Medieval Europe is Christian Europe. In the Middle Ages, almost all scientists and thinkers were dressed in cassocks, but this does not mean that economic thought did not develop during the early Middle Ages. Problems appeared that were unknown to the ancient world and required understanding. The sources of medieval economic thought include mainly theological works, where value judgments from the standpoint of Christian morality predominate. Medieval economic doctrines are characterized by a variety of scholastic judgments, an a priori, speculative nature, and sophisticated norms of religious and ethical nature. An important principle of proving the correctness of judgments in the Middle Ages was the reference to the authority of the texts of the works of church theorists.

the desire for wealth is vicious, since it interferes with the search for the Kingdom of God and is proof of the lack of true faith;

inequality of people is natural and eternal: “people are equal before divine grace”;

labor is the only source of existence (in the ancient world, labor was the lot of slaves).

The development of economic thought in the classical Middle Ages was greatly influenced by the so-called canonical doctrine.(In the 12th century, church scholars developed a code of laws called “Canon Law.”) The class interests of the feudal lords were decisive. "Code of Canon Law" compiled by a Bolognese monk Gratian, is the most important source reflecting the economic views of the canons, who considered land and labor to be the true factors of production, and therefore considered agriculture to be an occupation worthy of a Christian, and also did not approve of trade and usury.

The leading thinker of this period is considered F. Aquinas(1225–1274) - Italian monk of Dominican origin, professor at the Sorbonne, lectured in Paris, Cologne, Rome and Naples, declared a saint by the church. In his main work "Summa Theologica" F. Aquinas, taking into account the development of commodity-money relations, the growth of handicraft production, trade and usury operations, tries differently than the early canonists to explain the causes of social inequality in conditions of a more differentiated class division of society, to characterize “sinful phenomena.” He distinguishes two types of justice: justice in exchange, based on the equality of the goods exchanged, and justice in distribution, based on determining the fair share of each member of society in the social product, corresponding to the person’s position in society.

F. Aquinas adhered to the following key dogmas:

– condemned the desire for social equality, spoke about the need for class division of society;

– defended feudal rent and private property. He believed that owning property stimulates work activity and imposes certain responsibilities on the owner, in particular to engage in charity work;

- broke with natural-economic views, justifying the exchange. Recognized the need for money as a measure of value and a means of circulation. However, the pricing process depended on the status of the participants in the exchange (the doctrine of fair price);

– divided wealth into natural (fruits of the earth, crafts) and artificial (gold, silver);

– first gave the concept of profit as reward for risk; this contributed to the later idea that charging interest was justified by the lender's risk.

In the East in the Middle Ages, the subordination of economic views to religious ones increased even more, which was reflected in the attenuation in India of the so-called science of benefit (income) "Arthashastra".

Arab economic thought reached a high level of development in the Middle Ages. Many economic views of the Arab world were reflected in religious literature, primarily in Koran(translated meaning “reading”), namely:

the divine origin of property and social inequality, the sanctity of the very dependence of some on others;

the principle of inviolability of private property [inadmissibility of appropriating someone else’s property, entering a house without permission (thieves’ hands were cut off)];

payment of “purifying grace” as a national tax;

maintaining accurate weights and measures when performing trade operations;

Allah's prohibition on taking high interest rates.

Around 751, Muslim law “Sharia” (from the Arabic “ash-shar’a” - law) was formed, where legal and economic concepts were developed.

The pinnacle of economic thought in the medieval Arab world was the work of a prominent ideologist Ibn Khaldun(1332–1406). His life and work are connected with the Arab countries in northern Africa, where the state traditionally retained the right to own and dispose of land and levy high taxes on the income of the population for the needs of the treasury. The main work of Ibn Khaldun is called “The Book of Instructive Examples on the History of the Arabs, Persians, Berbers and the Peoples Who Lived with them on Earth.” In it he put forward concept of social physics, which called for a conscious attitude towards work, the fight against wastefulness and greed, an understanding of the objectivity of progressive structural changes in the spheres of the economy and the impossibility of property and social equality, and believed that Allah gave an advantage to some people over others. Ibn Khaldun also substantiated theory of social development, according to which society, developing cyclically, goes through three stages in its movement:

1) “wildness”, where people appropriate the fruits of nature by hunting and gathering:

2) “primitiveness,” in which a primitive economy appears in the form of agriculture and cattle breeding;

3) “civilization”, when crafts and trade develop, concentrating in cities.

