Reassessing the Moral Economy: Religion and Economic Ethics from Ancient Greece to the 20th Century

Tanja Skambraks · Martin Lutz

Oct 2023 · Springer Nature

About this ebook

This book examines the concept of moral economy originally established by E.P. Thompson, focusing on the impact of religious norms on economic practice. With each chapter discussing a different empirical case study, the interrelations of the economy and religion are explored from antiquity through to the 20th century. The long-term trajectory and comparative perspective allows for moral economy to be seen in relation to ancient Greek commerce, medieval pawn-broking, Christian and Jewish economic ethics, urban social politics during the Plague, the Jesuit mission in Paraguay, the Ottoman Empire, religion in modern American capitalism, and Catholic attitudes toward taxation.

This book aims to provide insight into how moral thinking about the economy and economic practice has evolved from a long historic perspective. It will be relevant to students and researchers interested in economic history and cultural economics.

About the author

Tanja Skambraks is Professor of Medieval History at Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Austria. Her second book is about “Charitable Credit: the Monti di Pietà, Franciscan Economic Ethics and Poor Relief in late medieval Italy (15th and 16th century)”. Her research and publications focus on economic and social history, especially financial and banking history as well as methodology, material culture and the history of rituals.

Martin Lutz is a social and economic historian at Humboldt University of Berlin. He has published on German-Soviet economic relations, the transnational Siemens family and its globalization strategies in the 19th century and German exploitation of Ukraine during World War II. His current work looks at religion in modern capitalism.