LEADER 04549nam 2200769Ia 450 001 9910821886403321 005 20210510213047.0 010 $a0-8122-0750-5 024 7 $a10.9783/9780812207507 035 $a(CKB)3170000000060325 035 $a(OCoLC)857879003 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebrary10748428 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000885383 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11548556 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000885383 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10953362 035 $a(PQKB)11694663 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse24649 035 $a(DE-B1597)449667 035 $a(OCoLC)859686976 035 $a(OCoLC)979881124 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780812207507 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3442061 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10748428 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL682510 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3442061 035 $a(PPN)187943109 035 $a(EXLCZ)993170000000060325 100 $a20120531d2013 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aBeggar thy neighbor$b[electronic resource] $ea history of usury and debt /$fCharles R. Geisst 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aPhiladelphia $cUniversity of Pennsylvania Press$dc2013 215 $a1 online resource (396 p.) 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 0 $a1-322-51228-0 311 0 $a0-8122-4462-1 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 361-376) and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tIntroduction --$tChapter 1. Saints and Sinners --$tChapter 2. Embracing Shylock --$tChapter 3. Protestants, War, and Capitalism --$tChapter 4. The Great Experiment --$tChapter 5. The New Debt Revolution --$tChapter 6. Something Old, Something New --$tChapter 7. Islam, Interest, and Microlending --$tChapter 8. The Consumer Debt Revolution --$tAppendix. Early Interest Rate Tables and Calculations --$tNotes --$tBibliography --$tIndex --$tAcknowledgments 330 $aThe practice of charging interest on loans has been controversial since it was first mentioned in early recorded history. Lending is a powerful economic tool, vital to the development of society but it can also lead to disaster if left unregulated. Prohibitions against excessive interest, or usury, have been found in almost all societies since antiquity. Whether loans were made in kind or in cash, creditors often were accused of beggar-thy-neighbor exploitation when their lending terms put borrowers at risk of ruin. While the concept of usury reflects transcendent notions of fairness, its definition has varied over time and place: Roman law distinguished between simple and compound interest, the medieval church banned interest altogether, and even Adam Smith favored a ceiling on interest. But in spite of these limits, the advantages and temptations of lending prompted financial innovations from margin investing and adjustable-rate mortgages to credit cards and microlending. In Beggar Thy Neighbor, financial historian Charles R. Geisst tracks the changing perceptions of usury and debt from the time of Cicero to the most recent financial crises. This comprehensive economic history looks at humanity's attempts to curb the abuse of debt while reaping the benefits of credit. Beggar Thy Neighbor examines the major debt revolutions of the past, demonstrating that extensive leverage and debt were behind most financial market crashes from the Renaissance to the present day. Geisst argues that usury prohibitions, as part of the natural law tradition in Western and Islamic societies, continue to play a key role in banking regulation despite modern advances in finance. From the Roman Empire to the recent Dodd-Frank financial reforms, usury ceilings still occupy a central place in notions of free markets and economic justice. 606 $aDebt$xHistory 606 $aUsury laws$xHistory 606 $aUsury$xHistory 606 $aUsury$xReligious aspects$xHistory 610 $aBusiness. 610 $aEconomics. 610 $aEuropean History. 610 $aHistory. 610 $aWorld History. 615 0$aDebt$xHistory. 615 0$aUsury laws$xHistory. 615 0$aUsury$xHistory. 615 0$aUsury$xReligious aspects$xHistory. 676 $a332.8/309 686 $aQK 100$qSEPA$2rvk 700 $aGeisst$b Charles R$0249703 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910821886403321 996 $aBeggar thy neighbor$94056765 997 $aUNINA