The Politics of Jewish Commerce: Economic Thought and Emancipation in Europe, 1638-1848

This study demonstrates the centrality of economic rationales to debates on Jews' status in Italy, Britain, France, and Germany during the course of two centuries. It delineates the common motifs that informed these discussions. It thus provides the first overview of the political-economic dimensions of the Jewish emancipation literature of this period viewed against the backdrop of broader controversies within European society over the effects of commerce on inherited political values and institutions.