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Lack of
Employment in Addu
AO,17/05/2005-The
lack of employment opportunities in Addu atoll and elsewhere
in the country have been always linked to the absence of
'democracy' and 'freedom'. But those who understand the
ideological foundations of capitalism and democratic system of
governance should realise that democracy is quite a distance
from achieving the ideals such as economic equilibrium,
systematic governance, and justice. As regards the capitalist
economic system, the tenets of 'freedom of ownership' and
'free market' mechanism are the pillars upon which the economy
is built. According to these two capitalist viewpoints, it is
haraam for the government to look into the affairs of the
people. This idea of 'freedom of ownership' in its pure form,
forbids the state to provide anything to the poor other than
the right to own property. The theory claims that if people
are left to be free then this will lead to the optimal level
of satisfaction in the society. As we have seen it has led to
nothing but a system of exploitation, fraud and deception. The
idea of 'freedom of ownership' coupled with the other
pestiferous capitalist concept of 'personal freedom' even push
people to steal or make money out of drugs, prostitution...etc
This school of thinking was essentially the resurrection by
Adam Smith and later expounded by David Ricardo. It primarily
asserted that forces of free-markets is the key for allocating
all economic resources and the cure for all the illness, hence
the ''invisible hand of the market'' was coined. The role of
the state was to enforce contracts, to print worthless paper
money, control the supply of money and to provide best climate
for businesses to flourish. Essentially the underlying
argument advocated is that the favourable investment
opportunities should provide the impetus to create the wealth
that is needed for society, which is deemed as a clear
prerequisite for wealth circulation. Now what then is the
means for circulation or distribution of this wealth? This is
explained away by the ''trickle down'' theory which purports
that those who are the most skilled entrepreneurs should be
allowed to function with full incentive and hence more paper
money has to printed and granted to entrepreneurs to generate
wealth. Once this is created, it will trickle down to other
members within the society. No real explanation was provided
with the exception of the fact that this was an inevitable
process. In reality some wealth will inevitably trickle down,
but does this lead to the desired effect of creating a
satisfactory level of the distribution of wealth within the
society? It would more accurate to conclude from the reality
that wealth does not trickle down but remains hoarded in the
hands of the few at the expense of many. Resulting in a
climate where the poor gets poorer and the rich gets richer.
Homelessness, poverty, and iniquity have not been resolved in
a capitalist society. The figures clearly indicate the
opposite, widening of the income and wealth gap between the
rich and poor within the country despite the significant
growth of the GDP.
The achievements of 'free market' and 'freedom of
ownership' paradigms
The ironies and contradictions of western economic theories
have become so abundant that people feel there is no hope for
the poor.
In a few months Maldivians will be congratulating themselves
for having the CHOICE of two mobile telephone service
providers. This economic system provides lot of CHOICES in
matters related to luxurious needs, but no choice is available
in the areas of basic needs such as housing ( we mean housing
with some respectable level of privacy and common comfort
level for every citizen). The western economic system state
that when the economy is left to be run in a free manner, the
production naturally responds to the needs of the people. Is
the growth of two mobile service providers a natural response
to the real burgeoning needs of the people ? If that is the
case, why cant it respond to the problem of housing ? In
reality this system does not respond to the consumers, but it
creates unnecessary needs and exploit the consumers by frantic
marketing. The fundamental fault of the capitalist system is
that it cannot differentiate between basic needs and luxuries.
Also, the residents of Addu have been congratulating
themselves for having the CHOICE of two airlines with one of
them providing more leg space, more luggage, in-flight
entertainment. Are these really required by people who do not
have a source of income ?
What of the rich business community in Addu ? Have they been
able to redress the problem of unemployment to any extent ?
Surely they can soothe the symptoms to some extent. Looking at
the wider society reveal that they have done a astoundingly
miserable job in this department. Apart from building shiny
mosques there have not been any significant contribution from
them.
Islam - The ideological solution
Only Islam can address the problems of mankind as it is the
system of the Creator and it differs from the capitalist
system in many aspects.
1) The basis for economic thinking is different from the
capitalist view of the economic problem to the Islamic view.
