MERCATURA. —
I. CONCEPT
M., in general, is any exchange of goods or values. Among the various forms of exchange, buying and selling predominates.Three principal kinds of m. are distinguished: lucrative, economic, and industrial. Lucrative m. is a purchase motivated exclusively by the desire for profit. Two elements therefore characterize it: the intention of subsequently reselling what was bought at a higher price; and, in addition, the intention of reselling it without first making any alteration that might in any way have increased its economic value. If, instead, one buys not with the aim of reselling at a higher price, but of satisfying one’s own needs, even though it will in fact later prove more advantageous to resell, if only because of a rise in prices, one has economic m. Finally, buying with the intention of reselling at a higher price what one has purchased, but after increasing its value through suitable processing, constitutes industrial m. In this case, the excess of the selling price over the purchase price represents not merely a profit, but also remuneration for the labor involved in making the alterations, whether this labor was personally performed by the buyer or by others at his expense. In practice, the three forms of m. may coexist or combine in various ways with one another and with every other economic, productive, industrial, or commercial activity.
II. MORALITY
All three forms of m. are, in themselves, morally licit; but the profit-seeking form, dominated as it is exclusively by the desire for gain, which is never satisfied, is not entirely consonant with human dignity. Moreover, it exposes one to grave dangers when the craving for profit is not kept within the bounds of a higher purpose, e.g., the support of one’s family. It is also certain that profit-seeking m. is alien to the work of sanctification, both one’s own and that of others, to which clerics and religious dedicate their lives. Therefore, in accordance with very ancient traditions, the Church prohibits it to the former (can. 142) and to the latter (cann. 593 and 679 § 1) within the following limits.The prohibition concerns every form of profit-seeking m. speculation (v.) and, in any event, speculation in commercial shares and bonds; it remains licit, however, to invest one’s capital in such securities in order to receive the corresponding income (S. Uffizio, 13 Apr. 1885). The prohibition also affects industrial m., but only when, in transforming merchandise in order to resell it at a higher price, the cleric or religious makes use of hired labor. This is the unanimous interpretation of canonists and moral theologians, based, moreover, on the analogy between this form of m. and profit-seeking m. The prohibition is grave, though it is directed not against isolated transactions but against their exercise, constituted by their multiplicity under the influence of a single decision. Such exercise always remains gravely illicit, whether its execution is entrusted to others or the profits realized are devoted to the benefit of others or to pious or secular causes. By decree of the Congr. of the Council, 22 March 1950, violation of this law is sanctioned by excommunication speciali modo reserved to the Holy See (AAS, 42 [1950], pp. 330-31).
For reasons that are self-evident, certain exceptions fall outside this ecclesiastical prohibition. If a cleric co-inherits an economic activity based on profit-seeking m., he may operate it through his co-heirs; he is not obliged to renounce or dispose of his share. The exercise of profit-seeking m. is also tolerated when it presents itself as the sole means of supporting oneself and one’s family. In this case, however, so that everything may be conducted in a manner befitting the clerical or religious state and solely within the limits of necessity, the Ordinary shall grant permission, at least with regard to territories outside Italy (Clemente XIII, Cum. primum, 17 Sept. 1759). Probably in Italy too, following the promulgation of the new CIC, the Ordinary’s permission is sufficient and that of the Holy See is no longer necessary, as the cited document prescribed. Profit-seeking m. is also licit when it develops as an ancillary activity alongside another principal economic activity (v. COMMERCIO).