Bringing Inspiration from the Past: A Renaissance Manual for Merchants

This essay takes inspiration from one of the first books on business, the “Libro del’arte dela mercatura” (The Book of the Art of Trade), written by Benedetto Cotrugli in 1458, in the then Kingdom of Naples. That book is an occasion to reflect on the lines of relational economics, with the hope that the past can bring us inspiration for the future. First, there is a succinct presentation of the author, his historical context, the purpose and aims of that document. It is a comprehensive illustration of business practices in Italy during the times of the Renaissance, with an elaboration on the highest expectations for merchants. There is a brief comparison with another famous book, the “Summa Arithmetica”, written by Fra Luca Pacioli some years later. Second, there is a short description of the book contents. During the four parts of the book, Cotrugli provides advice to the merchant on the principles and tools of trade, religious practice, civic and domestic life. Cotrugli sees the merchant as a learned person, somebody who can refer to different people in a fair, reliable way. He also highlights the value of a merchant’s reputation, a point that relates with relational economics’ interest in the continuity of relations. Finally, Cotrugli brings the idea of “enough”. To Cotrugli’s mind, profit need not be too much, but sufficient for living a good life. This latter point is relevant to the contemporary discussion on the planetary limits and much connected with the interest of relational economics for sustainable growth. Finally, there are some considerations about that book, in the light of our growing discipline of relational economics. Among others, a reflection about the scope of relational economics analysis, raising attention to the level of persons and families, a call for exploring time horizons other than the standard annual period and an invitation for a renovated look at business ethics. Relational economics as a nascent theoretical perspective can only profit from looking at different contexts and historical facts as an occasion for scholarly reflection. In this case, a manual for merchants, written more than 500 years ago, becomes an opportunity for some tentative comments around relational economics.