Part of Concepts of Ahl as-Sunnah (series completed)
· Lesson 1129 of 1251
Summary of Sunni concepts | Concept (1127) | The founders of capitalism and their ideas
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.
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The founders of capitalism and their ideas.
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The capitalist school of thought emerged in the late eighteenth century.
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And the early nineteenth century, at the hands of three successive thinkers.
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They are Adam Smith, Malthus, and the Jewish thinker David Ricardo.
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As for Adam Smith, he is the primary founder.
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This was through the theory he presented in his controversial book,
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"The Wealth of Nations," in which he determined that the driving factor in human activity
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is nothing other than personal interest.
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Therefore, in his view, it is not reprehensible, even if it comes at the expense of others.
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He was also the one who advocated that the primary economic value should be placed on labor rather than land.
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As for Malthus, he served as a staunch defender of capitalism.
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Although he was originally a clergyman,
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he forbade charity and the provision of aid to families unable to secure their own means of living.
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This is because he believed that the crisis of humanity lies in the increase of the population,
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which occurs according to a geometric progression,
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while the increase in food resources follows an arithmetic progression.
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Consequently, in his view, anyone who cannot provide for their own livelihood does not deserve to live.
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In this, he aligns with the idea of "survival of the fittest" established by Darwin’s theory.
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As for the Jewish thinker David Ricardo, he is the originator of the distinction between rent and profit.
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He stated that rent is the gain obtained by the owner of any land,
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whereas profit is the industrial capitalist gain.
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In this, he relies on Adam Smith’s theory of assigning value to labor.
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He then cast blame upon rent,
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making it the primary cause of threats to industry, as well as class division and social inequality.
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In his view, landowners charge exorbitant prices for the products necessary for survival,
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which causes a decrease in the profits of businessmen because they are forced to raise workers' wages
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to cover their living expenses,
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thereby threatening the rise of industry, which was gaining momentum during that period.
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He convinced governments to impose taxes on landowners,
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or to nationalize many of their lands, thereby contributing to the fight against feudalism.
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A summary of the concepts held by the Ahl al-Sunnah.