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Is Capitalism Evil?

by Muhammad Javed

Imagine a world in which it’s richest 1% control more wealth than 90% of the human population while 3 billion live on less than $2.5 a day and more than 1 billion children go to bed hungry![1] This is sadly the stark reality we live in today, in which the dominant economic system of capitalism breeds greed and inequality, fueled by interest, putting self-interest on a pedestal and irresponsibly consuming resources, leaving a devastating impact on the environment to maximize profits and share-holder interests. Is this system that has been adopted in most Muslim countries, willingly and unwillingly, by the powers of the day in line with the Quranic vision of an Islamic Economic system? What impact does adopting capitalism have on Muslims? These questions will be briefly explored in this short paper.

Although the definition of capitalism has eluded a fixed definition over the years and has evolved over time, today’s...