I. ECONOMIC THOUGHT OF THE ANCIENTS IN the chapters which follow next, it is not intended to convey the idea that a science of Economics existed prior to the eighteenth century. Quite the reverse. These chapters are to deal with fragmentary economic thoughts, or with economic thoughts which are found imbedded in ethical and religious systems. Yet these thoughts are the stuff of which the later economic theories were partly made; and, although from the viewpoint of economics they hail from a pre-scientific period, their importance as a factor in determining the course of the science may not safely be overlooked. Accordingly, the reader is asked to direct his attention to the following sketch and brief analysis of the economic ideas which obtained in the ancient and medieval worlds. CHAPTER III ORIENTAL ECONOMIC THOUGHT, ESPECIALLY THE SOME general points of contrast may doubtless be found in comparing the economic thought of the Orient with that of the Occident. For example, nearly all Oriental peoples will be found to have had ideals of a closer brotherhood within national bounds than have obtained in western countries. Eastern peoples, too, have generally tended to a less materialistic view. of life, not striving eagerly for industrial progress: moral or. religious codes have usually played a greater part in shaping their thought. Much of the contrast that has been drawn, however, would not have held for the remote past when the civilization of the west was young, and both Orient and Occident were in something like Comte's theological stage; while so diverse are the numerous peoples which come under the head of Orientals that truly general contrasts are very few, and are for the most part so broad as to lack force and precision. Believing, then, that it is quite impossible to generalize with any great significance concerning Oriental economic ideas as a whole, it is the purpose⚫ simply to state what is known about such ideas as they were held by the Semitic and Aryan peoples of the west and south of Asia. Tolump Chinese, Medes and Persians, Jews, Japanese, Arabs, Hindus, Egyptians, even, together in one topic, as 1 Cf. Cooke, "Old Testament Economics," in Economic Review, XIX, no. 4; Marigny, Histoire de l'Économie Politique des Anciens Peuples; Michaelis, Commentaries on the Laws of Moses (Eng. trans., London, 1814); Jewish Encyclopedia, articles on agriculture, usury, etc.; and the following footnote references. . is sometimes done,' is misleading, to say the least; but those concepts of the Hebrews and of the Hindus which have clear economic significance may be briefly stated. Then, if there be any common ground, some precise generalization may follow. It may be observed in advance that the subject matter furnished by the ideas of these two peoples has this much in common: it is the economic thought of two Asiatic peoples, both (of ancient civilization, and based upon an agricultural economy; and practically all is drawn from the writings of priestly lawgivers. It follows from this latter fact that any idealistic tendencies will be emphasized, perhaps to such an extent that doubt may be felt as to how truly the common thought is expressed. But when one reflects that the lives of these people were largely determined by these writings, this doubt loses some importance. And, above all, it is just these writings which have come down to us, exerting a powerful influence all through the Middle Ages and even to our own time; so that, from the standpoint of the history of economic thought, their significance is not slight. Several more or less practical reasons make this particular inquiry worth while. For one thing, there is its value as a study of origins. These peoples were, in a sense, in the childhood of civilization; and, just as psychologists are interested in child psychology, economists may learn lessons from child economics. Or, if it be true, as many believe, that there is a large degree of connectedness in the development of the economic thought of the world, a degree not generally realized to the full, the study of early sources gains importance; and, if it is found that at the sources religious or moral sanctions dominate, then the study of the economic aspects of religious or moral concepts and codes becomes closely involved. While there is no logical necessity for treating Oriental ideas as a whole, as do some writers, it is essential to analyze the thought of the Hebrews in this respect. No one will deny that many 1 E.g. Cossa, Introduction to the Study of Political Economy; Ingram, History of Political Economy. 2 E.g. Kautz, Geschichtliche Entwickelung d. National Oekonomie. of our religious and moral beliefs are traceable directly to Hebrew. thought, and that these beliefs have in the past had, and will ⚫ in the future have, considerable influence over economic ideas. A large part of these have come down to us through Christianity, which in its origin is an essentially Oriental religion. This study, too, will illustrate and emphasize the importance of the relationship between economic thought and morals and ethics, a relationship which, without being confused, needs to be borne in mind by the economist. And of some practical significance is the fact that light may be thrown upon economic concepts which to some extent obtain in the Orient even to this day, possibly suggesting a better understanding of the peoples across the Pacific. Economic Thought expressed in Rules of Conduct, Laws, etc. As has been said more than once, the central idea of Hebrew government and education was the fulfillment of the law, the commands of Moses or the prophets forming the standard in all thought and action, and the situation was quite similar among the Hindus. Now such a situation meant a minute regulation of everyday life,2 its economic aspects included, and it follows that the material for this study is mostly drawn from rules of conduct or laws. A study of those regulations of the Hebrews and Hindus which are significant as indicating the character of their economic thought shows that the following subjects were the most important: occupations, agriculture, interest and usury, labor and wages, property rights, taxation," inheritance, weights and measures, adulteration, monopoly, and the poor. All of these topics cannot be treated here, but only those about which the regulation was considerable and of clear intent. Usury. The Mosaic law forbade lending "upon usury," that is, at interest; it prohibited "usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of anything that is lent upon usury." This 1 Conder, Judas Maccabæus, p. 24. "3 2 Among the Jews the prophets, however, were generally opposed to such a regulatory spirit, tending to ignore the regulations. See, e.g., Amos vii, 10 ff.; Hosea vi, 6; Isaiah i, 10-17. 3 Deut. xxiii, 19, 20. |