The Theory of the Just Price According to Francisco De Vitoria

Abstract

Francisco de Vitoria was born in the fifteenth century. His moral theology could be considered as the origin of what was later called the "School of Salamanca". In the frame of the scholastic tradition, Vitoria approached to the great practical issues of his time from a moral point of view. As a consequence of this perspective, such tradition had developed two ethical theories about the market: the theory of the just price, related to commercial operations; and the theory of usury, applicable to financial operations. The article's objective is to study the theory of the just price according to Vitoria, because it is the most interesting of the two form a theoretical point of view; and because it is applicable nowadays to the context of global markets if it is properly corrected and restated. The theory of the just price is based upon the idea of justice as an adequate virtue for the regulation of market relations.