Bartolomé de Albornoz's reflection on the Merchants and their work

between ethics and economics

Abstract

In this article I focus on the development of Bartolomé de Albornoz's treatment of merchants and their activity. In his work Arte de los Contractos (1573), his reflection on contracts is not limited to legal analysis, but also covers the economic, moral and social implications. In his analysis of trade, Albornoz points out that this activity is good in both a moral and a social sense. For him, merchants, i.e. those who specifically make trade their way of life, should be considered very important people in their societies, since with their work they not only receive money for themselves, but also create welfare and enable other people to live better lives. At the same time, from a moral perspective, Albornoz claims that this activity has no intrinsic evil in itself. Finally, in this philosophical approach to merchants and their work, which involves both the social moral aspect of commercial activity, it is useful to understand the differences in development that can be observed between different societies. In Albornoz's view, the welfare of cities and kingdoms is tied to this consideration of goodness or badness,
both socially and morally speaking, that is given to this work, and not to the possession of gold or treasure. True prosperity arises for him in those places where merchants receive the honour they deserve.