Thomas Aquinas and the Civil Economy Tradition: The Mediterranean Spirit of Capitalism (Routledge Studies in the History of Economics)

Delving into the history of economic thought, this book presents a picture of the Mediterranean spirit of capitalism, a tradition that has its protagonists in Thomas Aquinas and the eighteenth-century civil economy, and seeks to understand its presence and relevance for contemporary societies. The book argues thatit is reductive to attribute to the ‘Protestant ethic’ the different formations of capitalism in the Western world. Instead, it is vital to acknowledge the differences in the ways in which the market is lived, enterprises are created and conducted, and civic life in general is understood in different regions. This thought-provoking study demonstrates that in Southern Europe, the legacy of Aquinas and the civil economy adds different terms to those recurring in classical and neo-classical economy: common good, reciprocity, virtue, public trust, mutual assistance, and public happiness. It is these ideas of a market as a place for mutual assistance which can be said to characterize the Mediterranean spirit of capitalism. __Thomas Aquinas and the Civil Economy Tradition__ will be of interest to advanced students and researchers in the history of economic thought, economic philosophy, Christian ethics, and moral theology. Delving into the history of economic thought, this book presents a picture of the Mediterranean spirit of capitalism, a tradition that has its protagonists in Thomas Aquinas and the eighteenth-century civil economy, and seeks to understand its presence and relevance for contemporary societies. The book argues that it is reductive to attribute to the ‘Protestant ethic’ the different formations of capitalism in the Western world. Instead, it is vital to acknowledge the differences in the ways in which the market is lived, enterprises are created and conducted, and civic life in general is understood in different regions. This thought-provoking study demonstrates that in Southern Europe, the legacy of Aquinas and the civil economy adds different terms to those recurring in classical and neo-classical economy: common good, reciprocity, virtue, public trust, mutual assistance, and public happiness. It is these ideas of a market as a place for mutual assistance which can be said to characterize the Mediterranean spirit of capitalism. Thomas Aquinas and the Civil Economy Tradition will be of interest to advanced students and researchers in the history of economic thought, economic philosophy, Christian ethics, and moral theology. This thought-provoking monograph connects the idea of civil economy in Italian economic thought to the work of Thomas Aquinas. It will be of interest to advanced students and researchers in the history of economic thought, economic philosophy, Christian ethics and moral theology. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 7 Table of Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgements 14 1 Introduction 16 2 Aquinas’s social and economic teachings 46 3 Aquinas and economic thought 80 4 From Aquinas to civil economy 105 5 The Thomistic soul of civil economy 127 6 Conclusion 157 Index 168 civil,economy;,social,economics;,economic,theology;,Neapolitan,school;,Catholic,economic,thought;,economics,and,ethics civil economy,social economics,economic theology,Neapolitan school,Catholic economic thought,economics and ethics "This thought-provoking monograph connects the idea of civil economy in Italian economic thought to the work of Thomas Aquinas. Its main thesis is that there is an alternative spirit of capitalism, with Catholic origins, and which has been carried through to the modern day via the Neapolitan School. It also shows how his treatment of some economic topics can illuminate current discussions about civil economy. Thomas Aquinas and Civil Economy will be of interest to advanced students and researchers in the history of economic thought, economic philosophy, Christian ethics and moral theology"-- Provided by publisher