The School of Salamanca and the Birth of Economics

Before Adam Smith, before free market capitalism, Spanish theologians and jurists at the University of Salamanca were already grappling with inflation, price controls, and the morality of trade in the 16th century. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the School of Salamanca: a circle of thinkers including Francisco de Vitoria, Domingo de Soto, and Martín de Azpilcueta who applied Thomistic philosophy to the economic chaos unleashed by American silver. They developed a subjective theory of value, analyzed inflation via the quantity theory of money, and wrestled with just price and just war doctrines that challenged Spanish imperialism. Their ideas on natural rights and international law influenced Hugo Grotius and later Enlightenment thinkers, yet they remain largely forgotten outside academic circles. How did a group of Dominican monks in a Castilian university town end up inventing proto-capitalism and human rights centuries ahead of their time? #SchoolOfSalamanca #FranciscoDeVitoria #DomingoDeSoto #MartínDeAzpilcueta #SpanishEmpire #HistoryOfEconomics #JustPrice #QuantityTheoryOfMoney #Inflation #UniversityOfSalamanca #Thomism #NaturalLaw #InternationalLaw #HugoGrotius #16thCentury #Spain #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo