Global Journal of Human Social Science, E: Economics, Volume 22 Issue 2

Or, "I am reproached for not possessing many things, but I reproach those for not being able to do without them. " 9 In 170 chapters, Cato gives advice on the purchase of an estate, the construction of buildings, the relationship of the lord of the manor to his subjects, the care of health and the sick, and religious worship. 10 In Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43), it is nature, or the reason that prevails within it, that guides dutiful action. Guiding concepts here are decorum , propriety, control of the passions, right measure, honestas , honor, verecundia , sense of propriety, and ornatus vitae , a sense of beauty. In the Stoic view, what is produced on earth "is created for the benefit of men, but men are begotten for the sake of their fellow men, that they, one to another, may of themselves be mutually useful, so in this we must follow nature as a guide, making common benefit central by reciprocity of benefits." 11 In patristics, Christianity shifts interest to the afterlife and the inner life of the individual. The fact that man was granted only a limited right to use the goods of the world resulted in an ascetic attitude in housekeeping, the demand for moderation in the pursuit of profit and the rejection of unlimited profit. Expenditure in excess of need appears as abuse. Society appears as an organism characterized by solidarity, piety and authority, so that modesty, moderation in material demands and exchange justice become basic principles. Thus, the doctrine of life management is the basis for stewardship. This makes clear that dealing with fellow human beings and with the object world is borne by the subject. Thus, if one wants a certain way of dealing with the environment, then, according to ancient conception, it is not the environment but the subject that must be taken as a starting point. 12 Labor was held in such high esteem that profit without labor was considered unjustified, as in the case of the taking of interest. For Augustine, food and drink serve health and not pleasure: "What is already enough for health is still too little for pleasure. And it is often uncertain whether the necessary care for the body asks for help or whether already mendaciously lust and desire demand only service." 13 Thomas Aquinas limits the competitive thinking by the fact that each individual remained permanently bound to his profession in the organic system of the society of estates . 14 In the Middle Ages, the space of the home is also demarcated from that of the state by distinguishing between private interest, services and taxes of public law origin, although it was not until the absolutist theorist of the 17th century that a precise distinction was made between the "seigneurie publique" of the king and the "seigneurie privée" of landed property. Upon the protection of the landlord rests the tranquility and security of peasant existence . 15 Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) will be presented as an example of early economics in the humanist spirit. His three-part work Della Famiglia , published in 1434 and 1441, poses the question of the rise and decline of a family in dialogue form . 16 He defines housekeeping as the opposite of wastefulness and as care towards things . 17 For him, housekeeping also means, in Aristotelian terms, using as much of what one has as is necessary and keeping the middle ground between too little and too much . 18 To the individual he assigns the task of keeping his body healthy and strong, of bringing his soul into a cheerful mood through virtue, and of spending his time sensibly, i.e. avoiding wasting time. Alberti holds up work as a value against idleness, with his humanistic approach characterized by secularization, the pursuit of happiness, and the pursuit of utility. In the foreground is the demand to teach virtue, to control oneself and to reject one's own cravings and desires . 19 Frugality serves to have money when, for example, it is important to help a sick person, who is more important than money . 20 Frugality harms no one, rejects desires and preserves the family, while wastefulness attracts mendacious flatterers who disappear like fish as soon as the bait is gone . 21 Regarding the relationship between body and mind, Alberti emphasizes that with the mind, memory and reason, divine gifts are given to man to distinguish what he should avoid and what he should strive for in order to preserve himself rightly. Self-control serves to restrain excessive desires through shame, moderation, and desire for praise . 22 For Alberti, man is by nature fitted to use things and born to be happy. Happiness, some think, is having nothing to spare, and striving for wealth. Others see happiness in the state of feeling no displeasure, and indulge in pleasures and delights. © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue II Version I 45 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 E Economy between Necessity and Luxury. Business Ethics from Antiquity to Early Modern Times 9 Cf. Erich Egner, Der Verlust der alten Ökonomik. Seine Hintergründe und Wirkungen, Berlin Duncker & Humblot, 1985, p. 35 11 Marcus Tullius Cicero, De officiis. Vom pflichtgemäßen Handeln, H. Gunermann (ed.), Stuttgart, Reclam 1976, p. 23 (I, 7) 12 Cf. Erich Egner, Der Verlust der alten Ökonomik. Seine Hintergründe und Wirkungen, Berlin Duncker & Humblot, 1985, p. 69-71 13 Augustinus, Confessiones, 10. v., chap. 31 14 Cf. Erich Egner, Der Verlust der alten Ökonomik. Seine Hintergründe und Wirkungen, Berlin Duncker & Humblot, 1985, p. 72f 10 „Predigten über den christlichen Hausstand“, Beltz, Weinheim, Berlin 1959“ 15 Cf. Otto Brunner, Land und Herrschaft, Rohrer, Wien, Wiesbaden 1959, 4. Aufl., p. 242, 243, 265 16 Cf. Erich Egner, Der Verlust der alten Ökonomik. Seine Hintergründe und Wirkungen, Berlin Duncker & Humblot, 1985, p.88-97 17 Leon Battista Alberti, Della Famiglia. Über das Hauswesen, Artemis, Zürich, Stuttgart 1963, p. 185 18 Leon Battista Alberti, Della Famiglia. Über das Hauswesen, Artemis, Zürich, Stuttgart 1963, p. 211 19 Leon Battista Alberti, Della Famiglia. Über das Hauswesen, Artemis, Zürich, Stuttgart 1963, p. 67 20 Leon Battista Alberti, Della Famiglia. Über das Hauswesen, Artemis, Zürich, Stuttgart 1963, p.154 21 Leon Battista Alberti, Della Famiglia. Über das Hauswesen, Artemis, Zürich, Stuttgart 1963, p. 209 22 Leon Battista Alberti, Della Famiglia. Über das Hauswesen, Artemis, Zürich, Stuttgart 1963, p. 170