Financial Wealth, Value and Moral Corruption in Seneca's Economic Thinking
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Published:2024-04
Issue:1
Volume:13
Page:71-93
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ISSN:2045-290X
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Container-title:Cultural History
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language:en
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Short-container-title:Cultural History
Author:
Morcillo Marta García1ORCID
Abstract
This article scrutinises Seneca’s moral engagement with complex financial accounting as a speculative form of wealth and moneymaking that challenged social norms and subverted systems of value. The contribution discusses Seneca’s construction of a form of greed and corruption that is often anticipated by psychological biases, such as loss aversion and self-deception. This degenerating process is exemplified by the misuse of financial ledgers, and specifically of the kalendarium, an account book associated with moneylending that Seneca describes as a suspect instrument of avarice that provoked the ruin of fortunes.
Publisher
Edinburgh University Press