Most contemporary moral defenses of capitalism rely on ideas drawn from the modern philosophic tradition that emerged in the 17th-18th centuries. Almost always, advocates of a free market society have either invoked the notion of a social contract, a theory of natural rights, the insistence that...

This paper traces the different attempts to explain the role and the effects of public debt on national economies from the late 17th century to the postwar period of the 20th century. Its main emphasis lies in the treatment of public debt in the mercantilist, classical and post-classical period...

Spanish Abstract: Este ensayo se propone estudiar las raíces del liberalismo de la Escuela Austriaca, y las distintas etapas evolutivas que surgieron desde su fundación. En este sentido se destacan raíces en los pensadores pre-socráticos de la Antigua Grecia, en Juan de Mariana y la Escuela...

Upon leaving Tuscany to become Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II left some notes (1790) that prove very interesting to today's economist. They show how a holistic approach to the socio-economic characteristics of a region should always be considered, starting from a people's spirit, or...

Talmudic stories are a method used by the ancient sages to teach us about ethics and morality. This paper examines the life of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon b. Yochai. The most important and famous work of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), the Zohar, is attributed to Rabbi Shimon (with some...

This paper examines several different Talmudic principles that confirm the seriousness of the spoken word. The sages of the Talmud felt that saying something nasty that might happen in the future could actually cause it to happen. Thus, those following the advice of the Talmud, will avoid saying...

French Abstract: Tout paiement d'intérêt sur un prêt a toujours été condamné comme de l'usure dans le Christianisme et dans l'Islam. Cette condamnation fut imposée par ces deux religions de par leur autorité, sans justification aucune. Malgré tout, elle a inspiré théologiens et...

Italian Abstract: Dopo aver lasciato la Toscana per diventare imperatore del Sacro Romano Impero, Leopoldo lasciò alcuni appunti (1790) che si rivelarono molto interessanti per l'economista di oggi. Mostrano come dovrebbe essere sempre considerato un approccio olistico alle caratteristiche...

Though contemporaries, Adam Smith and Sir James Steuart are commonly portrayed as men belonging to different eras. Whereas Smith went down in history both as founder of Classical Political Economy and patron of economic liberalism, Steuart became known as the last, outdated advocate of...