Usury : $b a scriptural, ethical and economic viewElliott, Calvin
Religion
Usury : $b a scriptural, ethical and economic view
Elliott, Calvin
Usury
There is no place in the most complicated machine where it begins to
produce. The machine may show the greatest ingenuity in its invention
and the perfection of skill in its construction, and the intelligence
necessary to its operation may be reduced to the minimum, yet no where
and at no time can it produce of itself.
When a criminal is arraigned in court the responsibility is placed
upon the person, the intelligent energy, always. It matters not by
what tools the burglary or other criminal act was committed. The man
who handled the tools is held accountable for the results. His tools
may show the greatest ingenuity and the highest skill in their
construction but they do not share his guilt. He is the efficient and
responsible cause. If this were not so justice could be so perverted
that the preservation of the order and the security of society would
be impossible.
Every tool is itself produced, and its maker must be rewarded or paid
once, but there the claim for the tool ends. The laborer who
constructs the machine cannot demand repayment over and over. The
skilled mechanic who produced this pair of lenses must be paid, but he
has no claim for second payment. To secure repayment he must make
another pair. The maker of this pen and this paper must be paid, but
that ends his claim. The maker of the hoe or cart or engine must have
the reward he has earned, but can prefer no second claim.
There is no question when the laborer makes and owns his own tool. The
labor of constructing the tool must be rewarded as well as the laborer
in its operation.
When the tools are complicated and require the skill of many, the
makers of the machine are usually different persons from the laborers
who operate it. In this case the payment of all must come from the
finished product. Those who constructed the machine and those who
operate it must be paid by the consumers.
If the shoe plant is built and operated, then from the shoes produced
must come the payment for all. The workmen who built the plant and the
engines and machinery for the manufacture of the different parts of
the shoe, must be paid by the consumer of shoes. The workmen who built
the plant must be as fully compensated as those who operate it, but
being compensated, they have no claim for recompensation for the same
work. To be paid again they must build a new plant. The operators must
be compensated for every shoe they make, but they can not reclaim
payment over and over again. To receive more pay they must make more
shoes.
Both classes of laborers have a right to full compensation for all the
labor performed. Neither party has a right to demand a second payment
for the same labor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account