Was Aquinas a ‘Universal Economist’?

Abstract

Many scholars claim that Thomas Aquinas (1225–74), in line with his master Aristotle, held a negative view of international trade and foreign merchants. The third chapter of the second book of De Regimine Principum is often invoked in support of this view. While there is an ongoing controversy regarding the author of the book, scholars claim that Aquinas criticized the moral corruption brought by merchants in the cities. I argue that this reading is incomplete, and that Aquinas did not truly hold that view. Conversely, I will show how Aquinas gave importance to international trade as a means for promoting friendship and virtue between peoples. This paper explores the possibility of regarding Aquinas as a ‘Universal Economist’, one among a group of pre-Modern thinkers who conceived international commerce as a means of Divine Providence for promoting wealth and friendship among nations.