Lend Hoping Nothing Podcast

Storck’s original essay: https://revistasuroeste.cl/2022/05/27/nuestra-economia-usurera/

My First Response: https://revistasuroeste.cl/2024/11/04/economia-justicia-y-caridad/Storck’s First Response: https://revistasuroeste.cl/2025/01/08/es-justo-cobrar-intereses/

My Second Response: https://revistasuroeste.cl/2025/02/18/prestamo-a-interes-historia-y-concepto/

Storck’s Final Response: https://revistasuroeste.cl/2025/04/09/una-controversia-acerca-de-la-usura/

Program: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eda794851ef816b04d5f4d5/t/67c9efe2f61d8a23f92aa6a0/1741287394881/Program+Booklet+2025.pdf

Paper: https://www.academia.edu/128758246/The_Intelligibility_of_Usury_Restitution_Adequation_and_Contracts

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lendhopingnothing.substack.com

Three Modern Functions (Plus One)

* Medium of Exchange

* Unit of Account

* Store of Value

* Established by Convention/Law

Account of Money

* Necessity of exchange

* Commutative Justice

* Equality in exchange

* How many shoes is a house?

* Money enters as a measure of diverse goods

* measure of human need or desire

* Measure must contain that which it measures

* Law - measures human behavior (definition of murder)

* time - measures motion (clock)

...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lendhopingnothing.substack.com

Nota Bene

I am not a financial or tax advisor. Take everything I say with a grain of salt and do your own research and find professionals for additional help.

Facts

Options for retirement

* 401k

* Employer sponsored retirement account

* Invest a percentage of salary

* Typically involves an employer match of 3%-5% (https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/average-401k-match)

* Invest in small set of mutual funds

* IRA

* Individual Retirement Account

* Invest your money

* Depending on...

Performing Intrinsic Evils

* Meaning of Catholic Podcast - https://www.youtube.com/live/q8VDT1jbKRA?si=Lw_ZiD9GJC-qWSD8&t=3079

* “Just because something is intrinsically evil does not necessarily mean you can never do it.”

New Polity Shareholding Essay - https://newpolity.com/blog/should-christians-invest-in-the-stockmarket

Declaration that money is evil or has the appearance of evil

* Jacob Imam’s Dissertation - https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c1dbc396-a8de-49ec-9f0c-3bfd8e89f4c8/files/d1c18dg33r

* Note: In the vi...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lendhopingnothing.substack.com

Ways in which the financial economy supports the real economy

* Direct financing

* Liquidity

* Risk management

Introduction

* Interest in speculation

* Original NewPolity podcast

* Saw mistakes about societas

* Read Aquinas and saw more mistakes

* Discussed with people on Twitter

* Read NewPolity article and started reading citations

Essay

* Four Arguments - ordered by authority

* From Scripture

* From St. John Paul II

* From The Tradition

* From Reason

* From Scripture

A Christian should not own stocks any more than he should pursue individual wealth apart from work in any other area...

Introduction

* Essay up on NewPolity’s blog: https://newpolity.com/blog/should-christians-invest-in-the-stockmarket

* I wrote essay published in 4.2: https://newpolity.com/single-issues/vol-4-2

* Marc wrote response to me

* Interesting objections from essay in livestream recently put up:

* I’ll address some of that here

* Two part podcast

* First deals with shareholding

* Second deals with trading or speculation

Initial Distinction

* Evil per accidens vs per se

* Per accidens - evil from intention or circumstances

* Giving to poor...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lendhopingnothing.substack.com

Three Reasons

* Practical

* Theoretical

* Theological

Practical

* Usurers may be few, but borrowers suffering usury are many

* Examples of usurious debt (personally secured loans for profit)

* Credit cards

* Pay Day Loans

* Student loans

* Car loans

* Most mortgages

* Impoverishes many people, e.g. student loan debt

* Leads to hatred of the wealth not suffering the debt

* Hatred of institutions involved in it, such as universities

* Destabilizing force on the economy

Introduction

The Current problem - many different positions

* Usury is rent on money

* Usury not present today

* Thomas Woods - doctrine has implicit assumptions - https://archive.org/details/churchmarketcath0000wood

* Destroys all moral doctrine

* Thomas Divine, SJ - merely oppression of the poor, objective market rates prevent oppression of the poor - https://archive.org/details/interesthistoric0000thom

* Doesn't account for consistent condemnation of usury against wealthy

* Both fail to realize time preference as an excuse for usury was condemned by Innocent...

Is it generally immoral to invest in 401k's for retirement? w/ Jacob Imam Vs Trent Horn

New Polity Blog Post: https://newpolity.com/blog/replies-to-trent-horn-401k

Last Episode

* Showed tradition definition is "exacting profit from a mutuum"

* Three key terms: exacting, profit and mutuum

* Exacting - obligating or requiring in the agreement

* Profit - anything over the principle, increment, addition, superabundance

* Here focus on mutuum

What is the mutuum?

* Great deal of disagreement

* Loan for consumption - Belloc and McCall

* Neither specifies mutuum, but takes this as the sort of loan where usury arises

* Loan of fungibles

* Fungibles as goods that can be...

* Introduction

* Many divergent opinions

* Taking advantage of the poor - Divine

* Excessive rates in loans

* Any surplus taken on a transaction - Pesch

* Any interest on any loan

* Interest on loans for consumption - Belloc, McCall

* Scripture

* Hebrew (Divine, 6) https://archive.org/details/interesthistoric0000thom

* Masah: to take interest and to oppress

* Nesek: to bite, oppress or take interest

* Passages:

* Exodus 22:25 - lend to the poor, oppress with usuries

* Leviticus 25:35-37 - take...