Who is a usurer? Detailed analysis

The article describes who is called a usurer, examines the characteristics of this profession, its origin and legal status.

Who is a usurer?

The moneylender is a person who lends money, as a rule, at a high interest rate. At the same time, an oral or written agreement is concluded on how long the finances are issued. The main feature of usury is the fact that the borrower leaves a pledge to the usurer, and if he does not manage to return the funds in time, this pledge becomes the property of the usurer. He also works for himself and decides how to build activities: to conclude or not to conclude an agreement with a borrower, to apply or not to contact the services of appraisers, etc. In addition, to recover debt from customers, it sometimes uses illegal methods.

Profession history

Reply to the question of who such a usurer, will help a little digression into the story. This profession appeared before the appearance of money. Then the debt was taken, and then returned, as a rule, natural goods. For example, grain or cattle.

Usury was common in ancient Greece. Thus, the disciple of Plato Aristotle in his treatise "Politics" called the collection of interest as a phenomenon contrary to nature, and the main function of money was exchange. Usury was spread throughout Europe, and its popularity lost with the advent of banks.

As for Russia, both in the Old Russian state and in the Russian Empire such an occupation was considered immoral and persecuted by law. Nevertheless, Orthodox monasteries, bishops' houses and parish churches were engaged in it.

In the countries of Islam about who such a usurer, almost do not know. For there it was forbidden to issue money at interest, in some states, for example in Iran, this rule still applies. And in countries where there are Sharia law, for such an occupation, you can lose your life. Under Judaism, the prohibitions only apply to people with this faith, they do not apply to others.

Profit and Risks

The profession itself and the word "moneylender" were perceived by the society extremely negatively both earlier and now. Basically, this is due to the fact that the usurer for one year could at times increase its status at the expense of people who got into trouble and are in a difficult financial situation. But the possible risks of this case are quite large. To begin with, the debt can not be returned because the borrower has died or simply fled. Also, with strong inflation, there is a chance not only to not make a profit, but also incur losses. Sometimes the customer leaves a deposit that can not be sold at a real price, for example, a car in an emergency condition. In addition, activities such at any time may become prohibited due to changes in legislation. So we figured out who the lender is.