An ancient idea whose time has come?

The Guardian had a very interesting piece this morning about a resurgence in the ancient idea, common to many cultures and religious traditions, that usury (charging excessive rates of interest on loans, above a legally-sanctioned maximum rate) is wrong and should be prohibited.

This has a real resonance at the moment, I think - in the middle of the worst economic depression since the 1930s, with unemployment rising sharply, government finances in a terrible state, people's pensions being undermined by low interest rates and asset prices, the news headlines are now becoming tiresomely full again of bankers and the enormous sums of money they are paying themselves again as bonuses. And with base lending rates at an historic low of 0.5%, the fact that banks and credit card companies are in many cases still charging interest rates of 20% or more on personal loans and card balances is wholly unacceptable from any sort of reasonable ethical standpoint.

Perhaps it is time that we looked for ways to democratise the financial system, so that the benefits from money circulating round the economy are more widely shared and not just scooped by a small number of bank executives in bloated personal bonuses. There are a number of new ventures such as Zopa which offer a promising alternative to traditional bank savings and loans - maybe these are the way forward?