IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jbuset/v194y2024i2d10.1007_s10551-023-05607-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

At the Roots of Business Ethics: A New Reading of the Merchant of Venice

Author

Listed:
  • Luigino Bruni

    (University LUMSA)

Abstract

This paper discusses The Merchant of Venice from an economic and Biblical perspective in an attempt to corroborate the view that the work epitomizes the spirit of the early capitalism of Shakespeare’s London. The main goal of the paper is to enrich mainstream interpretation by showing different, and more complex faces of the main characters of the play. Starting with the debate on usury in the late Middle Ages, the paper argues that the main ethical message conveyed by The Merchant of Venice is a criticism of the hypocrisy of the spirit of emerging capitalism at the time. Furthermore, the paper claims that in order to understand the core of this masterpiece, its Biblical references must be explored and reconsidered, as accurate interpretation of their context may shed new light on the play and on Shakespeare’s general view of proto-capitalism.

Suggested Citation

  • Luigino Bruni, 2024. "At the Roots of Business Ethics: A New Reading of the Merchant of Venice," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 194(2), pages 275-284, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:194:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-023-05607-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05607-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10551-023-05607-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10551-023-05607-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert Mayer, 2013. "When and Why Usury Should be Prohibited," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 513-527, September.
    2. Alyssa Labat & Walter Block, 2012. "Money Does Not Grow on Trees: An Argument for Usury," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(3), pages 383-387, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Doris Neuberger & Udo Reifner, 2020. "Systemic Usury and the European Consumer Credit Directive," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 89(1), pages 115-132.
    2. Ryszard Kowalski & Grzegorz Wałęga, 2022. "Regulation of Usury: Justification, Consequences, and Some Lessons from Polish Experience," Gospodarka Narodowa. The Polish Journal of Economics, Warsaw School of Economics, issue 2, pages 57-73.
    3. Sonia Stefanizzi & Tatiana Lysova, 2024. "Usury vulnerability: measuring and modelling the phenomenon in Italy," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 3845-3862, August.
    4. Robert Mayer, 2013. "When and Why Usury Should be Prohibited," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 116(3), pages 513-527, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:194:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10551-023-05607-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.