No Interests from the Poor: Calvin's Economic and Banking Ethics

14 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2011

Date Written: March 26, 2009

Abstract

John Calvin, the protestant Reformer from Geneva, was far from being the father of Capitalism as many think, misinterpreting Max Weber. He was much more the father of socially regulated market economy. In his concept of allowing interests from loans he was very strict with seven rules for poverty alleviation, social justice, equality and avoiding greed. Calvin’s ethic is methodologically and dogmatically stamped by four interconnected factors: his trust in God, his understanding of the freedom of the gospel, the understanding of the law which follows from that, and his method of biblical exegesis.

Keywords: Calvin, greed, loans, interest rates, capitalism, socialism, trust, faith, banking ethics, financial ethics, business ethics, CSR

Suggested Citation

Stückelberger, Christoph, No Interests from the Poor: Calvin's Economic and Banking Ethics (March 26, 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1977835 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1977835

Christoph Stückelberger (Contact Author)

University of Basel ( email )

Nadelberg 10
Basel, 4052
Switzerland

HOME PAGE: http://www.unibas.ch

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