"The principle of medieval trade was admittedly comradeship and justice while the principle of modern trade is avowedly competition and greed" G.K. Chesterton, 'William Cobbet', 1926The theory (at least as far as is advertised) is that competition leads to higher quality and resonable pricing of goods. The opposite is what actually occurs, as evidenced by the rise of massive monopolies and super corporations that almost without restriction pursue their own corporate agendas across countries, peoples and cultures. They force small enterprises out of business and suck money and resources out of local communities and into the hands of shareholders. Sales and profits, not quality, service or human respect are the goals.
Merry old medieval England was imbued with a spirit of hospitality, charity and common enterprise. Workers gave 10% of their produce or earnings to the local monastery and the tithe was then used for local relief for the poor and needy. Communities looked after their own rather than delegate the task to a distant collection of bureaucrats. The notion of a 'brotherhood of man' was powerfully promoted and citizens were encouraged to love they neighbour as thyselves'. Guilds arose to manage work and trade in the mould of spirited creativity and high quality goods with complex agreed value systems specifically to engender free and fair anti-competitive trade. Members donated to a central coffer for feasts, guildhall maintenance and alms.
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