Generally speaking, students write a lot of words with little content, because they do not have much to say, but must fill many pages with their writing. I want the opposite effect in this writing assignment. Take two or three articles and condense the main ideas or the most important ones or the most dramatic and striking ones, into one or two pages of good writing. The original papers will contain so much substance that you will not be able to express it all in the short number of words you have been given. Therefore your writing will be rich -- for everything that you write, there will be two things that you left out because there was not enough space to say all things. In many cases I have referred you to my own articles. I will be looking for NEW things, Ideas which you take from OTHER writings than my own. The more NEW things there are the better your grade will be, since it will show that you have done extra reading, more than just my articles which have been assigned.
Here is the structure of the essay that you should write:
FIRST PARA: Today we are looking to the west for solutions to our problems. But in many cases, western philosophies are the source of our problems. Solutions lie in our heritage/Islam
SECOND PARA: Describe a Western Philosophy. Its historical origins, how it favors rich over poor
THIRD PARA: Describe the Bad Effects of this Western Philosophy
FOURTH PARA: Describe How Islamic Alternative is Better.
CONCLUSION: End with an appeal to action, asking people to take some action which will help make the world a better place, and to bring Islamic teachings into the focus.
Now I will provide a list of the Western Philosophies that can be subjected to critical examination;
My essay on Anti-Poverty Policies and Anti-Poor Philosophies lists several philosophies which claim to help the poor but actually hurts them [link]
IMF/World Bank Policies Create Poverty while claiming to fight them -- see Fantu Cheru, referenced in paper above.
The Invention of Private Property. see Section 2 my paper above. see also Kogl [link]
Malthus theory blames the fertility of the poor for poverty. See Section 3 of my paper. See also War Against the Poor [l;ink]
Refuting the myth of Overpopulation see also [link].
Laissez-Faire Economics says that if we let markets operate freely, unemployment will be eliminated, so there is no need to help the unemployed. see Section 4 on Keynesian Economics in my article above. See also [link]
Development Theories says the accumulation of capital -- save more money and spend less on consumption (let people be hungry to build wealth) -- will lead to growth. Section 5 on development economics in my paper.
Look at the bad effects of Capitalism: Extreme Inequality, Of the 1% by the 1% for the 1% by Stiglitz.
More bad effects of Capitalism: Rising Corporate Profits, and Low Wages to Laborers.
Friedman argues that Business should only make profits, and not provide social benefits. [link] More material is available in many places.
The Trickle Down Theory says that increasing wealth in hands of wealthy will eventually trickle down to the poor. However, The Vacuum Cleaner Effect says the opposite.
How Mahbubul Haq applied economic thoeries in Pakistan and got very bad results. See my newspaper article [link] and read the HaqBari article attached to that page.
Popular belief is famines are cause by scarcity. Amartya Sen shows that famines result because rich dont give to the poor. read summaries from internet
How West made greed and selfishness a good thing instead of a bad one, and the evil consequences of this change. See The Pursuit of Wealth [link]
Keynes argued that greed is bad, but if we let it operate, it will produce wealth, and wealth will make men good. See Section III.6 Keynesian Solution of Islamic Critique
West argues that greed is good for you, but recent research proves Islamic view that generosity is good for you [link]
How the idea that everything can be brought and sold on markets is false and harmful (Khuda Ki Basti Dukan Naheen hay) [link] Markets Versus Society.
The philosophy of the Invisible Hand, and how it was used to justify greed and selfishness [link] The Invisble Hand Failure
Focus on getting more for everybody, rather than how some are much richer than others. Deceptive Philosophy. See Pizzigati: Greed & Good
How Capitalism promotes pursuit of luxury and high lifestyles, while Islam preaches simplicity. Download The Consumer Society [link]
Capitalism is based on Evolution -- survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle. Islam say to help the weak and the oppressed, instead of eliminating them.
Power/Knowledge -- Economic Theories serve the interest of the powerful, instead of being a guide to the Truth. Newspaper article [link] See also my longer article [link]
The general concept of Power/Knowledge. Use the articles above and see Meryem's Lecture on Power/Knowledge and "Development"
Islamic approach is superior to Western approach to economics. See Islamic Economics, and also Maulana Taqi Usmani article
Muslim Societies took good care of their sick and poor [link] Better than current USA policies for taking care of the sick -- see Micheal Moore documentary "Sicko" on you-tube
West says they have been progressing and developing, but actually morality in the west has been declining. [link]
Exploitation of East was cause of Rise of West.
Students have been randomly assigned to the TWENTY SIX TOPICS listed by number above. If anyone wants to switch or change, they can apply to me by email, specifying the topic they want, possibly outside this list. To switch with someone on this list, they should get clearance if the other student wants to switch topics.