by Juan De Mariana (Author)
In this treatise we find an insightful analysis concerning how monetary debasement and inflation increase prices, which proceeds to illustrate how such increases do not affect everyone equally-in effect, causing a revolution in fortunes. In a parallel argument, Mariana explains how government, if given control of other forms of private property, would also debase the values of those forms and use them according to its own interests.
Author Biography
Juan de Mariana (1536-1624) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and theologian. He occupied the chair of theology at the University of Paris from 1569-1574 before returning to Toledo in Spain, where he remained until he died. Mariana's intellectual contributions are numerous. In addition to his work on politics and economics, he is remembered for a magisterial work on the history of Spain.