The School of Salamanca
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This article is part of the Basic Liberalism Course -> Module 2: Liberalism and its ethical foundations
The School of Salamanca (16th-17th centuries, Spain) is considered one of the precursors of liberalism because it anticipated central ideas of modern liberal thought 300 years in advance.
Who were they?
Catholic theologians and jurists from the University of Salamanca.
- Francisco de Vitoria (founder) (1483–1546)
- Domingo de Soto (1494–1560)
- Luis de Molina (1535–1600)
- Francisco Suárez (1548–1617)
- Juan de Mariana (the most "radical") (1536–1624)
Ideas that make them precursors of liberalism
| Modern liberal idea | Contribution from Salamanca | Example / Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Natural rights of the individual | They defended that every human being has innate rights (life, liberty, property) by being rational, not by concession of the king. | Vitoria: "The Indians have dominion over their lands because they are free men." → Basis of international law. |
| Private property | They justified property as a natural right, not granted by the State. | Molina: "Property is prior to the State." |
| Free market and just price | Subjective theory of value: the just price is not set by the king, but by supply/demand and perceived utility. | De Soto: "The just price is the one formed in the common market, without fraud." → 300 years before the Austrians! |
| Free trade | They defended international trade without royal monopolies. | Suárez: "Trade is natural among peoples." |
| Critique of state interventionism | Juan de Mariana: the king cannot raise taxes without consent → origin of "no taxation without representation". | Mariana (De Rege, 1599): "Imposing tributes without consent is tyranny." |
| Anti-monopoly and anti-inflation | They criticized monetary devaluation (inflating currency) as theft from the people. | Mariana: "Altering the currency is robbing the poor." → Central bank critique 400 years early! |
| Right to resistance | If the king violates natural rights, the people can resist or even overthrow him. | Suárez: "Political power comes from the people, not directly from God." → Basis of the social contract. |
SCHOOL OF SALAMANCA → PRECURSOR OF LIBERALISM
──────────────────────────────────────────────
1. Natural rights (Vitoria, Suárez) → Locke
2. Property prior to the State (Molina) → Mises
3. Just price = supply/demand (De Soto) → Menger
4. Global free trade (Suárez) → Smith
5. No taxes without consent (Mariana) → American Revolution
6. Inflation = theft (Mariana) → Austrian School
7. Resistance to the tyrant (Suárez) → Revolutionary liberalism
Why are they not "full liberals"?
Salamanca is not "liberal" (they were friars), but their ideas ARE the seed of economic and political liberalism.
| Limitation | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Catholic context | They were theologians → they justified everything from divine natural law. |
| Not anti-State | They accepted a legitimate king (but limited by natural rights). |
| No separation of Church and State | Faith was central. |
Direct line with classical liberalism
School of Salamanca (1500-1600)
↓ (ideas via Jesuits and trade)
Austrian School + Locke + Smith (1700-1800)
↓
Classical liberalism → Libertarianism (1900-)
- Adam Smith cites similar concepts of just price.
- Mises and Hayek rediscover the subjective theory of value… which was already in Salamanca!
Important phrases written by the authors of the School of Salamanca
| Phrase | Author |
|---|---|
| "Inflation occurs when there is more currency than goods." | Author: Martín de Azpilcueta (Comentario Resolutorio de Cambios, 1556) – Clear explanation of the quantity theory of money, 200 years before Hume. |
| "If goods were held in common, the wicked, the greedy, and the thieves would benefit the most, for they would take more and put less into the community's granary..." | Author: Francisco de Vitoria (Comentarios a la Secunda Secundae de Santo Tomás, q. 66) |
| "...The Indians must not be converted by force; but they may be compelled not to impede the missionaries of the faith or to insult Christ and the Christians..." | Author: Francisco de Vitoria (Relectio de Indis sive de Iure Belli Hispanorum in Barbaros) – Foundation of international law |
| "...The value of goods does not rest in their nature, but in the estimation in which men hold them..." | Author: Francisco de Vitoria (Comentarios a la Secunda Secundae de Santo Tomás, q. 77) – Subjective theory of value, precursor of modern economics based on supply and demand. |
| "...A thing is worth that for which it can be sold, excluding violence, fraud, and deceit..." | Author: Domingo de Soto. (De Iustitia et Iure, Libro VI) – Definition of the just price in a free market, without unjust state interventions, key to economic ethics. |
| “...Political power does not come directly from God, but from the consent of men....” | De potestate civili, Francisco de Vitoria (1532). |
| "...No one can be punished for the sins of others..." | Context: Used by Vitoria to criticize the justification of the conquest or enslavement of the American indigenous based on supposed sins or religious practices. |
| “...The just price is that which arises from the free consent of buyers and sellers...” | Manual de Confesores y Penitentes, Martín de Azpilcueta (Doctor Navarro) (1556). |
| "...There is no just contract if it is not voluntary....” | De iustitia et iure, Domingo de Soto. |
| "...God does not give power to kings except through the people...” | De legibus ac Deo legislatore, Francisco Suárez (1612). Suárez, a Jesuit, here formulates a proto-democratic principle: sovereignty resides in the people, not directly in the monarch. |
| "...Liberty is the greatest gift that nature has granted to man....” | De iustitia et iure, Luis de Molina (1593). |
| The value of things depends on common estimation, not on their nature. | De iustitia et iure, Luis de Molina (1593). |
| The prince cannot impose taxes without the consent of the people, not even for public necessity, unless it is evident and urgent. | Author: Francisco de Vitoria (Relectio de Potestate Civili) – Limits on the fiscal power of the sovereign; basis of the principle "no taxation without representation". |
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Last updated: 2025-11-10
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