A tradition that marries humanist republicanism with the culture of enterprise and bolsters the idea that freedom and responsibility are two sides of a coin that enriches all of civic life: political, economic, and cultural.
“Mercatura, is an art, or rather a discipline practiced among persons legitimized to practice it, ordered according to justice and relating to commercial things, for the preservation of mankind, but also with hope of gain.” This clear definition allows us to understand Cotrugli’s two main goals: to describe entrepreneurial activity not simply as lawful and respectable, but as indispensable; and to show that business is properly oriented to the pursuit of the common good.