The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism
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modern economic theory has not been without resistance from certain quarters. But what is unfortunate is that even the economists, who believed in maintaining equilibrium between the individual and society, could not see that economics was only a part of the whole social system. They showed concern hither and thither for the health, family system (in fact, many believed in the disintegration of the family system) and social order, but they could not streamline their views into a well-knit, elaborate system of peaceful existence of all human beings.
To sum up, the economic fundamentalists have grown in power by following well-defined objectives which may be enumerated as follows:
1. To increase demands of goods in the market by:
(a) Changing perceptions of the people
(b) Creating false standards of life
(c) Fanning human desires
(d) Disinformation
(Without, of course, caring for their adverse impact on the individual, family or society).
2. To monopolise supplies through extensive advertising and through friendly governmental policies as they give them the right to use specific brand names
3. To monopolise assets and money by
(a) saving their own money and converting it into long-lasting assets (that would continue to increase in value); and
(b) using public money for their own business.
4. To attract public money by encouraging them to :
(a) squander whatever they earn;
(b) to invest whatever they save, in the banks or stock market
5. To recover whatever they have to part with either as taxes or interests to the financial agencies by regularly increasing the prices
6. To pay to their employees much less than what they deserve
7. To throttle all those sectors (agricultural and small scale industry) that are doing business without the involvement of the big industrialists
8. To mastermind welfare programmes that do not adversely affect their interests and/or help their cause--directly or indirectly
9. To commercialise every strength, weakness and need of human beings without caring for their effect on health, family or society.
In the last chapter, I have given broad outlines of what can be done to undo the damage done by economic fundamentalism. The objectives of the economic set up, indicated in this book, that may be named “Healthy Economics”, or “Peace Economics” may be summed up as follows:
1. To visualise economics as not the only, but one of the important parts of human life;
2. To ensure that all the social and economic developments must be aimed at safeguarding the health of all individuals, family peace and social order;
3. To ensure that the industrialists do not earn at the cost of labour and consumers;
4. To ensure that the money of the rich is so used as to benefit the common people, and not the vice versa by:
(a) Changing the tax structure (imposing assets tax rather than income tax);
(b) Giving due representation to the small share holders in policy decisions;
(c) Distributing the profits among all those who have contributed in the success of the company;
5. To guarantee that the susceptibilities and weaknesses of human beings are not misused for commercial purpose:
(a) By banning commercial exploitation of all forms of addiction and sex;
(b) By strengthening the legal system so that the exploiters and oppressors find it impossible to continue their activities;
6. To ensure that political and legal set-ups promote healthy economics;
7. To ensure that social values are shaped in accordance with their impact on health and social conditions, and religions play an effective role in reducing tensions at all levels.
The Man behind the Book
Dr. Javed Jamil has emerged on the international scene as a thinker with an unmatched versatility. The most admirable aspect of his work is the comprehensiveness of his approach in dealing with contemporary issues. He has already propounded several remarkable theses in various fields that range from Community Medicine to Physics, from Social Sciences to Economics and from international affairs to religion. His works include “The Devil of Economic Fundamentalism”, “The Killer Sex”, “In Search of a Comprehensive Solution for AIDS”, “Rediscovering the Universe”, “Islam means Peace”, “The Essence of the Divine Verses”, “Islamic Model for Control of AIDS”, “Family Welfare in Islam”, “Muslims Most Civilised, Yet Not Enough” and “Quranic Paradigms of Sciences & Society” (First Volume: Dynamic Paradigm of Health). His recently released Approach Paper, “Muslim Vision of Secular India: Destination & Roadmap” has attracted huge attention of Muslims not only within the country but also at the international level.
A product of one of India’s oldest and premier medical institutions, King George’s Medical College, Lucknow, Dr. Javed Jamil is a physician by profession. However, such has been his grasp on issues related to diverse spheres of life that people often mistakenly consider him to be a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D). Dr. Jamil can very well be called a man of theories. He has propounded several unconventional theories in different fields. Though it can be argued that almost all his major works are rooted in Islamic principles, he has presented his theses both in secular as well as Islamic framework. It is no wonder that he distinguishes Atheistic Secularism from Religious Secularism.
Some of the remarkable theories propounded by Dr. Jamil are as follows:
Theory of Economic Fundamentalism
The theory of Economic Fundamentalism runs through almost the entire range of his works. Even when he discusses Islam and its role in the current world, he pitches it against the ideology and forces of economic fundamentalism, which he holds responsible for almost every problem of the current world. He says:
“The think-tank of the world of economic fundamentalism has taken innumerable steps to strengthen their hold. They have sacrificed the goddess of justice before the eyes of Statue of Liberty. They have transformed through political manoeuvres the state into their estate. They have incessantly and relentlessly been trying to organise a grand farewell for religion. They have captivated the imagination of the people through the media. They have got the attire of society redesigned so that it looks gorgeous and inviting to their eyes. They have industrialised sex, in which they have discovered the hen that always lays golden eggs. They have relocated the entire educational set-up on the Wall Street. They have monopolised the tree of economy whose fruits and shadows are only theirs; others can only admire its beauty from a safe distance. They have taken science and technology as their mistresses who are always keen to offer their glorious best to them. They have nipped all the challenges in the buds by masterminding popular movements. They have lynched ‘civilisation’, which has been given a new incarnation; and now Bohemians are called civilised. Last but not the least, they have been busy colonising the good earth in the name of globalisation.”
Peace Economics
Dr Jamil proposes “Peace Economics” as the economic doctrine that must replace Economic Fundamentalism. Peace Economics is the ideology that seeks to achieve Economic and Social development without undermining the objectives of Grand Peace, which he defines as a comprehensive state comprising health of the individual, family peace and social order. In order to achieve Grand Peace, Dr Jamil has proposed an Agenda for a Cleaner, Healthier and More Peaceful World, and he calls the world of his dreams Natural World Order. He pits this against New World Order which is nothing but a system created and promoted by the forces of economic fundamentalism, primarily the corporate world.
Universal Theory of Relativity
Dr Jamil has dismissed the light-speed barrier as an artificial barrier created by Einstein. Dr Jamil argues that Einstein’s fascination for light was so huge that he tried to give it a kind of absoluteness and modelled his theory of gravity on the same assumption. Dr Jamil argues that the universe is a well-organised state-like system and
light-speed is too small a speed of communication to explain the governance of such a huge organisation. He has also raised serious questions on the creation and enforcement of the laws of nature, the Big Bang theory, which according to him is not a theory of creation but merely a theory of redistribution of already created mass-energy, and the philosophical concepts like determinism, time and Role of God.
Jamil’s Islamic thought: Applied Islamics
Dr Javed Jamil’s unshakeable faith in Qur’an as the Book of God has led him to develop Applied Islamics as a full-fledged discipline of Islamic Studies. Applied Islamics aims to study the current developments in social as well as scientific fields, campaigns ad movements in the light of Islamic principles and present alternative Islamic nmodels and programmes. He does not study Islam from the point of view of the modern developments but instead analyses modern developments in the light of Islamic principles. Even the works that are not apparently related to Islam are inspired by Islamic principles. He believes that Islam is for the whole world and the whole mankind must avail the benefits of Islam. He asserts that Muslims must take a lead in fighting against the evils that are pervading society. In his books he has been presenting alternative agenda for a healthier, cleaner and more peaceful world, obviously based on Islamic principles. In the process, he has demolished many of the current theories in the field of health, physics and