Ibn Khaldun put forward the following main ideas:

society is a collective of producers of material goods. All use values ​​are created by human labor;

everything that a person acquires in the form of wealth is equivalent to the value of the labor invested in it;

fluctuations in prices for goods depend on the relationship between supply and demand (the development of crafts depended on the demand for handicrafts).

He also approached the issue of distinguishing between necessary and surplus product, the problem of exploitation (“the noble and rich enjoy the fruits of other people’s labor”).

The formation of feudalism had its own characteristics in each country. A common feature was the seizure of communal land and the creation of estates belonging to noble feudal lords. There was a consolidation of land and workers into private ownership - serfs, who, in addition to their allotments, had to cultivate the land of the feudal lord. The Middle Ages developed, unlike Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, with great difficulty. There is an explanation for this - the Catholic Church became the successor to the ideas of Greek and Roman philosophy and economics.

Formation of economic doctrines in the Middle Ages

Ideas about the economic thought of the Middle Ages have reached our time thanks to written sources. They are based on the works of thinkers of the Ancient world. To better understand the process of the emergence and development of economic thought, it is necessary to take into account the political and economic state of the state.

The very concept of “economic thought” covers a huge range of views and judgments. This includes the ideas of ordinary citizens, the religious view with its influence on economic relations, the work of outstanding scientists of the time and the political and economic laws of the ruling elite. To understand how economic thought was formed in the Middle Ages, it is necessary to start with the Ancient World, since these eras are inextricably linked. Historians consider the economic thought of the Middle Ages as part of theology, since, along with the nobility, the clergy managed the state and relations within society.

Ancient world

The technical equipment of primitive society was primitive and so low that a person could not always feed himself and his family members. People were forced to live in communities, since one family was not able to exist. It makes no sense to talk about economic thoughts during this period of social development, since there was only one thought - to survive. The economic thought of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages began to emerge at the junction of these historical eras, during the period of the emergence of classes and the formation of states.

The emergence of classes

After the beginning of the use of iron and the appearance of tools made from it, labor productivity increased several times, a surplus appeared, which is commonly called surplus product, which a person could use at his own discretion. It was iron tools that led to the emergence of artisans who did not cultivate the land or sow grain, but always had it.

Craftsmen made goods, the use of which allowed farmers to reap larger harvests and improve their quality of life. Trade relations began to emerge. In addition to artisans, people appeared who were engaged in science and art. In short, the economic thought of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages arose precisely at the time when commodity-money relations began to appear in a total natural economy.

There was a division of society into classes, the poor and the rich appeared who wanted to get even more goods and products. They needed to appropriate other people's surpluses. This required a certain mechanism of violence. The state began to emerge.

The emergence of the first states

The stratification of society into classes, the emergence of nobility, and the disintegration of the community led to the formation of states. There was the emergence of various forms of ownership: communal, state and private. This is what forced a person to think, compare, analyze, which led to the emergence of judgments that became the basis of the economic thoughts of the Middle Ages. A characteristic feature of ancient states was slavery. The emergence of early civilizations and the emergence of the first states occurred in areas with a hot climate, mainly in areas with fertile soil and water. These were the valleys of the rivers: Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, Ganges.

Monuments of ancient economic thought

Ancient Egyptian documents have survived to our time: “The Instruction of the King of Heracleopolis to his son Merikara” (XXII century BC), “The Speech of Ipuser” (XVIII century BC), the Code of Laws of Babylonia (XVIII century BC). ). Issues of state structure and management, usury, protection of property rights, bribery, corruption, reasons for the reduction in tax revenues to the treasury, rules of leasing and hiring, etc. were discussed here.

Economic thought of ancient China

Confucius is a Chinese thinker who lived in 551-479 BC. e. He said that only calm and hard work brings wealth to the inhabitants of the state, as well as prosperity to the ruler and the country. Work must be supported by family and community. The thinker attached great importance to the latter. He considered the patriarchal family to be the basis of a stable socio-political system. The main task of the ruling elite is the prosperity of the population, the distribution of agricultural work, and a reasonable tax limit. He assigned a large role to the nobility and believed that the state should take care of them.

The authors of the collective treatise “Guanzi” (IV - III centuries BC) considered all material wealth to be wealth. Gold, as a measure of wealth, was assigned the role of money. The main thing for the prosperity of the country is work and peace of mind to produce products. To do this, the state needs to regulate bread prices. For its development, it is necessary to have sufficient reserves of grain and to give farmers preferential loans at low interest rates.

