Introduction

"As we will see, hostility toward usury stems from two interrelated sources: certain economic views and certain ethical views. Economically, from the beginning of Western thought, usury was regarded as unproductive—as the taking of something for nothing. Ethically, the practice was condemned as immoral—as unjust, exploitative, against biblical law, selfish. The history of usury is a history of confusions, discoveries, and evasions concerning the economic and moral status of the practice. Until usury is recognized as both economically productive and ethically praiseworthy—as both practical and moral—moneylenders will continue to be condemned as villains rather than heralded as the heroes they in fact are.

Our brief history begins with Aristotle’s view on the subject." (http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2007-fall/morality-of-moneylending.asp)

Excerpts

see extensive abstracts in: Attitudes to Usury - History

It discusses:

Aristotle
The Dark and Middle Ages
Renaissance and Reformation
The Enlightenment
The 19th and 20th Centuries
The 21st Century

Morality of Moneylending

Introduction

Excerpts

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