The role of ethics in economics and business

Abstract

Quite apart from the distinct dichotomy of man's life into the secular and spiritual, conventional economics is still plaqued with the undue emphasis on the positive at the expense of the normative treatment of the subject. What 'is' becomes the norm, in fact, the rule rather than what 'ought'. The positivity of economics is one of the factors which stems from the desire to be exact, scientific or objective without any consideration for its behaviourial aspects. It is as though man is a pure technocrat who has no feelings, prejudice or value judgements. It is as though a necessity that man, in his economic pursuit, must discard all values so that he can achieve his objectives independently of any other considerations. At the same time, economists accept blindly that the unlimited wants aziom inherent in man is completely a rational behaviour. In attempting to portray economics as a science, the economists created their 'economic man' with the sole purpose of maximizing his objectives in every economic pursuit. Islam, on the other hand, has recognized the integrative nature of the secular and the spiritual. Both components of man are simultaneously considered, not only in economics but, in fact, in every facet of human life. The very basis is that Islam is a complete way of life and not just a religion which is completely divorced from material life. The material life has to be governed by Islamic injunctions as much as the spiritual.