Antiquity

In short, the economic thought of the Middle Ages used the basic principles of ancient thinkers, in particular the ancient ones. During the slave system, as in subsequent forms of states, there were two main economic goals - to collect as many taxes as possible and to fight treasury plunderers (treasury thieves). Concepts such as money, goods, and the use of moral and material incentives to increase the productivity of slaves appeared. The structure of the state and its management aroused great interest among thinkers.

Along with the existing communal property, private and state property arose. Social relations have changed. The economic thought of Antiquity and the Middle Ages is closely related, since many economic laws and concepts of Ancient Greece were subsequently used by the Catholic Church and its thinkers.

Xenophon (430-354 BC)

The founder of ancient economic thought was Xenophon, who first used the term “economy” in his treatise “Domostroy”. It meant the science of home economics. The thinker studied the division of labor, described two properties of goods, from the point of view of consumer and exchange value. He defined two functions of money - a means of accumulation and circulation.

Plato (428-347 BC)

In his work “The State,” Plato described a project for the ideal structure of the country, in which he assigned an important role to aristocrats and the military. They, not having property, are supported by the state to which it belongs. The philosopher is critical of private property, for which, in his opinion, an acceptable maximum should be established. Anything gained beyond this is confiscated to the state. The most important branch of the economy is agriculture.

Aristotle (384-322 BC)

In his two main works, “Politics” and “Nicomachean Ethics,” he describes the structure of an ideal state. Its goal is the common good of the inhabitants. He had a positive attitude towards slavery, defining slaves as tools of labor. Society, in his opinion, should be divided into slaves and free citizens. Labor - mental and physical. Each class uses certain methods of management, using its own savings.

He considered agriculture, crafts and small trade to be economic activities. They are seen as an object of state concern. Wealth is acquired in two ways: natural activity (economic) and unnatural activity (chrematics). He classified usury and large-scale trade as chrematistics.

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages were characterized by great influence of the church on the state. Aristotle's ideas regarding economics were placed within the rigid framework of dogma. The laws in the church were called canons, with the help of which medieval economic thought was expressed. Philosophical reflections on economics were replaced by theological and canonical statements that did not require proof or reflection. This applied to both European and Asian countries where Islam dominated.

European Middle Ages

An essential feature of the Middle Ages was the dominance of the church in the governance of Europe and in their economic life. Despite church conservatism and a negative attitude towards everything new, it was theologians who put forward doctrines that reflected the main episodes of economic life: relations between subjects, their driving forces, the main points of the creation and distribution of goods.

Thomas Aquinas

A significant author of economic thought in the Middle Ages is Thomas Aquinas (13th century). He was an Italian monk. His treatise “Summa Theologies” is the only work of its kind in which all economic categories of the Middle Ages are assessed - moral and ethical. He was part of the school of canonists founded by Augustine the Blessed in the 5th century.

The early canonists were opposed to profit and usurious interest, considering it a sin as a result of the appropriation of someone else's labor. They were in favor of establishing fixed fair prices. They opposed trade in large volumes. They had a negative attitude towards the loan.

The methodological guides for them were the texts of the Holy Scriptures. They treated economic characteristics from the point of view of moral and ethical standards. To these principles, the later canonists, who included F. Aquinas, added the principle of duality of assessments. Briefly, the economic thought of the Middle Ages can be formulated:

• The division of labor, in their understanding, is divine providence, with the help of which class division and human inclination to one or another profession occurred.
• Fair prices, as they were understood by the representative of economic thought of the European Middle Ages F. Aquinas, are the prices set by the feudal nobility in the territory subject to them. This dogma replaced the concept of market price.
• Wealth, from the point of view of the early canonists, is a sin, but F. Aquinas already claims that with the action of “fair prices” it is possible to accumulate moderate wealth, which is no longer a sin.
• Trading profits and usurious interest, rejected by the early canonists, are condemned by F. Aquinas, accepted, but on the condition that the income received was not an end in itself, but acted in the form of a well-deserved payment for costs, which included risk.
• Does not recognize money from the point of view of receiving usurious interest, but recognizes it as a means of circulation and a measure of value.

Muslim Middle Ages

Feudal states initially arose in the East (III-VIII centuries), their appearance in Western Europe occurred two centuries later (V-IX centuries). Power in the states of the Middle Ages was concentrated in the hands of large feudal lords and the clergy. They condemned usury and economic commodification. Ibn Khaldun (14th century), who lived in the Maghreb, located in northern Africa, is considered a significant representative of the economic thought of the Muslim Middle Ages. Since the 7th century, Islam spread here. Just as in European states, the clergy, together with the nobility, took an active part in the life of Muslim countries and influenced their economic development.

