Siódme: „Nie kradnij”. O średniowiecznym odkrywaniu rynku na marginesie książki Paola Prodiego “Seventh: You shall not steal” – notes on the medieval „discovering” of the market in the margin of Paulo Prodi’s book
In the article, the topic of the medieval „discovering” of the market is discussed, with the references to the Paolo Prodis’ book Settimo non rubare. Furto e mercato nella storia dell’Occidente. The author of the book, following Harold Berman, finds the changes in the 11th and 12th century Church, as the decisive mile stones in the development of the civilization of Western Christianity. The mentioned „papal revolution” led to the historical distinction between the spiritual and the political sphere, and later, to the autonomy of economic one. Accordingly, the Italian historian rejects the thesis that Enlightenment was the new beginning in the European history. In the P. Prodi’s analysis, the Latin term forum plays the crucial role. The word signified the place, square, especially the place where court proceedings occurred. Therefore, in the later abstract sense forum signified criteria or rules of judgement: both in the juridical meaning (forum civile, f. canonico, f. consciantiae), and the economic one, in which forum meant exactly „the market”.
The “discovering” of the market rules was a consequence the development of the theoretical reasoning about mercantile activity. It was essentially related to the concepts of the just price (iustum pretium) and the common estimation (communis aestimatio). According to P. Prodi the common character of the estimation was of essential importance, as well as the new version of the Roman rule Res tantum valet, quantum vendi potest, with the medevial addendum: scilicet communiter. The author criticised the view, that the process of defining of the market was mainly the result of reception of Aristotelian Ethics and Politics. He underlined that in the penitential handbooks of the 12th and 13th century the focus was significantly shifted from the vice of avarice to the commandment „You shall not steal”; moreover the significant violation of the rules of fair market exchange begun to be considered as a sin against this commandment.
In the article, the significance of the application of the notion forum commune by Thomas Aquinas (in the treatise on credit sale) was underlined. The interconnection between the concept of the market and the idea of common good was expressed in the juxtaposition of terms: forum commune – bonum commune. M. W. Bukała observes that the thesis about the limited influence of Aristotelian thought on the examined issue can be additionally confirmed by the analysis of the Article on mercantile profit in Summa Theologiae by St. Thomas (II-II, q. 77, a. 4), where Aquinas distances himself from the Philosopher’s view. The P. Prodi discourses were amended by the significant distinction: not every violation of ethics of economic life was considered as the theft by the medieval moralists – e.g.: the determinatio of the casus of buying grain with the deferred delivery for an undercut price, in canon „Naviganti” (X 5.5.19, 2do), and in the related comments of the 13th century canonist, Clarus Florentinus. Moreover, the Jacques Le Goff’s critique of the Prodi’s approach was undermined.
Ta witryna wykorzystuje pliki cookies do przechowywania informacji na Twoim komputerze. Pliki cookies stosujemy w celu świadczenia usług na najwyższym poziomie, w tym w sposób dostosowany do indywidualnych potrzeb. Korzystanie z witryny bez zmiany ustawień dotyczących cookies oznacza, że będą one zamieszczane w Twoim komputerze. W każdym momencie możesz dokonać zmiany ustawień dotyczących cookies
Informacja
SZANOWNI CZYTELNICY!
UPRZEJMIE INFORMUJEMY, ŻE BIBLIOTEKA FUNKCJONUJE W NASTĘPUJĄCYCH GODZINACH:
Wypożyczalnia i Czytelnia Główna: poniedziałek – piątek od 9.00 do 19.00