Usury Revisited

Among other things, the recession has served to make people acutely aware of the relationship between economic activity and interest charges. For some 2000 years such charges were subject to close scrutiny because of the general animosity, at least in principle, to usury. However, systematic, study of usury declined markedly after Bentham's defence which has mounted towards the close of the eighteenth century. While Bentham undoubtedly exposed weaknesses in the attempts made to contain usury, insights gained by prior study of the problem have ongoing relevance.