poor are plundered as producers by monopolistic restrictions on production, and then are plundered again as consumers through consumption taxes upon that which has been produced." p. 527.8

Speaking for his own science, the writer continues: "The need of a new economics. Economics must cease to be a system of apologetics, the creed of the reactionary, a defense of privilege, a social soothing sirup, a smug pronouncement of the righteousness of whatever is If the program of social progress does not harmonize with the existing economic science, something is the matter with one or with both of them. It is in conviction that the fault is with the Economics that this book has been written. . We economists must, then, come

to recognize that we have not rightly analyzed the notion of capital and have wrongly interpreted the question-begging term productive in economic affairs. We have assumed that private gain and social welfare are approximately interchangeable concepts .. We shall, possibly, some day come to see that capital in a competitive society is merely a source of private gain, and that private possession may attach to everything that is permitted, legally or illegally, to render gain to the owner." p. 529.

....

It cannot be said that the Church has spoken its word upon the subject of the land, to uphold the ancient law of Israel as binding upon the modern conscience. The observation holds true, however, only for the present stage of development in Christianity.

II. The second basic principle of ancient Israel—a principle not nearly so well understood as the law against the alienation of the people from the land-relates to arrangements for interest charges on capital. Such arrangements are forbidden in the name of Jehovah throughout the Old Testament, and specifically in the following terms:

"A robber, a shedder of blood that hath wronged the poor and needy, hath taken by robbery, . . . . hath committed abomination, hath given forth upon interest, and hath taken increase; shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him." 9

"He that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between man and man, hath walked

in my statutes, and hath kept mine ordinances, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord Yahweh." 10

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life." 18

"In thee they have taken bribes to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of_thy neighbors by oppression, and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord Yahweh." 11

"I have not lent on interest, neither have men lent to me on interest." 12

"As with the taker of interest, so with the giver of interest to him. . . . . The earth is. . polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant." 13

"Ye exact interest, every one of his brother.

The thing

that ye do is not good; ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God?"19

"If thou lend money to any of my people with thee that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest." 20

"If thy brother be waxed poor take thou no interest of him or increase, but fear thy God." 21

"LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

He

that putteth not out his money to interest, nor taketh the reward of the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved." 15

"I pray you, let us leave off this interest they,... So will we do, even as thou sayest." 16

Then said

"He that augmenteth his substance by interest and increase, gathereth it for him that hath pity on the poor.” 17

"Sinners lend to sinners, to receive again as much. But do good, and lend, never despairing, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High." 14

"Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets; I came not to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law till all things be accomplished. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." 23

"Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest. Unto a foreigner thou mayest lend upon interest." 22

The last clause of the last citation has been taken by some as virtually nullifying the commandments against interest before cited. This on two grounds: first, that an exception being granted to the rule, the rule, from its own language, cannot be taken as a universal; and, secondly, we ourselves being "foreigners," are perforce excepted, because no just law can both bind us and bind against us, and this law binds against

us.

This position must be entertained. We must ask ourselves this question: If the Israelites were a nation today, and if this nation practised the commandment not to take interest within its own borders, but did not practise this forbearance towards us, what would be our probable course of action? To say that we surely would retalliate, would be saying nothing, for we are already taking interest of the world, and the world would include the Jewish nation.

Our course of action probably would be to send a commission of economic experts to the Jewish nation to study the results of the operation of this law against the laying of interest charges on capital. If these experts found most extraordinary benefits accruing to the Jewish nation because of the practice of the law; and if they found the Jewish nation willing to enter a treaty with us to practise the law toward us in reciprocity for our practising the law towards them, we probably should try out the law for ourselves.

Then if we found that other nations desired us to practise the forbearance towards them, though they were unwilling to practise it in return towards us, we probably should discover that we had a huge charity on our hands in the proposition.

"No, gentlemen," we wisely would answer, "the proposition would engulf us."

But as to the bearing of the interest-statute on the political and economic life of ancient Israel. That the statute was put in force in a state of civilization that differed fundamentally from our modern civilization is well understood. The statute was indeed an accompaniment of a policy that committed Israel to a system of community ownership in the land. The people were of one kin. The clan instinct was still strong. There was a brotherhood of endeavor. The pursuit of agriculture was the principal occupation. No labor problem existed. The needs of the people were simple. An open-air existence was enjoyed by all. Of caste and class distinctions there was none. Israel's affairs were family affairs. It was a tribal family, it is true; but even so, the tribal life was not best conserved by the fostering of debtor and creditor classes in the community.

Jesus' reference to interest is limited to a single parable. Of late years the parable has been taken as conveying his approval of the custom of giving and receiving interest, a custom which in his day was rife. In the early centuries the Church did not hold to our modern interpretation of the meaning of Jesus' words. Of this fact we shall have citations in a later chapter. The early Church based its belief that Jesus repudiated the custom of taking interest, not on the teaching of the parable in which he uses the word interest, but upon his doctrine of Christian lending.

It is not necessary to seize on the parable in question for a defense of interest. We are very well aware that interest, for our day and manner of civilization

at least, is a necessary institution. On what grounds, we shall see. It is not so certain that the taking of interest was either prudent or necessary in Jesus' day. Used as an instrument, not to harness productive capital, but as a weapon of oppression, the custom was subversive. Certainly Jesus' parable seems to convey to us that the custom as practised was both anti-theocratic and oppressive. Of this the reader will be his own best judge. We give the parable.

For a setting, the two evangelists, Matthew and Luke, agree that Jesus was confronted with the passionate longing of the people of Palestine for the fulfilment of the theocratic hope. 24 This appears in the outset in the narrative, which we will now follow.

"And as they heard these things, he added and spake a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, 25 and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was immediately to appear. 24 He said therefore, A certain nobleman 26 went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called ten slaves 27 of his, and gave them ten pounds, and said unto them, Trade ye herewith till I come. 28 But his citizens hated him, and sent an ambassage after him, saying, We will not that this man reign over us. And it came to pass, when he was come back again, having received his kingdom, that he commanded these slaves unto whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by trading. And the first came before him, saying, Sir, thy pound hath made ten pounds more. And he said unto him, Well done, thou good slave; because thou wast found trusty in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. And the second came, saying, Thy pound, Sir, hath made five pounds. And he said unto him also, Be thou ruler over five cities. And another came unto him saying, Sir, behold, here is thy pound, which I kept laid up in a napkin; for I feared thee, because thou art a rough man; thou takest up that which thou layedst not down, and reapest that which thou didst not sow. He said unto him. Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou miserable slave. Thou knowest that I am a rough man, taking up that which I laid not down, and reaping that which I did not sow; then wherefore gavest thou not my money to the money-changer's table, and at my coming I should have exacted it 29 with interest? And he said, Take away from him the pound. . . But these mine enemies, that would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them before me. 30 And cast ye the useless slave