The “quattro nel sei” (Pd. V 60) and “sette e cinque per diece” (Pd. VI 138) Anti-capitalist controversy in the Paradise

The article traces the anti-capitalist controversy that permeates Paradise from start to finish, alongside the criticism of the blanda cupiditas set out in The Monarchy, a treatise written by Dante at the same he wrote Paradise. The diatribe is a harsh criticism of the Papacy, accused of legitimizing the spirit of capitalism, instead of denouncing its cruelty as it should have done if it had followed the precepts of the Gospel.