In a number of specific ways, the economic thought of the European Middle Ages differed from Asian thought. This was explained by the fact that trade in Asian countries was always treated with respect and it was believed that this type of activity was pleasing to God. Even the Prophet Muhammad was initially involved in this type of activity. The state reserved significant land and collected burdensome taxes.

Ibn Khaldun assumed that the flourishing of all types of economic activity would lead to the flourishing of the state. His attitude towards taxes was that he believed that the lower the taxes, the more prosperous the state would be. He treated money with respect and believed that it was a very important element of life. They must be made exclusively of gold and silver. But the most important thing in the doctrine is its assertion that the evolution of society should go from primitiveness to civilization.

The most significant author of Western European economic thought of the Middle Ages is usually called the Dominican Italian monk Thomas Aquinas (Aquinas) (1225-1274), who was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1879. He became a worthy successor and opponent of one of the founders of the school of early canonism, Augustine the Blessed (St. Augustine) (353-430), who at the end of the 4th - beginning of the 5th centuries, being a bishop in the possessions of the Roman Empire in North Africa, laid down the dogmatic non-alternative principles of religious ethical approach to economic problems. And these principles during the V-XI centuries. remained almost unshakable.

During the early Middle Ages, the dominant economic thought of the early canonists categorically condemned commercial profits and usurious interest, characterizing them as the result of improper exchange and appropriation of other people's labor, i.e. like a sin. Equivalent and proportional exchange was considered possible only if “fair prices” were established. The authors of church laws (canons) also opposed the contemptuous attitude toward physical labor characteristic of the ideologists of the ancient world and the exclusive right to the wealth of individuals to the detriment of the majority of the population. Large trade and lending operations, as sinful phenomena, were generally prohibited.

However, in the XIII-XIV centuries, during the heyday of the late Middle Ages (when class differentiation of society intensified, the number and economic power of cities increased, in which, along with agriculture, crafts, trades, trade and usury began to flourish, i.e. when commodity -monetary relations acquired a fateful significance for society and the state), later canonists expanded the range of arguments “explaining” economic problems and the causes of social inequality. What is meant here is that methodological basis, on which the early canonists relied were primarily authoritarianism of evidence(through references to scriptures and piles of church theorists) and moral and ethical characteristics of economic categories(including the “fair price” clause). To these principles the later canonists added principle of duality of assessments, allowing, through comments, clarifications and reservations, the initial interpretation of a specific economic phenomenon or economic category to be presented in a different or even opposite sense.

The above is obvious from the judgments of F. Aquinas on many economic problems that were relevant in the countries of Western Europe in the Middle Ages and reflected in his treatise “Summa Theologica”. For example, if the early canonists, dividing labor into mental and physical types, proceeded from the divine (natural) purpose, but did not separate these types from each other, taking into account their influence on human dignity in connection with their position in society, then F. Aquinas “ clarifies" this "evidence" in favor of the class division of society. At the same time, he writes: “The division of people into various professions is due, firstly, to divine providence, which divided people into classes... Secondly, to natural reasons that determined that different people are inclined to different professions...” 5

The author of the Summa Theologica also takes an ambivalent and compromising position in comparison with the early canonists regarding the interpretation of such economic categories as wealth, exchange, cost (value), money, trade profit, usurious interest. Let us briefly consider this position of the scientist in relation to each named category.

Wealth Since the time of Augustine, it has been considered by canonists as a set of material goods, i.e. in natural form, and was recognized as a sin if it was created by means other than the labor put into it. In accordance with this postulate, the dishonest increase (accumulation) of gold and silver, which were considered by their nature “artificial wealth,” could not correspond to the moral and other norms of society. But, according to Aquinas, “fair prices” (discussed below) can be an undeniable source of the growth of private property and the creation of “moderate” wealth, which is not a sin.

Exchange in the ancient world and in the Middle Ages, it was perceived by researchers as an act of expression of the will of people, the result of which is proportional and equivalent. Without rejecting this principle, F. Aquinas draws attention to numerous examples that turn exchange into a subjective process that ensures equality of benefits received in a seemingly unequal exchange of things. In other words, the terms of exchange are violated only when the thing “comes to the benefit of one and to the detriment of another.”

