Quoth Jim:
>If I remember correctly, some of Hammurabi's code referred to market
transactions. If there any experts on this subject reading this,
please correct me if I'm wrong.<
Respondeth Lou:
> I am an expert. You are wrong.
One small addition to Lou's thoughts - they're probably wrong.
The stela at Susa records +/- 282 of H's legal decisions, and many of 'em are
to do with rules for commerce (on price setting for services, differential
tariffs and the nature of rights and obligations between landowners and the
workers of the land). Rules that do the sort of thing M&E write about in the
Manifesto insofar as an attempt is made to supplant lots of traditional
relations and their concomitant rights (although the penalty schedule does
evince a traditional power differential). I'm of the impression that much of
what we might call 'mercantilism' was in place - the code was meant to
standardise trade practices across lines isomorphic to national boundaries,
and the class of merchants was a politically powerful class, with strong
linkages to a 'state' which recognised their role, privileged it, and
carefully regulated it.
Cheers,
Rob.
