Is Capitalism Sustainable in its present form?

Capitalism has been dominant in the world to date, but is it

sustainable in its present form?

Tariq MustafaRetired Federal Secretary

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Situation in India During 1700 AD

Under Shah Jehan, most prosperous region

Under Aurangzeb, Mughals were at their peak in territorial extent

New York and Moscow were dots on the map

London, Paris and Berlin were coming up

Agra, Delhi and Lahore were thriving cities

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Fast Forward to 1800 AD A message from the British Army Headquarter

in Madras flashes out to London saying:Tippu has fallen, India is ours.

Maharattas, Sikhs, Hyderabad, Kingdom of Oudh were still in power, but the British knew what they were talking about and India did become theirs

What happened around that time?Europe was on the march

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Europe was Sprinting While India was Complacent and Content

Voyages of discovery, conquest of the seas Rise of spirit of enquiry, technology and

science Rise of the mercantilist class and trading

companies Hanseatic League, Dutch East Indies Co., East

India Co. of UK were flourishing Feudalism of sleepy Northern Europe had

been replaced by dynamic Capitalism

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1857 – Scene in India A recent Indian film “Mangal Pande” shows

the hero asking his friendly English officer: Sahib, can you explain to me just what is this

“Company”? (Sahib ye to batao ye company hai kya cheez?)

It means that Indians were so blissfully ignorant that having been thrashed by a trading firm such as East India Company, they did not know what the Company bahadur stood for and how it worked.

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1900 AD

Capitalism around the world is at its peak

Britannia rules the world The sun truly and literally does not

set over one or another part of the British Empire

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Devastating Effects of Capitalism and Colonialism

In barely a century or so, one of the richest, most prosperous regions of the world that was Mughal India, had been reduced to one of the poorest regions of the world, via the clutches of Capitalist Colonialism, because capitalism dictated that the colonies should only become the suppliers of raw materials and consumers of finished products manufactured in the home countries.

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Entry of Communism Seeing the exploitation of labor in dungeon

factories, Karl Marx writes around 1850 his now famous Das Kapital ,stating that:

It is economic factors which dictate political developments.

Class struggle lies at the bottom of every thing Religion is the opiate of the people. Their stirring slogan was:

Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to loose but your chains.

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Period of 1900 – 1950 AD

Two World wars are fought within the body of Western Capitalism

One side calling itself liberal and democratic (the Allies) and the other was dubbed authoritarian and fascist (Axis of Germany and Italy)

Soviet union under Stalin joins the Allies, being the enemy of their enemy

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Period 1950 – 2000 AD Fascism has fallen Hitler and Mussolini are dead, but

authoritarianism under Stalin in Russia and Mao in China are still thriving

The World becomes part of a modern 30 yrs “Cold War” between the two blocks, kept cold only because of the presence of the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) factor

The 1960 and 70’s see Stalinist Communism at its peak with Khrushchev boasting that we shall bury you and Capitalism

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Period of the 1980s Sees the unexpected sudden demise of Stalinist

Communism and the unraveling of the Soviet Empire without a shot having been fired

All political observers, analysts and Western pundits are taken by total surprise

Interestingly however, as early as 1960’s, an Islamic journal Tolu-e-Islam published from Lahore, makes a startling prediction:In its article on Communism, it clearly identifies a basic flaw in the very foundations of Communism

and predicts that the imposing structure of Communism will never see completion because it

was being constructed on flawed sandy foundations that will soon crumble

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Period of the 1990s

Almost equally surprising was the meteoric rise of China as the manufacturing hub of the world, after practically abandoning Communism

In fact, if not in name, under the influence of Deng Shiao Ping, it was called Capitalism- Chinese or Asian style

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Circa 2000 AD So it seemed that by the end of the 20th century, it was

communism which got buried and capitalism fully prevailed with nothing to oppose its further development via globalization, World Trade Organization (WTO), international financial institutions, etc.

Francis Fukuyama, the US Political Analyst, put it this way:

"What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the

end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal

democracy as the final form of human government.”

