Usury

 

Under the Law, God prohibited the people from charging interest to other Jews but allowed them to charge interest to foreigners.

While Jesus fulfilled the law this prohibition apparently continued until the time of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. During the Reformation Martin Luther needed the support of the political leaders such as kings, princes, land owners etc. They in turn pressured Luther for permission to take over the common areas of land and rent the land back to the people who lived on it.

These political leaders were attempting to free themselves from the Catholic church's opposition to the practice of charging interest and the commercialization of formerly common lands. The Catholic Church wanted to keep the local lords, princes and kings dependent upon the pope.

Growth of the Protestant Reformation required the support of commercial interests which were demanding the moral authority to lend and borrow money. The Old Testament law prohibited charging interest to other Jews but permitted interest to strangers. Permission to charge interest in affect said that everyone was a stranger.

Thomas Jefferson wrote that it created a world where "the merchant has no homeland." If everyone is a stranger, it is a lot easier to do business. The merchant class cannot exist outside of a culture that encourages money lending. The growth of commerce-based organizations destroyed many traditional "tribes."

Martin Luther saw the needs of local power brokers could encourage the spread of Protestantism. With no other choice the pope followed suit.  The ban on usury was eventually eliminated. Investments were made, business grew, and productivity soared. People could view every transaction as a chance to lend or make money because they were independent agents. Everyone became a borrower or a lender.

Suddenly your "tribe" was a profit center. If you knew a lot of people you could make money from them. Social leadership suddenly translated into financial leadership.

For the last five hundred years, the best, way to succeed has been to treat everyone as a stranger with whom you could do business.