Money, Markets, and Merit: The Economic Thought of Leonardus Lessius

Bibliographic Details
Title: Money, Markets, and Merit: The Economic Thought of Leonardus Lessius
Authors: Wim Decock
Publisher Information: Oxford University PressNew York, NY, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: Business & economic sciences, Droit, criminologie & sciences politiques, Economie générale & histoire de la pensée économique, Metalaw, Roman law, history of law & comparative law, General economics & history of economic thought, Sciences économiques & de gestion, Law, criminology & political science, Métadroit, droit romain, histoire du droit & droit comparé
Description: This book revisits the legacy of Leonardus Lessius (1554–1623), a pivotal figure in the early development of economic thought. Lessius was considered a “father of modern economic analysis” by none other than Joseph Schumpeter. He made significant contributions to the normative foundations of modern economics, offering ethical and juridical frameworks for dealing with issues like speculation, interest-taking, monopolies, banking, and insurance markets. In the process, he observed the empirical functioning of markets and analysed the logic behind economic and financial transactions. Set against the backdrop of global trade, religious upheaval, and the rise of capitalism in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, his seminal work On Justice and Law combines legal, theological, and economic reasoning, providing practical solutions to moral dilemmas faced by merchants and financiers. Though Lessius condemned excessive greed, he supported the pursuit of economic activity through hard work, cleverness, and fair dealing. His ideas helped lay the groundwork for the ethical justification of modern commerce and finance, offering an important link between spiritual salvation and the legitimation of material prosperity on the basis of “merit.”
Document Type: Book
Language: English
DOI: 10.1093/9780197827345.001.0001
Access URL: https://hdl.handle.net/2268/321114
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....19bc72591c5dbf8d772855d23b7f6411
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
DOI:10.1093/9780197827345.001.0001