Hello hello everybody!

I was just thinking about the different kinds of economic problems/questions we’ve learned throughout the term, and their respective “answers”. And then I wondered whether there were more schools of thought to consider…and obviously the answer is yes, because the world super complicated!

Other than the potlatch practice, I was curious as to whether there were other normative, cultural systems that could add to our economic topic. One that I thought of pertains to Islamic economics, due to a brief discussion I had with a friend a year ago. She mentioned the concept of ‘Riba’, which refers to interest. From what I understood from her explanation, it is illegal in Islam to take or receive it, due to its nature of fabrication. It is not “produced”, like salaries are. As a result, taking/receiving interest is morally wrong. It is unjust, and considered to be exploitative gains made from trade or business. She spoke about this in reference to her taking out loans, and actively seeking an Islamic lender in order to forego added interest.
Since Islam is a way of life, it has its own guide to an economic system. I definitely can’t say I fully understand “Islamic economics” because it is a super complex subject, but I thought Riba was especially interesting because it’s an economic concept which stems from a belief, but one which unlike faith in credit or currency. It instead comes from a different abstraction, and reflects morally on the parties who engage/do not engage with Riba. However, I also do believe that there are ways to “go around” the moral/economic restriction of Riba by essentially paying an upfront fee for a loan, instead of interest. As a result, it seems that the system of borrowing and lending just finds a different way to compensate the lender. Money always finds a way!

Just thought that might be interesting to think about. And of course, if anyone wants to add to this/explain the concept of Riba or “Islamic Economics” further, please do! Good luck with finals!