İslâm İktisadına Göre “Sonsuz İhtiyaçlar-Kıt Kaynaklar” Yaklaşımı
Infinite Needs-Finite Resources (Scarcity) Approach According To Islamic Economics

Summary/Abstract: According to today's economic thought, there is a mismatch between the needs and the resources required for these needs. Human needs are considered to be unlimited, whereas resources are scarce, in other words, limited. While the resources used for consumption are limited, the factors required in the production phase, especially the production factors listed as labor, capital, natural resources and entrepreneurs are limited. The scarcity of resources required for production and used to meet endless needs has been expressed in the Modern Economics literature as "Scarcity Law". If the needs are considered infinite, the production organization will have to be constructed accordingly. With such an understanding, when the production is made, resources will be wasted. As a result, the mass production approach has revealed mass consumption. The concept of mass consumption has revealed the today’s consumer society. According to Islamic economic thought approach, resources are scarce and needs are endless. However, the perspective of resources and needs is completely different. The universe created by God to meet all the needs of people is not unlimited. However, resources in the universe that people will reach by working, especially the world we live in, can meet all kinds of needs of people. On the other hand, the essential needs of man are limited. Desires in human and the needs caused by these desires are unlimited. However, there are orders and prohibitions that shape the process of meeting the needs created by these desires. It is not a human-type “consumption slave” created within this framework, but a “Halifetullah (God's caliph on earth) and Eşref-i Mahlukat (the most honored of all beings)”. In this article, the question of infinite needs and the scarcity of resources to meet these needs will be evaluated from the perspective of Islamic economic thought. In this context, the principles of production and consumption determined by Islam will be discussed.

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