S:E&W

"Scarcity: East and West" Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance: JIEBF, Volume - 6, Number - 1, January - March 2010. p. 87-104 Link to published PDF on journal website.

ABSTRACT

While the wrong Western diagnosis that lack of wealth is the source of ‘scarcity’ leads them to pursue the wrong remedies, the Quran offers us the correct solution to the problem. Instead of striving for more wealth, the Quran teaches us to restrict our idle desires, strive to lead simple lifestyles, and to spend on others less fortunate than us. It also teaches us to be content with what we have, and not envy those who have more material wealth. We should also have compassion for others, and not seek to make them envious of our consumption, if we have more. In particular, ‘conspicuous consumption’ is not permitted in Islam. If we return to these simple formulae of Islam, Islamic societies would enjoy much more satisfaction with much fewer consumption goods than currently.

REFERENCE

Colin F. Camerer, Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction, Princeton University Press, 2003.

Christoph Jensen, “From Malthus to Eugenics to Racial Hygiene to Ethnic Cleansing” (see also R. Steiner Oct. 7th 1916: ‘Goethe and the Crisis of the 19th Century’) http://www.transintelligence.org/articles/From%20Malthus.htm

Monzer Kahf, “Infaq in the Islamic Economic System,” Undated. Available from monzer.kahf.com accessed 30 June 2007.

Ali Khan, “Self Interest, Self Deception, and the Ethics of Commerce,” paper presented at Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Roundtable on Islamic Economics: Current State of Knowledge and Development of the Discipline, Jeddah May 26-27, 2004.

Robert E. Lane, Loss of Happiness in Market Economies, Yale University Press, 2001.

Richard Layard, Happiness: Lessons from a New Science, Penguin Press, 2005.

John O. Ledyard, “Public Goods: A Survey of Experimental Research,” in Kagel and Roth (eds. 1995).

Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, “Islamization of Knowledge: A Critical Overview,” Islamic Studies, Autumn 1991, p. 387-400.

Robert H. Nelson, Economics as Religion: from Samuleson to Chicago and Beyond, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001.

Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Times,Penguin, 2006.

Amartya Sen, Poverty and Famine: An Essay on Entitlement and Deprivation,Oxford University Press, USA, 1983,

Julian Lincoln Simon, The Ultimate Resource 2, Princeton University Press, 1998.

Bernhard Schreiber, The Men Behind Hitler, translated by H. R. Martindale, 1960. [http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupid?key=olbp27908]

R. H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1926.

Rolf Witzsche, “Aids and The History of Depopulation Policies,” Cygni Communications, Canada, 1995. http://peace.rolf-witzsche.com/witzsche/aids1.html http://aidschristianscience.rolf-witzsche.com/aids_christian_science_2.html

Asad Zaman, “Islamic Economics: A Survey of the Literature,” Religion and Development Research Programme, Working Paper 22, Univ. of Birmingham, 2008.

Asad Zaman, “Improving Social Science Education in Pakistan,” Lahore Journal of Policy Studies Vol. 2 No. 1, June 2008. 104 Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, Volume-6 Number-1.

Asad Zaman, “An Islamic Critique of Neoclassical Economics,” draft June 2008, submitted to Islamic Studies.

Asad Zaman, “Developing An Islamic Worldview: An Essential Component of An Islamic Education,” Lahore Journal of Policy Studies, Vol 1, No. 1, p95-108, 2007.

Asad Zaman, “Origins of Western Social Science” Journal of Islamic Economics, Banking and Finance, vol 5, number 2, 2009.