The Economy of Obligation. The culture of credit and social relations in early modern England

Notes:

Provides 'an attempt to reconstitute a narrative of the economic practices and discourse of the early modern period' and seeks 'to redefine the early modern English economy by rejecting the concept of capitalism, and instead explores the cultural meaning of credit, resulting from the way in which it was economically structured. It is a major argument of the book that money was used only in a limited number of exchanges, and that credit in terms of household reputation, was a 'cultural currency' of trust used to transact most business. As the market expanded in the late-sixteenth century such trust became harder to maintain, leading to an explosion of debt litigation, which in turn resulted in social relations being partially redefined in terms of contractual equality.'. Contents include: 'Introduction - deconstructing capitalism'. Part 1] 'Economic expansion and structures - 'The sixteenth century growth of the market - the growth of consumption and exchange' / 'The structure and practice of marketing activity and its expansion - communication, bargaining and the just price - urban development' / 'Transactions on the market - King's Lynn wealth categories' / 'The structure of credit networks - money and credit - types of debt and the nature of credit used'; Part 2] 'The culture of credit' - 'The sociability of credit and commerce' / 'The cultural currency of credit and the construction of reputation - household credit' / 'Unpaid debts and doubts about trust - tradesmen's and merchants' credit'; Part 3] 'Credit and its discontents'