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Not all is Well with Capitalism

But wait… what are these voices coming out of the camp of Capitalism itself, warning of: The non-sustainability of liberal, democratic,

capitalism in its current form because of inherent contradictions between liberalism

and democracy on one hand, and unfettered capitalism on the other

Let us listen to what some acknowledged big names of the West, philosophers and opinion makers-- are saying on the subject:

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Views of Oswald Spengler and Arnold Toynbee—Noted Historians

The very title of Spenglers monumental “Decline of the West” published in 1926 underlines the thesis of my talk

The 10 volume magnum opus by Toynbee, A Study of History written around 1950’s at the peak of Western dominance also highlights its decline

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Berzhinsky – National Security Advisor to Carter and Others Zbignew Berzhinsky, who once predicted the

downfall of USSR, predicts the downfall of US in the near future too

He says that the US is passing through a similar path of events once encountered by the USSR and surely US would disintegrate soon

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Jacques Attali – Ex President of European Development

Bank/Advisor French President Despite the prevalent belief that the market

economy and democracy combine to form a perpetual motion machine that propels human progress, these two values on their own are in fact incapable of sustaining any civilization. Both are riddled with weaknesses and are increasingly likely to breakdown. Unless the West, and increasingly its self appointed leader, the United States, begins to recognize the short comings of the market economy and democracy, western civilization will gradually disintegrate and eventually self destruct.

Attali further goes on to say: The fact that the West may disagree with some

aspects of Islam as applied in some countries - the status of women, for example - does not mean that there is nothing to learn from Islamic societies.

 

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“I now fear that laissez faire capitalism is endangering our open and democratic society.”

“In social sciences, as distinct from natural sciences, perceptions help to determine reality and facts do not necessarily constitute reliable criteria for judging the truth of statements.”

“I contend that open society may be threatened from excessive individualism.”

“Market values served to undermine traditional values.” “Unsure of what they stand for, people increasingly rely

on money as the criterion of value.” “The cult of success has replaced a belief in principles.

Society has lost its anchor.”

George Soros, Capitalism Guru, on the Threat of Unbridled Capitalism -1/2

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George Soros – 2/2 “Laissez-faire ideology has effectively banished

income or wealth redistribution - the inequities can become intolerable.”

“Social Darwinism - survival of the fittest - is one of the misconceptions in human affairs. Cooperation is as much a part of the system as competition.”

“With the end of the cold war - which was an extremely stable arrangement - no new world order has taken its place. We have entered a period of disorder.”

“As things stand, the global open society that prevails at present is likely to prove a temporary phenomenon.”

“Laissez faire capitalism would lead to great instability and eventual breakdown.”

“We now have 200 years of experience with the Age of Reason and as reasonable people we ought to recognize that Reason has its limitations.”

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Slovaj Zizek – Political Philosopher And now the Slovenian political

Philosopher, Slovaj Zizek, talking of the need to go back to communism but of a variety different from that practiced in the 20th century by Stalinists and other authoritarians

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ILLS OF CAPITALISM

Problem lies within the frame of Capitalism, and not any particular brand of it.

As Marx said any Capitalist mode of Production is based on an exploitative relationship.

Capitalism, Imperialism and exploitation are linked in the very nature of things.

Capitalism promotes speculation and renter profits which makes bubbles inevitable.

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How Then Can We Meet the Crisis of the Modern Mind?

Bottoms-up knowledge acquired by mankind using its physical abilities and mental reasoning via science and technology has been dazzlingly successful, but it would be an error to treat it as all powerful.

Top-down Knowledge emanates from the Creator of the Universe VIA REVELATION, and tells us what we cannot know and measure, answering the big questions: Why are we here? What lies beyond death? Matters which are beyond reach of the former.There is no conflict amongst the two and we need to

make proper and full use of both resources.

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Two Major Obstacles

1. Ingrained biases and prejudices of Christian Europe developed over past 1400 years against Islam and its Prophet and Qur’an.

