Franciscan Wealth: The Roots of Franciscan Economic Thought—A Comment

Abstract

Todeschini’s chapter successfully shows the role of Franciscanism in the emergence of some of the basic categories in the economic way of reasoning of Westerners. Early Franciscan authors developed the notion of voluntary poverty, legitimated interest-bearing loans concerning investment loans, and used the idea of “capital.” Moreover, money was viewed as ethical because of its role as an intermediary for exchanges and should circulate as much as possible. In contrast, its role as a store of value was condemned because of its hoarding behavior. This vision can be seen as a preview of the theory of French physiocrats, for example. Finally, from a charisma that saw the poor not as a problem but as a resource, Franciscanism could be the source of different types of banks or financial institutions as entire fundamental organizations for the development of a civil economy.