The Liberty Archive FREECAPITALISTS.ORG

First published 1818

Defence of Usury; shewing the Impolicy of the Present Legal Restraints on the Terms of Pecuniary Bargains

by Jeremy Bentham

London: Payne and Foss, 1818; Online Library of Liberty edition57 pages

Defence of Usury; shewing the Impolicy of the Present Legal Restraints on the Terms of Pecuniary Bargains by Jeremy Bentham is available as a free PDF and EPUB download at freecapitalists.org.

Author
Jeremy Bentham
First published
1818
Format
PDF and EPUB
Pages
57
Publisher
London: Payne and Foss, 1818; Online Library of Liberty edition
License
Public domain by publication date.

Bentham's 1787 letters to a friend against legal limits on interest rates, here in the 1818 edition. It includes a letter addressed to Adam Smith, who had defended the usury laws, and argues that adults should be free to bargain over the terms of a loan. The volume also carries his Protest against Law-Taxes.

What's in it

16 chapters · 27,095 words · free to read here

  1. LETTER I.: Introduction.
  2. LETTER II.: Reasons for Restraint.—Prevention of Usury.
  3. LETTER III.: Reasons for Restraint.—Prevention of Prodigality.
  4. LETTER IV.: Reasons for Restraint.—Protection of Indigence.
  5. LETTER V.: Reasons for Restraint.—Protection of Simplicity.
  6. LETTER VI.: Mischiefs of the anti-usurious Laws.
  7. LETTER VII.: Efficacy of anti-usurious laws.
  8. LETTER VIII.: Virtual Usury allowed.
  9. LETTER IX.: Blackstone considered.
  10. LETTER X.: Grounds of the Prejudices against Usury.
  11. LETTER XI.: Compound Interest.
  12. LETTER XII.: Maintenance and Champerty.
  13. LETTER XIII.: To Dr. Smith, on Projects in Arts, &c.
  14. About Liberty Fund
  15. The Online Library of Liberty
  16. Copyright Information

Community

Discuss this book

No thread on Mises Community names this book yet. Start one.

Keep reading

More by Jeremy Bentham

Read this on Kindle or Apple Books

Kindle

  1. Download the Kindle file above if there is one, otherwise the EPUB.
  2. Go to amazon.com/sendtokindle and upload the file, or email it as an attachment to your Kindle's @kindle.com address (find it under "Manage Your Content and Devices" → Devices in your Amazon account).
  3. Open the Kindle app or device; the book appears next time it syncs over Wi-Fi.

Apple Books

  1. Download the EPUB file above (Apple Books doesn't read Kindle formats).
  2. On iPhone or iPad, open the downloaded file and tap "Copy to Books." On a Mac, double-click it.
  3. Find it in your Books library; it syncs to your other devices via iCloud.