This book examines the concept of moral economy originally established by E.P. Thompson, focusing on the impact of religious norms on economic practice. With each chapter discussing a different empirical case study, the interrelations of the economy and religion are explored from antiquity through to the 20th century. The long-term trajectory and comparative perspective allows for moral economy to be seen in relation to ancient Greek commerce, medieval pawn-broking, Christian and Jewish economic ethics, urban social politics during the Plague, the Jesuit mission in Paraguay, the Ottoman Empire, religion in modern American capitalism, and Catholic attitudes toward taxation.
This book aims to provide insight into how moral thinking about the economy and economic practice has evolved from a long historic perspective. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in economic history and cultural economics.
Author(s): Tanja Skambraks; Martin Lutz
Series: Palgrave Studies in Economic History
Edition: 1
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: xiii; 298
City: Cham
Tags: Economics and Finance; Economic History; Cultural Economics; Social History; Economics and religion; Economic Sociology
Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
1 Introduction: Reassessing Moral Economy
Why Reassessing Moral Economy
Aims of This Book
Chapter Synopsis
References
Part I Antiquity and Middle Ages
2 The Popular Morality of Ancient Greek Commerce
Introduction
Private Welfare and Divine Intervention
The Contingencies of Commerce
Justice and Trust in the Marketplace
The Religious Embeddedness of Commerce: Continuity and Change
Bibliography
3 Early Medieval Property Transfers in Favour of the Church Between Religion and Economy
Transferring the Concept of “Moral Economy” to the Early Middle Ages
The Relevance of Religious and Economic Motives in Making Donations to the Church
Possibilities and Limits of Determining Motives for Property Transfers in Favour of the Church
The End of Embeddedness? On the Relevance of the Increasing Number of Transactions of Exchange from the Middle of the Ninth Century Onwards
Conclusion
References
4 Between Pietas and Usury: Dynamics of a Moral Economy in the Middle Ages
Introduction
Operationalising Moral Economy
The Emergence of Christian Small-Scale Credit
Embeddedness of Piety and Economy
Programmatic Images
Ritual and Performance
Innovations
Petrus Iohannis Olivi’s Treatise De Contractibus
The Monte as Depositum Apostolicum in Annio da Viterbo’s Questiones
Feedback Effects
Conclusion
References
5 Past the Limits of Usury: Jews and the Moral Economy of Moneylending in the Late Medieval German Territories
Introduction
Usury, Moneylending, and Jews’ Involvement in the Medieval Economy
Between Jews and Christians
Within the Jewish Community
Conclusion
References
6 Fiscality, Debt, and Moral Economy: The View from Florentine Civic Chronicles
Introduction
Fiscality and Usury
Prices, Investment Behaviour, and Ethics
A Regressive or Charitable Institution?
Conclusion
References
Part II Early Modern Period
7 The Moral Economy of Epidemics: Emergency, Charitable Institutions and Poor Relief in Early Modern Italian Plague Regulations
Introduction
What Kind of Moral Economy?
Discipline, but Not Just Punish
Moral Bending
Conclusion
References
8 Moral Economists: The Jesuit Mission in Paraguay and the Idea of Economic Growth in Early Modern Times
The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
The Jesuits as “Moral Economists”
Growth and Mission I: Harvesting the Souls
Growth and Mission II: Harvesting the Fields
Conclusions
References
9 Profit Due to Christian Behaviour: The Moral Economy of the Moravian Church in the Eighteenth Century
Introduction
Missionary Work as Main Task: A Short Introduction to the Moravian Church
“Commerce that Jesus Could Approve”. The Moral Economy of the Moravian Church
Debates on Profit and Sin at the General Synod of 1764
Watchmen for Bethlehem’s Moral Economy. The Commerce Conference in Bethlehem (1766–1768)
“… Brotherly Love and Honesty in All Their Dealings”. Christian Behaviour as a Competitive Advantage
Summary
References
Part III Modern Period
10 Negotiating Religion, Moral Economy and Economic Ideas in the Late Ottoman Empire: Perspectives of Peasants and the Intelligentsia
Introduction
Capitalism and Moral Economy
Peasants and Moral Economy
Intelligentsia, Economics and Religion
“Backwardness” and Ethics of Hard Work
Conclusion
References
11 Leading a “Simple” Life in Modern Capitalism. The Moral Economy of Mennonite Consumption in Mid-twentieth-century America
Introduction
What Does It Mean to Lead a Simple Life?
Simplicity Challenged
Discerning New Arrangements
Conclusions
References
12 Tax Morale and the Church: How Catholic Clergies Adapted Norms of Paying Taxes to Secular Institutions (1940s–1950s)
Tax Morale in History
Tax Payment and the Catholic Church
Catholic Theologians and Taxes Since World War II: Three Case Studies
The US Redemptorist Martin Timothy Crowe (1944)
The West German Jesuit Oswald Von Nell-Breuning (1930, 1954, 1962)
The Spanish Jesuit Joaquín Azpiazu Zulaica (1944/1952)
Conclusion
References
13 “Resort City? Why What Happened to Las Vegas, Sin City?”: Suburban America, Religious Groups, and the Moral Economy of Gambling in Las Vegas, 1945–1969
Introduction—“A Seeming Cloak of Respectability”
Moral(izing) Economies
Moralizing Gambling: Reimagining Gambling Through Spatial Arrangements
Moralizing Gamblers: Economic Success in the Gambling Industry as a Path to Society for Marginalized Entrepreneurs
Preserving the Moral Economy: Preserving Casinos as Leisure Spaces for the Suburban Middle Class
Mormons as Facilitators of the Moral Economy: “How Can Good Mormons Be Involved Indirectly in Gaming?”
Conclusion
References
Part IV Conclusion
14 Reassessing Moral Economies. Concluding Thoughts
References
Index
