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Was Aquinas a ‘Universal Economist’?

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  • Paolo Santori

Abstract

Many scholars claim that Thomas Aquinas (1225–74), in line with his master Aristotle, held a negative view of international trade and foreign merchants. The third chapter of the second book of De Regimine Principum is often invoked in support of this view. While there is an ongoing controversy regarding the author of the book, scholars claim that Aquinas criticized the moral corruption brought by merchants in the cities. I argue that this reading is incomplete, and that Aquinas did not truly hold that view. Conversely, I will show how Aquinas gave importance to international trade as a means for promoting friendship and virtue between peoples. This paper explores the possibility of regarding Aquinas as a ‘Universal Economist’, one among a group of pre-Modern thinkers who conceived international commerce as a means of Divine Providence for promoting wealth and friendship among nations.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Santori, 2019. "Was Aquinas a ‘Universal Economist’?," History of Economics Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 72(1), pages 79-91, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rherxx:v:72:y:2019:i:1:p:79-91
    DOI: 10.1080/10370196.2019.1658558
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    Cited by:

    1. Pierre Januard, 2021. "Analysis risk and commercial risk: the first treatment of usury in Thomas Aquinas’s Commentary on the Sentences," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 599-634, July.
    2. Pierre Januard, 2022. "Probability, prudence, danger: Thomas Aquinas on the building of the lexicon of risk," Working Papers halshs-03787210, HAL.
    3. Pierre Januard, 2022. "Licit and illicit risks in Thomas Aquinas's De emptione et venditione ad tempus [Risques licites et illicites dans le De emptione et venditione ad tempus de Thomas d'Aquin]," Working Papers halshs-03559035, HAL.
    4. Pierre Januard, 2022. "Risks on Trade: The Activity of the Merchant in Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on the Sentences," Working Papers halshs-03313255, HAL.
    5. Pierre Januard, 2022. "Risky exchanges: price and justice in Thomas Aquinas’s De emptione et venditione ad tempus," The European Journal of the History of Economic Thought, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 729-769, July.
    6. Pierre Januard, 2022. "At the Boundaries of the Trading Sphere: The Appearance of the 'Just Price' in Thomas Aquinas's Commentary on the Sentences," Working Papers halshs-03658417, HAL.
    7. Pierre Januard, 2022. "Licit and illicit risks in Thomas Aquinas's De emptione et venditione ad tempus [Risques licites et illicites dans le De emptione et venditione ad tempus de Thomas d'Aquin]," Post-Print halshs-03559035, HAL.

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