Sunday, February 14, 2010
Money and interest
In thinking about the extent to which we can own things I was wondering how we could think of something like interest gained on money? Granted we have yet to speak of the extent to which we can own money, however it seems that in the case money we could make the argument that are labor can be mix in the transaction therefore allowing us to own it. Interest on the other hand requires no actual labor so how does it work in regards to property?
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We will come to these issues presently when we read some Lewis Hyde. Historically, many cultures have had a hard time figuring out how to justify interest, and having allowed it, how to keep it under control.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how interest can be justified as a part of property, if we are discussing property as a result of labor. I guess I don't see lending money as a labor, even though the lender receives extra money on the return through the interest charged. Can the process of borrowing loans be considered a labor if only one person gains while the other loses some of his money in the end?
ReplyDeleteLoaning money is a service. Banks and other financial institutions provide this service to people or organizations that need the money, with the understanding that those people and organizations will pay interest on their loans as a form of payment.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of interest gained through an account of some sort, whether it is a saving account or a CD, it would appear as though people are earning money through no additional labor. However, one could look at the situation in the sense that the people with accounts are providing money to the bank so that the bank may in turn use it to fund other people and organizations. I think that the people, in the aformentioned case, are providing a service to the bank, and merely being compensated for it.