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It is the Time to Depart from the Mirror Game in the Rhetoric of Economics لقدْ آنَ الأوانُ للتَّخلُّصِ من لُعبةِ المرآةِ في الخطابة عن علمِ الاقتصاد

Author

Listed:
  • Abderrazak Belabes

    (Professor, Islamic Economics Institute King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

The discourse on the economic system of Islam was constructed from the late 1940s onwards as a mirror game in relation to the capitalist and socialist systems. In recent decades, the discourse has positioned itself in relation to the neoclassical model under the reign of the market system in a context where all aspects of human life are subordinated to the power of finance. Despite the change of referent, this discourse remains trapped in the ‘mirror game’, i.e., the fact of constructing an argument by appealing to fictitious facts or truncated realities. This article draws attention to the need to free oneself from this mirror game which puts the discourse on Islamic economics in a vicious circle. Yet, the Muslim heritage of knowledge abounds in priceless conceptual treasures. This is evidenced by the notion of ‘Ma’āsh’ as developed by al-Khalīl al-Farāhīdī (718-786), which refers to a double meaning: ‘what allows to live with’ and ‘what allows to live inside’. Such an approach encompasses the material aspects of life and the interactions between humans and their living environments. It has the merit of opening a new field of meditation worthy of interest in comparison with the writings of Ibn Khaldun and Polanyi. بُنِيَ الخطابُ عن النِّظام الاقتصاديّ للإسلام بعْدَ أواخرِ أربعينات القرن العشرين الميلاديّ في شكل لُعْبة مِرْآة بين النِّظامين الرّأسماليِّ والاشتراكيِّ. في العقُود الأخيرة، أُعيدَت صياغةُ الخطابِ بالنَّظر إلى النَّموذج النِّيو الكلاسيكيِّ في ظلِّ سيادةِ نظامِ السُّوق وخُضوعِ كافَّة جوانبِ الحياةِ البَشريَّة لِسُلطة التَّمْويلِ. على الرَّغم منْ تغْيِير المسْتَند المعرفيِّ، يظلّ هذا الخطاب عالقًا في "لعبة المرآة" التي تتمثَّل في بناءِ حجَّة من خلال اللُّجوء إلى وقائع وهميَّة أو حقائق مبتورة بشكلٍ انتقائيٍّ. تُلفت المقالة الانتباه إلى ضرورة التَّحرر من رِبْقَة لعبة المرآة التي وضعتْ الخطابَ عن الاقتصادِ الإسلاميِّ في حلْقةٍ مُفرَغةٍ، رغم أنَّ التُّراث الإسلاميِّ للمعرفة يَزْخر بكنوز مفاهيميَّة لا تُقدَّر بثمنٍ، منها: مفهومُ "المعاشِ" وفقًا للمعنى المزْدوَجِ الذي أشار إليه الخليلُ الفراهيدي (718-786م)، وهو: "ما يُعاشُ به" و "ما يُعاشُ فيه". هذه المقاربة تشملُ الجوانب الماديَّة للحياة، كما تتضمَّن التَّفاعلات بين البشر وبيئاتِ المعاشِ؛ ممَّا يفتحُ مجالاً جديدًا للتَّأمُّلِ يستحقُّ الاهتمام مقارنةً بما أشار إليه ابن خلدون وبولانيي بخصوص مفهومِ المعاشِ.

Suggested Citation

  • Abderrazak Belabes, 2021. "It is the Time to Depart from the Mirror Game in the Rhetoric of Economics لقدْ آنَ الأوانُ للتَّخلُّصِ من لُعبةِ المرآةِ في الخطابة عن علمِ الاقتصاد," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 34(2), pages 163-171, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:abd:kauiea:v:34:y:2021:i:2:no:12:p:163-171
    DOI: 10.4197/Islec.34-2.12
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Asad Zaman, 2021. "Islamic Alternatives to the Secular Morality Embedded in Modern Economics البدائل الإسلامية للأخلاقيات العلمانية المُتضمنة في الاقتصاد الحديث," Journal of King Abdulaziz University: Islamic Economics, King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics Institute., vol. 34(2), pages 83-100, July.
    2. Donald McCloskey, 1994. "How economists persuade," Journal of Economic Methodology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 1(1), pages 15-32.
    3. Dow, Sheila, 2002. "Economic Methodology: An Inquiry," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198776123.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic discourse; Mirror game; Methodology; Livelihood. الخطابُ الاقتصاديُّ، لعبةُ المرآةِ، المنهجيَّة، المعاشُ.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A12 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Other Disciplines
    • B31 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Individuals
    • B40 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - General
    • B59 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Other

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