Caesar and anti-usury

[james03]

One of the reasons he was successful was because he came in and crushed usury:



Before the rise of Caesar, we see the decadence in Rome which is present in the society of the Former West:



I stand by my assertion that usury is second only to inflation and debasement when it comes to social/financial evil.  You could reverse a lot of the decline by outlawing usury, starting with government debt.

Humorous note:  Mark the origin of the statement: Wives, you can't live with them or without them.  Circa 130 BC.

[LausTibiChriste]

Honest question: how can usury be the second evil when it is predominantly named? I have never heard inflation mentioned as a mortal sin in any Church teaching

[james03]

You could take either side, both are incredibly evil and have wrought destruction throughout history.  Ranking them is a bit econo-geeking on my part.

I'd argue that inflation offends God in two ways:  First it is stealing, and second, since it hammers the poor the hardest, it is defrauding a workman of his wages.  Anyone living through the Bidenflation can attest to the latter, and that is a sin that cries to heaven for vengeance.

[Bonaventure]

James, what is the source?

[james03]

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1604613969775194112.html

Looks like he is getting his cites from an author named Theodor Mommsen.

[Bonaventure]

Thanks.

[LausTibiChriste]

Usury has to be worse than inflation though, because usury is not accidental, right?

Inflation can be accidental. Despite people's best efforts, it can happen due to a variety of causes (usually not though, I admit).

But usury is not accidental - it's a definitive act of the will that I'm going to be Jewish in this particular act.

[The Curt Jester]

You're not going to hear usury condemned by the Church leaders right now considering they love it.  Example: a church near where I live needed a loan for building work.  They got a favorable interest rate from a bank, but the diocese forbade them from getting the loan from a bank and made the church get the loan from the diocese at an insane interest rate.  That's straight up stealing from the parishioners.

[Bonaventure]

You're not going to hear usury condemned by the Church leaders right now considering they love it.  Example: a church near where I live needed a loan for building work.  They got a favorable interest rate from a bank, but the diocese forbade them from getting the loan from a bank and made the church get the loan from the diocese at an insane interest rate.  That's straight up stealing from the parishioners.

Every diocese runs an "annual appeal."

Where I am, if a parish is late, interest is charged.

[The Curt Jester]

Every diocese runs an "annual appeal."

Where I am, if a parish is late, interest is charged.

Not the least bit surprising.

[drummerboy]

So he also instituted the custom of declaring bankruptcy it would seem.

 The second page regarding marriage sounds very much like the MGTOW movement.  A natural reaction to feminism, but utterly damaging to a  society already plagued with below replacement birth rates

[james03]

So he also instituted the custom of declaring bankruptcy it would seem.

 The second page regarding marriage sounds very much like the MGTOW movement.  A natural reaction to feminism, but utterly damaging to a  society already plagued with below replacement birth rates

Kind of interesting how the collapse of the American Empire is mirroring the societal collapse in Rome.  The MGTOW movement is huge, and may be responsible for getting Trump elected if he wins, as it is very popular among black men.

I thoroughly approve.  Less secularist offspring for the Trad kids to compete against in the future.  Trads win by just showing up, though there are multiple reasons why it is the winning team.

[james03]

Usury has to be worse than inflation though, because usury is not accidental, right?

Inflation can be accidental. Despite people's best efforts, it can happen due to a variety of causes (usually not though, I admit).

But usury is not accidental - it's a definitive act of the will that I'm going to be Jewish in this particular act.

No argument if you hold usury to be the greater evil.  It is a reasonable position.

[drummerboy]

So he also instituted the custom of declaring bankruptcy it would seem.

 The second page regarding marriage sounds very much like the MGTOW movement.  A natural reaction to feminism, but utterly damaging to a  society already plagued with below replacement birth rates

Kind of interesting how the collapse of the American Empire is mirroring the societal collapse in Rome.  The MGTOW movement is huge, and may be responsible for getting Trump elected if he wins, as it is very popular among black men.

I thoroughly approve.  Less secularist offspring for the Trad kids to compete against in the future.  Trads win by just showing up, though there are multiple reasons why it is the winning team.

Indeed!  It's tragic that children aren't bring born, but what families would they be raised in? What religion, moral and political system.  They'd most likely end up products of contemporary American secular rot culture and eternal perdition.  So perhaps it's God's mercy they were never born.

[KreKre]

How can inflation be accidental? How can currency supply increase accidentally? You accidentally turn on the money printer and forget to turn it off? You accidentally write zeroes to digital bank accounts for money which does not yet exist?