Sermaye Kavramının Dönüşümü: İslam Ekonomisi Üzerinden Eleştirel Bir İnceleme

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to compare the understanding of capital in the 7th century Muslim societies and post-industrial era through exploring its meaning in the pre-modern period, in Muslim societies, and its later meanings. In doing this, the institutional logics is used as the conceptual framework of the study. In this paper, the capital term was discussed and examined in three periods: (1) in the 7th century Muslim societies with the help of the concept of Kasb; (2) following the emergence of the industrial revolution in the 18th century; and finally, (3) during the contemporary period. The concept of capital has various meanings from the beginning to the contemporary period. In the 18th century, with the emergence of the industrial revolution, even individuals and their labour were commodified, and the concept of human capital has emerged. Then, in the contemporary period, it is seen that besides humans, their social and cultural relationships are also commodified. In the last section, we critically evaluate the transformation of the concept of capital in the contemporary period and the commodification process in the light of Islamic economics. According to the Islamic economics perspective, the commodification of individuals in the form of human capital and treating a human as capital is not compatible with the morality of Islam. Furthermore, the social relations and the knowledge one possesses also should not be commodified. Islam, with its moral values and norms, prioritizes individuals in social life and their main objective, which is to be a servant to God.