DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CAPITALIST AND ISLAMIC ECONOMY!
Islam does not deny the market forces and the market economy. Even the profit motive is acceptable to a reasonable extent. When one talks about private ownership then even that is not totally negated.
The basic difference is that in, secular capitalism , the profit motive or private ownership are given unbridled power to make economic decisions. Their liberty is not controlled by any divine injunction. Interest, gambling, speculative transactions tend to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few. Furthermore, unhealthy human instincts are exploited to make money through immoral and injurious products. Unbridled profit making creates monopolies which paralyses the market forces or, at least , hinder their natural operations.
Thus the capitalist economy which claims to be based on market forces, practically stops the natural process of supply and demand, because these forces can properly work only in an atmosphere of free competition, and not in monopolies. It is sometimes appreciated in a secular capitalist economy that a certain economic activity is not in the interest of the society, yet , it is allowed to be continued because it goes against the interest of some influential circles who dominate the legislature on the strength of their majority. No divine guidance is recognized to control the economic activities.
What Islam does is that , after recognizing private ownership, profit motive and market forces , Islam has put certain divine restrictions on the economic activities. The prohibition of RIBA, gambling, hoarding, dealing in unlawful goods or services, short sales and speculative transactions are some examples of these divine restrictions.
All these prohibitions combined together have a cumulative effect of maintaining balance, distributive justice and equality of opportunities.
By: Ramsha Amir.
Islam does not deny the market forces and the market economy. Even the profit motive is acceptable to a reasonable extent. When one talks about private ownership then even that is not totally negated.
The basic difference is that in, secular capitalism , the profit motive or private ownership are given unbridled power to make economic decisions. Their liberty is not controlled by any divine injunction. Interest, gambling, speculative transactions tend to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few. Furthermore, unhealthy human instincts are exploited to make money through immoral and injurious products. Unbridled profit making creates monopolies which paralyses the market forces or, at least , hinder their natural operations.
Thus the capitalist economy which claims to be based on market forces, practically stops the natural process of supply and demand, because these forces can properly work only in an atmosphere of free competition, and not in monopolies. It is sometimes appreciated in a secular capitalist economy that a certain economic activity is not in the interest of the society, yet , it is allowed to be continued because it goes against the interest of some influential circles who dominate the legislature on the strength of their majority. No divine guidance is recognized to control the economic activities.
What Islam does is that , after recognizing private ownership, profit motive and market forces , Islam has put certain divine restrictions on the economic activities. The prohibition of RIBA, gambling, hoarding, dealing in unlawful goods or services, short sales and speculative transactions are some examples of these divine restrictions.
All these prohibitions combined together have a cumulative effect of maintaining balance, distributive justice and equality of opportunities.
By: Ramsha Amir.
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