In the present globalised and competitive society, every nation is eager to develop and expedite its economic advancement. Economic might is considered very important. This desire is very noble provided it is multi-dimensional in approach, for example it takes into consideration all human needs and requirements together with economic development. If this approach is not adopted, the economic advancement may ultimately be affected due to other social shortcomings.
For a nation to succeed in her economic activities, she has to organise and embark on her economic policies in tandem with human nature. Economic advancement and the ability to sustain this achievement is a long term process. A nation’s success cannot be achieved in a short period. The time span taken to have a competitive edge can be reduced but the process must go through the requirement of nature.
The law of nature insists that to be competitive, a nation has to be properly managed, efficient and creative. Politically the nation has to be stable. Its leaders are pious and sincere. At the same time they are very capable. They have visions and the ability to transform ideals into solid social programmes. The people must have equally high qualities. They are educated and some of them are professionally competent plus intelligent. They are also highly disciplined and very dedicated in their work. On top of that, the society upholds high moral and spiritual values. They aspire to refine their behaviour and run their affairs in line with the spirit of justice.
The attainment of the above ingredients for a nation is not an easy task. Deviants will always surface in society. But to succeed in building a sound human civilisation, these natural requirements have to be realised.
Man by nature is an idealistic being. He worships ideal. He is never satisfied with what is but continuously tries to change it into what ought to be. He would like to manage his environment so that reality can conform to his ideal. Without ideals, aspirations and faith, man can never lead a noble life. In a vacuum man does have a mission and direction. In this situation man is half dead.
Islam is a religion of faith. Muslims believe in the sovereignty and supremacy of God. To be a genuine Muslim is to submit absolutely to the word of God. In Islam, religious principles are very much in line with human nature. In fact Islam is a religion of fitrah (in line with human nature). It also provides man with a mission to manage this universe in line with its ideals. The struggle to realise these ideas is a religious struggle.
Muslims believe that without religion there can be no morality, no justice, regardless of what `laws’ or `norms’ might be devised by man. The religious faith can make man truly `faithful’. It can dominate his selfishness and egoism. To a certain extent, man’s life would be empty without faith. Life is meaningless and hollow and with faith man is willing to defend it with zeal and fervour.
Religious faith develops a loving bond between man and man, and man with the universe. It makes man optimistic about other men and the universe. It provides hope, for a good outcome in one’s efforts. This cordial relationship is a beginning point for man to strive for economic success. Through joint efforts, man would utilise all resources in the universe for his own welfare. In Islam, everything in the universe is being created for man. Man should work together for their betterment.
It is very logical that people with faith, who support a system which is very much in line with human nature can aspect that the environment created will be very supportive of progress. A just and co-operative atmosphere existing in a social system can motivate people to be more productive and creative. These values insist that all should rise against injustice and oppression and leave the oppressors and the corrupt no room to practice their oppression and corruption.
People with faith in religion would like to excel in their work. To be economically competitive is very much in line with the demand of religious faith. As success is a long term process, a strategy like market optimisation is very much relevant if one would like to achieve a competitive edge.
Market optimisation is a strategy to capture a good market share of the products produced by the society of a particular nation. As the world is becoming very small and borderless the market should not be restricted to national boundaries. Instead, nations should think international. Going international however, means that competition will be tougher. It demands that a country has to be very efficient in her production ability and creative in the kind of products they produce. It also insists on higher quality products.
If every society strives to attain a niche in the world market it means that everybody is working for excellence and quality. This will reduce wastage at the production level. And if ethical consideration is being taken into consideration social costs will be very marginal. This approach is in harmony with the laws of nature and it will definitely contribute to the human welfare.
On the other hand if the competitive spirit is to be attained through individualistic and immoral considerations, it will not contribute significantly to human welfare. There will be negative consequences. Through manipulation one can, in the short run, capture the market but this will not last very long.
At the same time the process of production which is not in line with the laws of nature itself will create a lot of disutility to mankind. For example, the disturbance to the ecology will not be taken into account by the producers. They are more interested in reducing their production costs without considering the costs to the human welfare. Unethical practices are highly condemned by religion. This approach may result in a country losing its edge in the long run. Society has to pay the cost if the environment is neglected and this in turn will affect the country’s competitiveness.
Adhering to the laws of nature may mean that a country will take longer to become competitive but in the long run it will ensure genuine success. The Quran says, “The reward to those who do good never goes to waste. Truly God does not lose the wages of those who do good”. (Quran 12:90)