The article tells about who is called a usurer, discusses the features of this profession, its occurrence and legal status.
Who is a usurer?
A moneylender is a person who lends money, usually at high interest rates. In this case, an oral or written agreement is concluded on how long the finances are issued. The main feature of usury is the fact that the borrower leaves a loan to the usurer, and if he doesn’t have time to return the funds on time, this guarantee becomes the property of the usurer. He also works for himself and decides how to build an activity: to conclude or not to conclude an agreement with the borrower, to apply or not to use the services of appraisers, etc. In addition, sometimes he uses illegal methods to collect debt from clients.
Profession history
A small digression into history will help answer the question of who the usurer is. This profession appeared even before the emergence of money. Then they borrowed and then returned, as a rule, natural goods. For example, grain or livestock.
Usury was common in ancient Greece. So, the student of Plato, Aristotle, in his treatise "Politics" called the collection of interest a phenomenon that is contrary to nature, and considered the main function of money to be exchange. Usury was widespread throughout Europe, and lost its popularity with the advent of banks.
As for Russia, both in the Old Russian state and in the Russian Empire, such an occupation was considered immoral and prosecuted by law. Nevertheless, Orthodox monasteries, bishops' houses and parish churches dealt with it.
In Islamic countries, they hardly know who the usurer is. For there it was forbidden to give money at interest, in some states, for example, in Iran, this rule is still valid. And in countries where there are Sharia laws, for such an occupation one can lose one's life. Under Judaism, the prohibitions apply only to people with this faith; they do not apply to others.
Profit and Risk
The profession itself and the word "moneylender" were perceived by society extremely negatively, both earlier and now. This is mainly due to the fact that the moneylender in one year could significantly increase his fortune due to people in trouble and in a difficult financial situation. But the possible risks of this case are quite large. To begin with, the debt may not be repaid due to the fact that the borrower died or simply escaped. Also, with strong inflation, there is a chance not only not to make a profit, but also to suffer losses. Sometimes a client leaves a deposit that cannot be sold at a real price, for example, a car in disrepair. In addition, such activities may at any time become prohibited due to changes in legislation. So we figured out who the usurer is.