2. Despicable behavior displayed by today’s nominal Muslims which has brought unjustified disrepute to the Qur’an.

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Conclusions Human thought (philosophy) is a very powerful tool, but it

needs to be recognized that unaided it will keep moving in circles

It is indeed a strength of the Western Civilization that they are open enough to pick up signs of weakness in their apparently dominant days, as was artfully done by the Historian Prof. Arnold Toynbee in his Study of History pointing out the decline of the West nearly 50 years ago

Surely it is time that they see the writing on the wall and accept, in fact welcome, the option that has been there all along

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Dire Need of an Instructional Manual

Mankind is in dire need of an “Instructions Manual” from the

“Designer of the System” containing guidance from the

Conceiver, Maker, Sustainer and Creator of the Universe – available

only through authentic and genuine revelation that challenges

man made religions, which indeed are, as correctly pointed out by Marx, nothing but an opiate for the people.

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Way to the Future

We can now better see what the philosopher poet Allama Iqbal meant when he said:

ISLAM = COMMUNISM+ GOD

Could this be what Slovaj Zizek is groping for?

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QUR’AN – WHAT IT SAYS ABOUT ITSELF

A book of guidance in which there is no doubt Tells man what he knows not. A guidance for all times and all

peoples Comes straight from the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe -

His literal word Challenges jinn and men to produce even a part like it -they

will not be able to do so Relation of wahhy with reason. Wahhy is like light while reason

is the eye-- one needs both to be able to see Discerning men cried for help (Sura Fatiha). Qur’an is Creator’s

response as the culmination of guidance through a long line of Prophets

The Qur’an is free from discrepancy. It is divine - consistent The Creator Himself is the guardian of this Book While providing abundant evidence of Creator’s existence it still

leaves man with the final choice - in order not to take away man’s freedom

It says look especially in these three areas for evidence of Creator:

a) Orderliness in the Universe b) History of people of old c) Look within yourselves - study of human nature 

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QUR’ANS RELEVANCE TO MODERN LIFE

Control of war—when weapons of mass destruction exist Control of environmental pollution and destruction Alienation from society—loneliness in New York (salaat) Excesses of free sex, alcoholism, drugs, AIDS, etc. Preservation of the family unit Exploitation of the weak, women, poor and downtrodden Racism, meaning of chosen peoples Economic disparities, steep differentials Capitalism vs. Communism. Islam offers the middle way Private property, YES but as trustee and not as unbridled

ownership Need for rule of law

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Islamic Capitalism (Wikipedia)

The origins of capitalism and free markets can be traced back to the Islamic Golden Age where the first market economy and earliest forms of merchant capitalism took root between the 8th–12th centuries, which some refer to as "Islamic capitalism”.

Innovative new business techniques and forms of business organization were introduced by economists, merchants, and traders during this time.

Such innovations included the earliest trading companies, big businesses, contracts, bills of exchange, long-distance international trade, the first forms of partnerships such as limited partnerships (mudaraba), and the earliest forms of credit, debt, profit, loss, capital, capital accumulation, circulating capital, capital expenditure, revenue, cheques, promissory notes, trusts, startup companies, savings accounts, transactional accounts, pawning, loaning, exchange rates, bankers, money changers, ledgers, deposits, assignments, the double-entry bookkeeping system, and lawsuits.

Many of these early capitalist concepts were adopted and further advanced in medieval Europe from the 13th century onwards.

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Supremacy of law, Magna Carta - Human Rights Conduct of affairs through consultation – Democracy Ability of effective teamwork Market economy and human resource development Widespread education/training Efficient management of their resources Dignity of labor Development of intellect, science and technology Military strength, desire for exploration and enquiry Establishment of a welfare system Increasing respect for the environment Ability and flexibility to analyze experiences and

learn from them Rule of Law Discipline Liberty, egality, fraternity

Western Civilization - Strengths

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Western Civilization - Weaknesses

Excessive reliance on human intellect (treat it as all powerful) - even deny Creator

Break down of the family system Materialism, licentiousness, hedonism Drugs, alcoholism and preoccupation with sex and

lately devious sex Alienation leading to wanton violence against society

and self (suicide) Denial of equal rights to others - Indians, Aborigines,

and Blacks Weak belief/disbelief in the Creator and the Hereafter Advocacy of unbridled capitalism - riba (usury) 

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ADD’L POINTS ?

We are entering the age of deception Could it be the “Dajjal”

phenomenon? To be followed by the Mehdi

Phenomenon!