Civilizational foundations of the world of economics

The changes we see the results of after a long period in the world of economics are sometimes, in essence, civilizational changes that affect values, tastes, and morals at the turning points of history. The features of life change with the transformation of man himself in his will and direction when he realizes a new meaning for his existence in the universe.

This transformation does not affect the world of things, nor the rationales contained in the world of ideas as applied patterns (operational modalities), that is, it does not affect the world of economics in its two types – the manufactured thing and the idea indicating the method of its manufacture – unless it affects the content of the souls themselves.

If Muslim economists contemplate this verse, they will realize that it places this issue and others related to the conditions of societies first on the level of changing justifications for existence in the psychological realm, and in a word, and more clearly, on the civilizational level.

If they had also studied some in-depth studies into the roots of economics, they would have arrived at the same theoretical conclusion, namely that economics is not merely a matter of establishing a bank and constructing factories, but rather, before that, it is the construction of man and the creation of his new behavior in the face of all problems.

A study of this kind is certainly useful in enriching some economic ideas, if

It was not modified so that in both cases it would be closer to the reality of the human being we are trying to support or change in the economic field, depending on the circumstances.

By a happy coincidence, while I was editing this chapter, I came across a study by John Neff, which he wrote in lectures and then published in a book under the title (The Cultural Foundations of Industrial Civilization) .

This professor tackled the subject of economics from its roots. You see him dealing in the core of his subject with issues that perhaps many specialists in our country would not agree are closely connected to the subject of economics, because in our minds it was previously a subject of (quantity) and statistics. For example, you see him dedicate his first chapter to (intellectual movements) between 1570 and 1660, and he dedicates another chapter to (religious reform.

But I am not here to explain to Muslims involved in the world of economics how this economy arose on the foundations of a different civilization. Rather, I am trying to guide them on a path to resolving their current crisis, at least in the intellectual realm, so that they may then have a choice between clear ideas.

A Western scholar, such as John Neff , studies things descriptively as they are, because they are a reality that is evident before his eyes, and all the causes of this reality precede his generation in history. It is sufficient for him to describe things truthfully, that is, to analyze them precisely, to benefit us according to his success in description and analysis.

But we face the issue from another angle, forced to do so by our own reality. That is, we must face this reality not in the manner of someone describing something that exists, but rather in the manner of someone creating something that is missing, or trying to create it according to reasons that still lack influence in our society.

The economy, whatever its sectarian awareness, is the embodiment of civilization, provided that we define it as the set of moral and material conditions that enable a society to provide all social guarantees to every individual living within it.

This functional definition makes us see two aspects of civilization: the aspect that includes its moral conditions, in the form of a will that moves society toward defining and fulfilling its social tasks, and the aspect that includes its material conditions, in the form of possibility, meaning that it places at the disposal of society the necessary means to carry out its tasks, i.e., the civilizational function.

Civilization is this will and this potential. Thus, we can now express the economy as the tangible image of this will and this potential in a specific field: the field of economics.

We can also present the average annual per capita income, which provided us with an introduction to this research, as a mere expression of civilizational potential, or of social guarantees in numbers.

Here we must consider the relative relationship between civilizational will and civilizational potential in objective circumstances, i.e., in the realistic circumstances facing a society from the starting point, or in exceptional cases that resemble a starting point.

We have two experiences, one in the history of the Arab Islamic nation, and the other in the history of a contemporary nation, Germany.

The Arab nation at the time of the Messenger – may God bless him and grant him peace – started from zero in terms of potential. It had nothing to carry out its enormous tasks, in the social, political and military spheres alike.

But we see it, and no one denies this, carrying out these tasks without neglect or postponement until its potential is complete. We see it from the first moment, with the simple possibility in its hands at that moment, as if it is capable of everything, and then it actually implements all its plans in all areas, as if the Coefficient factor intervenes in the effectiveness of its simple means, making them sufficient to accomplish the tasks on the one hand and making them complete at the same time on the other hand.

It is worthwhile for us, then, to stop at this multiplier factor, as it is something essential in the secret of the processes of achievement. These processes do not depend on excessive material conditions, as if their achievement is free from the condition of possibility.

We also see this phenomenon in our modern world, where a shattered country like Germany is being rebuilt from scratch, with no real potential compared to what has already been achieved.

Here, too, we see the intervention of a multiplier of possibility, placing it, from the very first moment, on the same level as the tasks accomplished. This multiplier is the civilizational will itself, so that if it is lost in a society’s activity, we see it as if its means, whatever they may be, have been frozen, as if its potential, whatever its material size, has been paralyzed.

The relative relationship between civilizational potential and civilizational will is a causal relationship, which places (will) in the rank of cause in relation to potential.

If we return to the world of economics with these considerations, we do not see it as a world of quantities and numbers except in the second rank, that is, after the civilized will brings it into motion and life.

Quantities and numbers only come into play when the implementation process begins, and its completion requires supervision, organization, and control, i.e., as much as possible.