Usury : why do people resort to it and what are the consequences

Abstract

Usury is the lending of money with a very high interest, an activity which is illegal in Malta. The reason behind this is that the whole concept goes against all basic principles of social and natural justice, in that the interest rates would be so high that it would be impossible to ever pay the debt. This first debt normally induces a person to incur other debts in the hope of paying the first debt. This results in an overwhelming amount of money that the victim owes to third parties, apart from the lender him/herself. There are also other social consequences such as stealing and poverty. Usury is like a vicious circle that has no escape. This dissertation has attempted to outline the typical profile of the victim of usury, that of the money-lender, an effort which is hampered by the total dearth of local publications and research on the subject, and therefore the study was essentially based on a tabula rasa. In fact this study has tried to find reasons why a person resorts to such desperate measures, knowing that they are both illegal and of a direct physical risk to the individual. The basic question being asked is, 'at what price, and how high?' The information has been obtained through observation techniques. As regards public perceptions of who and what kind of victims resort to usury, as well as the perspectives of professionals who work largely with the victims of usury, the qualitative unstructured interview technique has been adopted.