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Why poverty - Causes of poverty
Debt is an efficient tool. It ensures access to other peoples' raw materials and infrastructure on the cheapest possible terms. Dozens of countries must compete for shrinking export markets and can export only a limited range of products because of Northern protectionism and their lack of cash to invest in diversification. Market saturation ensues, reducing exporters' income to a bare minimum while the North enjoys huge savings. The IMF cannot seem to understand that investing in . [a] healthy, well-fed, literate population . is the most intelligent economic choice a country can make. Many developing nations are in debt and poverty partly due to the policies of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Their programs have been heavily criticized for many years for resulting in poverty. In addition, for developing or third world countries, there has been an increased dependency on the richer nations. This is despite the IMF and World Bank's claim that they will reduce poverty.
This is one of the backbones to today's so-called "free" trade. In this form, as a result, it is seen by some as unfair and one-way, or extractionalist. It also serves to maintain unequal free trade as pointed out by J.W. Smith. The current systems have created a vampire club of institutions - such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank, and NGO's (Non Governmental Organizations) - that employ tactics such as loans and structural deficit re-planning to siphon off the world's resources to the so-called developed nations, leaving behind a gross inequality in distribution of wealth. The world order has resulted in a bleak scenario in which most of the world chokes from the exploitation of a few elitist nations that continue, under the protection of laws and systems that are designed to serve their interests, to squander the wealth of the world and systematically tighten their control of societies around the globe. Unfortunately, the current systems cleverly mask the inequality in wealth that they produce by assessing the wealth and productivity by the GNP (Gross National Product) or the average income per capita, deceptively duping the observer into regarding the total production as a means of measuring the well being of each citizen when, in actuality, such figures give no indication of the status of the individuals. America, for example, sucks up over a third of the world's resources, yet poverty in America has escalated to such levels that a new class of people - the "fourth" or under class - has emerged. By using labels like "Third World" and "First World," this economic conspiracy has worked behind a deceived populace who fail to realize that the "Third World" countries are actually First World in terms of resources. While organizations like Mercy International and UNICEF keep the masses content under the circus act of "humanitarian aid," the capitalist machine works behind the stage to gobble up the resources of the world. The implementation of Islam would eliminate the stranglehold by which the elites control the polices of the world and milk its resources. Unlike the current systems, Islam will not impose any limits on the amount of wealth that an individual can acquire, thus creating and maintaining an incentive to work. Because the Islamic system reflects the wisdom of the Creator, then the implementation of Islam will provide a society conducive to life that will address the needs of humanity based on the correct understanding of life. Muhammad (saaw) said, "The son of Adam, if he had two valleys of gold, would desire a third and would not be satisfied till he bites the dust." While generating massive abundance and wealth of resources by eliminating all the restrictions and oppressive systems that prevent production, Islam will safeguard against abuses of exploitation in acquiring wealth by limiting the way in which wealth is acquired. For instance, Islam denies the "free" market of Capitalism which has led to the situation of "survival of the fittest". Such an unrestricted environment has led directly to the current situation where multinational companies have scavenged the resources of the world like parasites unrestricted in their "freedom." Under the Khilafah, natural and vital resources would be categorized as public property and a right of every citizen of the state - Muslim or otherwise - in accordance with the Prophet's (saw) Hadith that states, "The humans have a right to three things - water, green pastures, and fire-based fuels (An-Naar)." In Islam, public revenue from oil and natural resources would be used to secure the needs of the whole Muslim Ummah, and not to line the pockets of casino owners. The Khilafah would provide public and vital resources without charge to cover the needs of every individual and family, and the monopolies that multinational corporations maintain to dictate the lives of the people would dissipate. The Shariah also defines certain rules that regulate company structure, effectively preventing abuse and corruption. For instance, Islam forbids monopolies by outlawing the hoarding of wealth (Al-Ihtikar), and eliminating copyright or patency laws that would open the avenue for potential monopolies to develop. Also, Islam protects the ownership of businesses and companies by restricting ownership of companies only to those who contribute both capital and effort to the company or business, thus effectively putting the seal on such concepts as "corporate takeover" from ever becoming a reality. In the systems of today, the stock market offers no such protection and allows for any outsider to secure a share in any business or corporation and impose his policies on the company agenda, even if that individual puts no effort or work into the business. Today, food manufacturers have cultivated the art of burning surplus food and dumping surplus milk into the ocean to artificially inflate prices by creating "scarcity," an art that would cease to exist with the implementation of Islam. |
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© 2011. Zia Ahmed. All rights reserved. |
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