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SDR
millennium club
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1696
Location: San Francisco
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 Posted: Sat Mar 12, 2005 2:59 pm Post subject: Interest |
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I admit to surprise when I first learned that some have questioned the propriety of allowing money to "earn" interest, Frank Lloyd Wright was one such critic. Later I learned that it is not a universally accepted practice, today, and that there are passages of Scripture which forbid it.
Can anyone shed some light on the issue, historically and/or philosophically?
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Richard Haut
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Joined: 18 Apr 2004
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Location: Nice, France
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| Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 5:41 am Post subject: |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury
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Richard Haut has worked with the architectural profession for over 25 years and produces the weekly Richard Haut's Competitions, which has given architects details of many thousands of projects for which they can apply across Britain and Europe. |
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SDR
millennium club
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1696
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:16 am Post subject: |
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Thank you. Good start. Looks like I have some research to do.
In the mean time, any pertinent thoughts would be appreciated.
It's never too late to examine "first principles". . .
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SDR
millennium club
Joined: 02 Oct 2004
Posts: 1696
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 9:40 am Post subject: |
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I guess what I'm wondering, is, what are the real-world implications of the practice of charging interest on loans, and the earning of interest on investments, today? What are the alternatives? If the charging for the use of money is the basic means of income for those who do so, what other incentives would they have to continue in business. And if this is a self-evident economic fact, how is that reconciled with the ancient proscriptions, seemingly universal at one time. . .?
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Richard Haut
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Joined: 18 Apr 2004
Posts: 1128
Location: Nice, France
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| Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2005 10:20 am Post subject: |
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it is a matter of intentions.
if one sees interest as a sort of rent for the use of money (as it was for the use of silver or grain in ancient times), then that is not of itself unreasonable.
the probable defence for charging interest would be that the rent-interest is the equivalent of what the owner of the money could have earned if it had not been loaned.
however I have always understood the difference between interest and usury to be that interest is a charge for using money, whereas usury is an abuse of the position of being the lender.
with banks and other financial institutions and administrations as corrupt as they are in Britain and America this involves an ever growing spiral of forcing people and organisations into debt and then trying to find ways to abuse the methods of charging for that debt.
in simple terms, interest is a reasonable payment for the use of something - money, grain, whatever, whereas usury is the equivalent of a protection racket.
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Richard Haut has worked with the architectural profession for over 25 years and produces the weekly Richard Haut's Competitions, which has given architects details of many thousands of projects for which they can apply across Britain and Europe. |
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