Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Coloring in the Assumptions

Coloring in the Assumptions

In writing my novella Don Tomas de Castillo I need to make some assumptions about my reader's understanding of economics at least how they applied to Fifteenth century Spain....Let me define an assumption because people use them all the time and they allow us to operate in the absence of all the facts:

Definition: An assumption is a fact that hasn't happened yet (futurity) or one the reader isn't too clear about...(It exists however, either through ignorace or being withheld the reader treats it a concept, or suspends disbelief, using experience in lieu of a fact....until proven incorrect i.e. A Dragon breaths fire. A priest honors his vows.)

Since we all know assumptions can spell trouble I need to nake sure I weave some of these economic principles shown below into the context of the story.

Percy Goodfellow on Economics: As it relates to the Novella Don Tomas de Castillo:

To understand what was happening in the story one must understand what is taking place in the world. The world is driven by greed. Greed is the human desire to acquire what is needed to satisfy basic needs and exercise influence over others. The engine of greed is economics and the home of economics is the marketplace. In the marketplace you have goods and services being bought and sold. The medium of exchange is called money....money is power.

There are three ways to get money/power. These are taking, creating, and earning.

The big players are the Monarchy, the nobility, and the church. The lesser players are the soldiers, merchants, manufactures, farmers, accountants, lawyers, teachers, doctors and workers and everyone else.

Taking

The source of the Monarchy’s power is taxation

The nobles through rents and extortion.

The church through rents and tithes..

Creating

The merchants through trade

The manufactures through implements

The Farmers through food.

The financiers through capital…(Bankers, Lenders, Investors, speculators)


Earning (By wages/fees.)

Soldiers through violence. (Some additional through spoils of war...plunder)

Lawyers/judges through adjudication

Teachers through teaching

Doctors through healing.

Workers fthrough labor.