Research Article

Thomas Aquinas's Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type

Volume: 26 Number: 2 October 28, 2026
TR EN

Thomas Aquinas's Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type

Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to reconstruct the economic thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) as a normatively richer alternative to the homo economicus model that underpins mainstream economics. Methodology – The study employs a qualitative doctrinal analysis based on a close reading of the Secunda Secundae of the Summa theologica. The approach rests on an interdisciplinary hermeneutic framework that engages in dialogue with scholastic economics scholarship and contemporary virtue ethics literature Findings – The analysis yields four principal findings: Aquinas's theological anthropology transcends the means-ends dichotomy; the doctrine of the just price functions as a juridical principle; the prohibition of usury articulates a substantive theory of money; and the conception of private property is balanced by the common good. Conclusions – Aquinas's framework is not an antiquarian legacy but a living tradition supplying conceptual resources for contemporary debates in business ethics, distributive justice, and the philosophy of economics. Keywords: Economic theory, Philosophy of economics, Economic thought JEL Codes: B11, A13.

Keywords

References

  1. Akalın, K. H. (2007). Orta Çağ İktisat Zihniyetinde Adil Fiyat Kuramı. Çukurova Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 11(2), 25-48. https://izlik.org/JA56RE79RG
  2. Akerlof, G. A. (1970). The market for "lemons": Quality uncertainty and the market mechanism. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 84(3), 488–500. https://doi.org/10.2307/1879431
  3. Aquinas, T. (1947). Summa theologica (Fathers of the English Dominican Province, Trans.). Benziger Brothers. (Original work published 1265–1274)
  4. Aquinas, T. (1964). Commentary on Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (C. I. Litzinger, Trans.). Henry Regnery. (Original work published ca. 1271)
  5. Aristotle. (1984). The complete works of Aristotle: The revised Oxford translation (J. Barnes, Ed.). Princeton University Press.
  6. Avila, C. (1983). Ownership: Early Christian teaching. Sheed and Ward.
  7. Beabout, G. R. (2012). Management as a domain-relative practice that requires and develops practical wisdom. Business Ethics Quarterly, 22(2), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq201222214
  8. Booth, W. J. (1993). Households: On the moral architecture of the economy. Cornell University Press.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Theory of Economy

Journal Section

Research Article

Publication Date

October 28, 2026

Submission Date

May 22, 2026

Acceptance Date

September 27, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 26 Number: 2

APA
Yolusever, A. (2026). Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type. Sosyal Ekonomik Araştırmalar Dergisi, 26(2), 316-328. https://doi.org/10.30976/susead.1957397
AMA
1.Yolusever A. Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type. SUSEAD. 2026;26(2):316-328. doi:10.30976/susead.1957397
Chicago
Yolusever, Aras. 2026. “Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type”. Sosyal Ekonomik Araştırmalar Dergisi 26 (2): 316-28. https://doi.org/10.30976/susead.1957397.
EndNote
Yolusever A (October 1, 2026) Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type. Sosyal Ekonomik Araştırmalar Dergisi 26 2 316–328.
IEEE
[1]A. Yolusever, “Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type”, SUSEAD, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 316–328, Oct. 2026, doi: 10.30976/susead.1957397.
ISNAD
Yolusever, Aras. “Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type”. Sosyal Ekonomik Araştırmalar Dergisi 26/2 (October 1, 2026): 316-328. https://doi.org/10.30976/susead.1957397.
JAMA
1.Yolusever A. Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type. SUSEAD. 2026;26:316–328.
MLA
Yolusever, Aras. “Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type”. Sosyal Ekonomik Araştırmalar Dergisi, vol. 26, no. 2, Oct. 2026, pp. 316-28, doi:10.30976/susead.1957397.
Vancouver
1.Aras Yolusever. Thomas Aquinas’s Economic Thought: Usury, Commerce, Private Property, and the Ideal Human Type. SUSEAD. 2026 Oct. 1;26(2):316-28. doi:10.30976/susead.1957397