"Fair price"- this is a category that in the economic teachings of the canonists replaced the categories “cost” (value), “market price”. It was established and secured in a certain territory by the feudal nobility. Its level was “explained” by early canonists, as a rule, by reference to labor and material costs in the process of commodity production. However, F. Aquinas considers the costly approach of assigning a “fair price” to be an insufficiently comprehensive characteristic. According to him, along with this, it should be recognized that the seller can “rightfully sell a thing for more than it is worth in itself,” and at the same time it “will not be sold for more than it costs the owner,” otherwise damage will be caused and the seller, who will not receive the amount of money corresponding to his position in society, and the entire “social life”.

Money (coins) F. Aquinas is interpreted similarly to the authors of the ancient world and early canonism. He points out that the reason for their emergence was the will of people to have the “surest measure” in “trade and turnover.” Expressing his commitment to the nominalistic concept of money, the author of the Summa Theologica recognizes that although coins have an “intrinsic value,” the state nevertheless has the right to allow some deviation in the value of a coin from its “intrinsic value.” Here the scientist is again true to his predilection for duality, on the one hand, recognizing that the deterioration of the coin can make it meaningless to measure the value of money on the foreign market, and on the other hand, entrusting the state with the right to establish the “face value” of the money to be minted at its own discretion.

Trading profit and usurious interest were condemned by canonists as not pleasing to God, i.e. sinful phenomena. F. Aquinas also “condemned” them with certain reservations and clarifications. Therefore, as a result, in his opinion, trading profits and interest on loans should still be appropriated by the merchant (merchant) and the moneylender, respectively, if it is obvious that they are committing completely decent acts. In other words, it is necessary that this kind of income is not an end in itself, but a well-deserved payment and reward for the labor, transport and other material costs that take place in trade and lending operations, and even for the risk.

Questions and tasks for control

1. Give the arguments of the authors of economic ideas and concepts of the ancient world and the Middle Ages, through which they defended the priority of natural economy and condemned the expansion of the scale of commodity-money relations. Is it possible to agree with them that money did not arise spontaneously, but as a result of an agreement between people?

2. What are the features of the model of an ideal state in the works of Aristotle? Reveal the essence of the Aristotelian concept of economics and chrematistics.

3. What are the main features of medieval economic thought in the Arab East? Explain the essence of Ibn Khaldun’s concept of “social physics”.

4. What methodological principles did the early and late canonists use in their economic views? Give examples of historical analogies in totalitarian states of the 20th century.

5. Compare the interpretations of the main economic categories c. periods of early and late canonism. How are they formed in modern economic literature?

Aristotle. Op. v4-xt. M.: Mysl, 1975-1983.

Arthashastra, or the Science of Politics. M.-L.: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1959.

Ancient Chinese philosophy. Collection of texts. In 2 volumes. M.: Mysl, 1972-1973.

Ignatenko A.A. Ibn Khaldun. M.: Mysl, 1980.

Plato. Op. in 3 volumes. M.: Mysl, 1968-1972.

Samuelsoi P. Economics. In 2-ht. M.: NPO "Algon", 1992.

Reader on the history of the Ancient East. In 2 parts. Moscow: Higher School, 1980.

The economic thought of the Middle Ages developed under the influence of processes associated with the formation of feudalism. One of the central problems in it was the justification of the monopoly of feudal owners on land. The labor of a serf was more productive than the labor of slaves. This changed the scope and methods of coercion, accelerated the development of the process of forced labor cooperation, and the emergence of forms of large-scale production (corvée, patrimonial enterprises).

The early Middle Ages (V-X centuries) are represented by “barbarian truths,” which are a record of the law of Germanic tribes. The most famous truths are: Salic, Burgundian, Bavarian. These documents focused mainly on the subsistence type of economy and defended the priority of communal farming and communal ownership of land.

During the period of the classical Middle Ages (XI-XV centuries), significant changes occurred in the economic thought of Western Europe, caused mainly by the transition to the quitrent system. The main problems during this period: overcoming the limitations of a natural economy and developing a commercial economy, selling surplus agricultural products, collecting taxes and fines in cash, etc.

