4 - Law and the discovery of ‘Islamic economics’

Summary

Iqtisaduna, an exposé

Iqtisaduna consists of three parts: the two first parts are critiques of the capitalist and socialist systems and operate negatively by presenting, essentially, counterarguments to classical socialist and capitalist theories (‘With Socialism’, I 17–212; ‘With Capitalism’, I 213–54). The most interesting part is the third one which deals with the conception of the Islamic economy in Sadr's mind, and is the object of our presentation (I 255–700).

The exposition of ‘Islamic economics’ is constituted, in Sadr's outline, by several sections which appear loosely connected. After an introduction which includes various methodological remarks (‘Our economic system in its general features’, I 255–356), Sadr divides the bulk of the investigation into a ‘theory of distribution before production’ (I 385–469) and a ‘theory of distribution after production’ (I 515–80). This is followed by a fourth section on the ‘theory of production’ (I 582–628), a section on ‘the responsibility of the state in the Islamic economic system’ (I 628–58) and various appendices on points of detail on some legal-economic aspects discussed in the book (I 659–700).

As appears in the outline, there is no underlying concept which emerges in the book, although the central unifying element seems to be a general notion of the distribution process, which is introduced by an analysis of the ‘preproduction phase’ and is followed by further remarks on the role of the state in the system.

Iqtisaduna is re-arranged in this presentation under three headings: Principles and method; Distribution and the factors of production; and Distribution and justice.