Why Usury Was Considered a Deadly Sin or How Time Became Money

When everything is commodified, nothing is a gift.

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In the Middle Ages, usury was considered a deadly sin. Time was regarded as a gift, and gifts could not be traded. The notion that you could make money by selling a gift was unthinkable. Until the invention of tower clocks, the only way to know the time was by hearing the chime of church bells from a bell tower.

It was difficult to accurat…