Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; CRITICAL INTRODUCTION: 1. Approaching Luther; 2. Contextualizing Luther: The Powers of Time and Space; 3. Luther: Impulsive Economics; 4. The Grip of the Dead Hand: Crisis Economics for a Pre-Industrial Society? 5. Von Kauffshandlung und Wucher (1524): Analytical Summary; 6. Conclusion: What Can We Learn from Luther Today?; ON COMMERCE AND USURY (1524): Notes on the Text; On Commerce and Usury; Bibliography; Index

Promotional Information

A revised translation of Martin Luther's most important economic pamphlet with extended critical introduction and notes

About the Author

Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German friar, priest and professor of theology who was a seminal figure in the Protestant Reformation. Philipp Robinson Rossner is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Early Modern History at the University of Manchester.

Reviews

'In his deeply erudite introduction, Philipp Rossner offers a vivid contextualization of Luther's thinking on how commerce should be managed in order to promote a proper Christian society. Rossner not only explores Luther's ideas on commerce and ethics from the point of view of modern economics, but he uses Luther's perspective as a critical lens through which he examines, with great nuance and clarity, the state of economic reasoning today.' -Carl Wennerlind, Columbia University 'Luther's On Commerce and Usury is much more than a sermon. It is a powerful reminder that markets are human constructs and depend on rules for their existence and operation. This inconvenient truth deserves reflection, as Philipp Rossner demonstrates in his fascinating essay. By delving into the context and meaning of a sixteenth-century classic, he speaks to the present.' -Francesco Boldizzoni, University of Turin