The ideas of the classical Middle Ages received their greatest development and systematic interpretation in the teaching of Thomas Aquinas (1226-1274). While he maintained that God was the supreme owner of all things, he at the same time defended private property, which enabled man to exercise his personal interest. Believing that natural farming is the basis of well-being, F. Aquinas argued that the state should be self-sufficient and receive all the necessary products from its territory. He divided wealth into natural (food items, housing, food) and artificial (gold, silver). At the same time, F. Aquinas is a theorist of commodity economy. He justified trade as the purpose of acquiring the necessary means of life, as well as obtaining trade profits, which are necessary to justify expenses. The theory of “fair price” occupies a central place in F. Aquinas. On the one hand, F. Aquinas calls fair the price that corresponds to labor costs. He, for example, pointed out that a thing can be sold for more than what was paid for it at the time of purchase if the seller “improves the thing in some way, that is, if an additional amount of labor is spent on it.” On the other hand, a fair price is not the same price for the same product, but a different price for it for different classes, allowing them to live according to their rank.
The representative of the economic thought of the East during the Middle Ages was the Chinese thinker Li Gou (11th century). His main work was called “Plan for enriching the state, plan for strengthening the army, plan for calming the people.” It was devoted mainly to the problem of public finances. Lee Joy believed that a stable, non-deficit state budget is the basis for achieving ideal order in the country. To do this, it is necessary to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. The condition for increasing the revenue side of the state budget is the development of the main industry of that time - agriculture. To do this, it is necessary to attract “wandering people” and even some artisans and traders into agriculture. At the same time, it was planned to limit the size of land ownership to increase the number of taxpayers. Reducing the expenditure side of the budget was expected by reducing court expenses. The establishment of a “fixed amount” of government expenditure items should also play an important role in this.

The economic views of the Middle Ages (feudal society), judging by the literary sources that have come down to us, are of a clearly theological nature. The scientific heritage of the spiritual ideologists of this era, including in the field of economic policy, is filled with scholasticism, sophistic reasoning, religious and ethical norms, through which they justify the class character and hierarchical structure of society, the growing concentration of political power and economic power among secular and church feudal lords. Their doctrines are also characterized ambiguous interpretation the need to expand the scale of marketability of the economy, condemnation or implicit approval of usury and other signs of rejection in the economy of the fundamental principles of market relations.

Medieval economic thought in eastern countries. Islamic Arab East

The author of one of the significant concepts of social progress based on economic factors is the prominent thinker of the Arab East Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) 4, who lived and worked in the North African countries of the Maghreb. By this time, here, in addition to the inherited traditions of antiquity, which allowed the state to retain and dispose of a large fund of land and replenish the treasury with taxes, the “omnipotent” postulates of the Koran, which formed the basis of what arose in the early 7th century, were added. new religious ideology - Islam. Moreover, it is noteworthy that a certain Prophet Muhammad, undoubtedly a merchant from Mecca, experienced in economic problems, “heard” and then spread the “revelations of God” in his sermons, thereby becoming the founder of Islam.

In the concept of Ibn Khaldun (“social physics”) the godliness of trade and the exalted attitude towards work proclaimed by Islam in the Koran, the condemnation of stinginess, greed and wastefulness, as well as the fact that “Allah gave the advantage of some people over others” are not rejected. Its main achievement is the differentiated characteristics of the evolution of society from "primitiveness" To "civilization". The latter, in his opinion, added such progressive spheres of economic activity as crafts and trade to the traditional economic activities of people in agriculture and cattle breeding. The successful development of all sectors of the economy, the thinker believes, will make it possible to multiply the wealth of the people many times over and make luxury the property of every person. However, the transition to civilization with its opportunities for excessive production of material goods, the scientist warns, does not mean that universal social and property equality will come and there will be no need for “leadership” over subjects and for dividing society into classes (“layers”) based on property.

Ibn Khaldun showed an understanding that the provision of citizens with basic necessities and luxuries, or, in his terminology, “necessary” and “non-necessary,” depended primarily on the degree of population of the city, symbolizing both its prosperity and decline. Therefore, if a city grows, it will have plenty of both “necessary” and “unnecessary”; at the same time, prices for the first (thanks to the participation of citizens in agriculture) will decrease, and for the second (due to a sharp increase in demand for luxury goods) they will increase. And vice versa, the decline of a city as a result of the small population living in it causes a shortage and high cost of all material goods without exception. At the same time, the thinker notes that the lower the level of taxes is set (including duties and levies from rulers in city markets), the more realistic is the flourishing of any city and society as a whole.

Ibn Khaldun considers money to be the most important element of economic life, insisting that its role be played by full-fledged coins made of two metals created by God - gold and silver. According to him, money reflects the quantitative content of human labor “in everything acquired,” the value of “all movable property,” and in it “the basis of acquisition, accumulation and treasure.” He is completely untendentious when characterizing the “cost of labor,” i.e. wages, arguing that its size depends, firstly, “on the amount of human labor,” secondly, “its place among other labors,” and thirdly, on “people’s need for it” (in labor. - Ya.Ya.).