The capitalists view the economic problem as supply and demand
while Islam view the economic problem as the distribution of
wealth. This also means that Islam would priortise in solving
people's needs because Islamic economic thinking makes a
distinction in human needs, between the basic and luxurious
needs. The priority of Islamic economic thinking is to first
ensure that the basic needs of all people have been satisfied.
This is one Islamic evidence which stipulates the
prioritisation:
''The son of Adam has no better right than that he would have
a house wherein he may live and a piece of cloth whereby he
may cover his nakedness and a piece of bread and some water''
(Hadith) ( i.e. basic needs have to satisfied before thinking
about multiple mobile telephone service providers, multiple
airlines, multiple internet service providers...etc)
2) Islam gives people the right to own land to cultivate
according to the following legal evidence.
''Whoever cultivated a dead land it becomes his '' (Hadith)
However if the land was not worked on for more than three
years then they would lose ownership of that land according to
the following evidence:
''The one who circles a land has no right in it after three
years'' (Narration by Umar the second caliph)
Practically this means that economic activity is pushed and
people can cultivate land without unnecessary red tape. Whilst
also preventing people to own vast amounts of land which are
not being used - who prevent productivity of that land and
maintain their economic power over people through such
injustice.
3) Utilities which society depends upon to survive such as
oil, electricity, transport, telecommunications, gas or water
would be public property. Private ownership is prohibited in
Islam according to the following evidence: ''Three things are
not prevented from the people; the water, pastures and the
fire '' (Hadith)
4) The government would legislate and enforce the distribution
of wealth in society. That is to say excess wealth would have
to be invested into the economy. This based upon the following
evidence: ''Lest it circulates solely among the wealthy
amongst you'' ( Al-Hashr: 7)
5) The currency of the state is based on the gold/silver
standard rather than fiat (paper currency ) standard. This
means the state cannot print worthless paper without any real
increase in the wealth within the state.
6)In case of huge disparity between the rich and poor, the
state will impose an emergency tax on the rich to redress the
specific situation temporarily. But taxation is not the
preferred solution to redistribute wealth. Under Islamic
economics the hierarchy of obligations starts from the
individual, then goes on to immediate family and only then is
it the state's responsibility. By obliging immediate families
to support individuals is a distinct difference between
capitalist and socialist societies. It also has the benefit of
keeping state welfare payments lower and therefore the amount
of tax that needs to be collected is also lower. In the
Capitalist system, the wealth is re-distributed by imposing a
plethora of taxes such as income tax, GST, capital gains tax
on shares, inheritance tax (all coming soon to Maldives). The
need to impose such heavy taxation arises because of the
fundamental failures caused by 'freedom of ownership' and
'free market' economics.
Ministries - Too many competing egos and blurred boundaries
Finally, there is great confusion as to who should take the
responsibility of tackling the unemployment issue. In the
Republican ruling system, the ruling authority is vested in a
ministerial Cabinet whose members share collective
responsibility for the rule. Each minister is assigned a
specialised portfolio over which he has some mandatory powers.
Among the ministers is a Prime Minister ( or a president) who
is considered ''prima pares,'' meaning first among equals. Now
the question is, which ministry is responsible for redressing
the problem of unemployment and poverty ? Is it the labour
ministry ? Is it the finance or planning ministry ? Or is it
the atolls ministry ? The exact boundary of a specific
ministry is blinkered and mysterious.
Leadership in Islam is Singular
Allah (swt) ordered the implementation of Islam among all
Muslims, however the execution of these laws is the duty of
the Khalifah. The Khalifah is the shield for the Ummah, and it
is he who is given the amana (trust), for which he will be
held accountable. In one translation, the Prophet (saw) said,
''The Imam is a guardian and he is responsible about his
subjects'' [Bukhari]. The ruler (Khalifah) and his executive
assistants are not restricted by the artificial and blurred
boundaries of a narrow portfolio.
In conclusion we should say real democracy is present in
Maldives and wrecking havoc on ordinary people. What is
required in this juncture is a honest debate about its
validity.
Source:
AdduOnline
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