A Defence of Usury Bentham Paperback Cambridge University Press 9781108066945

A Defence of UsuryShewing the Impolicy of the Present Legal Restraints on the Terms of Pecuniary Bargains, in a Series of Letters to a Friend\nAuthor(s): Jeremy Bentham\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781108066945, 978-1108066945\nSynopsis\nThe utilitarian philosopher and jurist Jeremy Bentham [tel] argues in this collection of letters for the cessation of government control of the rate of interest. The work first appeared in 1787 and is reissued here in the version published in Dublin in 1788. The final letter, addressed to Adam Smith, is a response to Smith's Wealth of Nations [tel], arguing against the limits to inventive industry forced by the restriction on rates. Throughout the work is Bentham's emphasis on the value, both ethical and practical, of allowing private citizens to regulate their own financial dealings. Bentham offers a sophisticated philosophical, economic and political analys.