Monetary Multitudes

Monetary Multitudes "The malevolent and terrifying thing shall of itself strike such terror into the people that, almost like mamne, whie thinking to escape from it, they will rush in swift course upon its boudless forces." For Leonardo da Vinci, the "malevolent and terrifying thing" was poverty. During his time a new financial system was announced in Florence, Genoa, and Venice -- a system that still exists today. In the middle of the 15th century, the biggest ruling families abolished a decree that had applied until then: They began to lend money at interest -- even the pope needed monet to be able to maintain his armies. It was the beginning of modern banking, and Leonardo was right in the thick of it. He saw through the strategy of the banks and the way they introduced the interest rate by way of a clever tricker: Rulers established a compulsory levy, which the citizens had to pay through tazes but which they received back later with a deduction having been made. A legal inte