Starting this book today
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That both the social role played by Jews in Europe, and the reaction towards them (in the intense hatred among some), is not unique to the Jews, but actually replicated in many different places around the world in very similar ways, due to bias against the social role that these groups play. Namely a lack of comprehension that the middleman actually does provide some benefit, otherwise he would not exist.
You're saying usurers bred hatred whether they were Jewish or not and that this explains much of the historical stigma?
Yes, though the argument is not limited to just usurers. Any middleman, including shopkeepers, bred similar kind of hatred. That is the argument.
Of course, in Europe it was combined with a dislike for the Jewish religion, which was a toxic brew. But it's worth noting - as Sowell, IIRC does not make in his book - that there was not that much anti-Judaism in the Early Middle Ages. Only from the late 11th century did you get it, and that happens to be the start of the 'commercial' revolution.