ranging from poverty to work ethic to capitalism/socialism to slavery to non-profit entities to the medieval indulgence industry.

Scarcity

Scarcity
Author: Fredrik Albritton Jonsson
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2023-04-18
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0674293045

A sweeping intellectual history of the concept of economic scarcity—its development across five hundred years of European thought and its decisive role in fostering the climate crisis. Modern economics presumes a particular view of scarcity, in which human beings are innately possessed of infinite desires and society must therefore facilitate endless growth and consumption irrespective of nature’s limits. Yet as Fredrik Albritton Jonsson and Carl Wennerlind show, this vision of scarcity is historically novel and was not inevitable even in the age of capitalism. Rather, it reflects the costly triumph of infinite-growth ideologies across centuries of European economic thought—at the expense of traditions that sought to live within nature’s constraints. The dominant conception of scarcity today holds that, rather than master our desires, humans must master nature to meet those desires. Albritton Jonsson and Wennerlind argue that this idea was developed by thinkers such as Francis Bacon, Samuel Hartlib, Alfred Marshall, and Paul Samuelson, who laid the groundwork for today’s hegemonic politics of growth. Yet proponents of infinite growth have long faced resistance from agrarian radicals, romantic poets, revolutionary socialists, ecofeminists, and others. These critics—including the likes of Gerrard Winstanley, Dorothy Wordsworth, Karl Marx, and Hannah Arendt—embraced conceptions of scarcity in which our desires, rather than nature, must be mastered to achieve the social good. In so doing, they dramatically reenvisioned how humans might interact with both nature and the economy. Following these conflicts into the twenty-first century, Albritton Jonsson and Wennerlind insist that we need new, sustainable models of economic thinking to address the climate crisis. Scarcity is not only a critique of infinite growth, but also a timely invitation to imagine alternative ways of flourishing on Earth.

The Annotated Luther, Volume 5

The Annotated Luther, Volume 5
Author: Hans H. Hillerbrand
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 736
Release: 2017-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1451472331

This volume (volume 5) features Luther's writings that intesect church and state, faith and life lived as a follower of Christ. His insights regarding marriage, trade, public education, war and are articulated. His theological and biblical insights also colored the way he spoke of the "Jews" and Turks, as well his admonition to the German peasants in their uprisings against the established powers.

The Routledge Handbook of Economic Theology

The Routledge Handbook of Economic Theology
Author: Stefan Schwarzkopf
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 820
Release: 2020-03-24
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351973614

This Handbook introduces and systematically explores the thesis that the economy, economic practices and economic thought are of a profoundly theological nature. Containing more than 40 chapters, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art reference work that offers students, researchers and policymakers an introduction to current scholarship, significant debates and emerging research themes in the study of the theological significance of economic concepts and the religious underpinnings of economic practices in a world that is increasingly dominated by financiers, managers, forecasters, market-makers and entrepreneurs. This Handbook brings together scholars from different parts of the world, representing various disciplines and intellectual traditions. It covers the development of economic thought and practices from antiquity to neoliberalism, and it provides insight into the economic–theological teachings of major religious movements. The list of contributors combines well-established scholars and younger academic talents. The chapters in this Handbook cover a wide array of conceptual, historical, theoretical and methodological issues and perspectives, such as the economic meaning of theological concepts (e.g. providence and faith); the theological underpinnings of economic concepts (e.g. credit and property); the religious significance of socio-economic practices in various organizational fields (e.g. accounting and work); and finally the genealogy of the theological–economic interface in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and in the discipline of economics itself (e.g. Marx, Keynes and Hayek). The Routledge Handbook of Economic Theology is organized in four parts: • Theological concepts and their economic meaning • Economic concepts and their theological anchoring • Society, management and organization • Genealogy of economic theology

Luther for Everyone

Luther for Everyone
Author: Hans Schwarz
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2024-02-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506498310

Martin Luther is among those most influential and well-known people ever to live. But who was he and what did he want? What significance does he have for the world beyond the church? When these questions are posed, it becomes apparent that Martin Luther's theology, confession, and understanding of the world are little known outside of the Protestantism. Yet, Luther's numerous publications and teaching tenure at the University of Wittenberg extended far beyond Germany and far beyond Lutheranism. His translation of the Bible led to a revolution in publishing, language, and media. He nurtured the sciences, promoted an education system for boys, girls, and even the poor. He decisively shaped our understanding, sharpened our social conscience, and even influenced the renewal of the Catholic Church. Luther, in short, is for everyone. In this book, renowned scholar and theologian, Hans Schwarz traces these many connections and influences between Luther's world and our own. The result is a compelling account of Luther that can instruct both contemporary Lutherans and the broader public in the life and legacy of one of the makers of the modern world.

Austria Supreme (if it so Wishes) (1684): 'A Strategy for European Economic Supremacy

Austria Supreme (if it so Wishes) (1684): 'A Strategy for European Economic Supremacy
Author: Philipp von Hörnigk
Publisher: Anthem Press
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2018-06-25
Genre: History
ISBN: 1783088222

Austria Supreme (if it so wishes) (1684) provides a translation of and a scholarly introduction to the Austrian-German Mercantilist classic Oesterreich über Alles Wann es Nur Will (1684) by Philipp Wilhelm von Hörnigk. Published a few months after the unsuccessful 1683 siege of Vienna by the Turks, a turning point in European history, the book stayed in print for more than 100 years. This was the most widely read German language economic textbook of the period, containing, in a nutshell, the essential ingredients of economic strategy that would make Austria and Europe grow rich and eventually overtake the rest of the world as the first world region that experienced an industrial revolution. In Oesterreich über Alles Wann es Nur Will Hörnigk updates and redefines the Mercantilist political economy – a strategy for achieving national wealth and political strength simultaneously by building up a competitive domestic manufacturing industry with the help of the state. Austria Supreme (if it so wishes) (1684) is the first-ever English translation of a work whose importance for European economic development and the ‘European Miracle’ cannot be overestimated.

Managing the Wealth of Nations

Managing the Wealth of Nations
Author: Philipp Robinson Rössner
Publisher: Policy Press
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2022-04
Genre: Capitalism
ISBN: 1529211220

This pioneering work debunks the neoliberal origin myth of how capitalism came into the world.

Freedom and Capitalism in Early Modern Europe

Freedom and Capitalism in Early Modern Europe
Author: Philipp Robinson Rössner
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2020-10-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 3030533093

This book hinges upon ideas and discourses variously known under labels such as “Mercantilism” and “Cameralism”. Often viewed as antithesis of capitalism, inclusive institutions and good economy in the “West”, this book re-assembles them and builds them into a coherent origin story of modern capitalism. It explores the field of intellectual and conceptual history, especially the history of Renaissance and Mercantilism in a longer history of capitalism. Rather than hindrances, the author argues that Mercantilist and Cameralist political economies presented essential stepping stones of modern capitalism, in Britain and beyond. This book will be of interest to academics and students in general economic history, the history of capitalism, economic development and the history of economic thought.