In The Politics, Aristotle questions the compatibility of commerce and “the good life,” a lifestyle involving political participation, financial independence, and philosophical thought that culminates in the fullest development of reason and other faculties (3). In particular, he contests the view of Solon, an Athenian politician and firm proponent of commerce and trade, who believed that “no bound to riches has been fixed by man” (11). Aristotle provides three reasons to combat Solon: the scarcity of all resources, the limitless greed of man, and the perversion of natural trade. He offers an alternative idea by stating the “instruments of any art are never unlimited,” the art here being wealth getting; thus, there is a bound to the riches…