Ubepari ni mfumo unaotegemea kutambua haki za mtu binafsi, ikiwa ni pamoja na haki za mali, ambapo mali yote inamilikiwa kibinafsi49. Uhuru wa kumiliki ulitokana na kutenganishwa kwa kanisa na serikali, na maendeleo yaliyofuata ya uhuru wa msingi wa binadamu. Ayn Rand,1 mwandishi wa The Fountainhead, anaeleza uhusiano huu kati ya umiliki wa mali binafsi na kutenganishwa kwa kanisa na serikali: “Ninaposema ubepari, namaanisha ubepari kamili, safi, usiodhibitiwa na usiowekewa kanuni wa Laissez-faire—pamoja na kutenganishwa kwa serikali na uchumi, kwa namna ile ile na kwa sababu zile zile kama kutenganishwa kwa serikali na kanisa”50.

Capitalism is a system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights, in which all property is privately owned49. Freedom of ownership resulted from the separation of church and state and the consequent development of the basic freedom(s) of man. Ayn Rand,1 author of The Fountainhead, describes this relationship between private property ownership and the separation of church and state: “When I say capitalism, I mean a full, pure, uncontrolled, unregulated Laissez-faire capitalism—with a separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church”50.

Upande mwingine uliokithiri unaopingana na ubepari ni ujamaa/ukomunisti, ambao unatambua tu umiliki wa umma au wa serikali. Wanafalsafa wa kikomunisti, hasa Marx, walikosoa umiliki binafsi chini ya ubepari na kuuona aina hii ya umiliki kuwa chanzo kikuu cha maovu yote katika jamii. Ujamaa utakapoichukua jamii, kazi yake ya kwanza itakuwa ni kunyang'anya mali za watu binafsi na kuzihamishia kwenye mali ya umma iliyo chini ya udhibiti wa serikali. Wakomunisti wanakwenda mbali hadi kukataa hitaji la msingi la binadamu na hamu yake ya kumiliki; wanadai kwamba juhudi za watu binafsi za kumiliki vitu ni tafakari tu ya fikra za kibepari na ushawishi wake katika jamii.

The other extreme opposite to capitalism is socialism/communism which only recognizes the public or state ownership. Communist philosophers, especially Marx, criticized the private ownership under capitalism and considered this type of ownership to be the root cause of all evils in a society. When socialism takes over a society, its first task will be the confiscation of the property of individuals and to transfer it to public property under the control of the state. The communists go all the way to deny the basic human need and aspiration for ownership; they claim that the striving of individuals to own things is a mere reflection of the bourgeois mentality and influence over the society.

Mtazamo wa kikomunisti kuhusu umiliki binafsi unapingana na tabia ya asili ya binadamu. Ni sehemu ya asili ya mwanadamu kufanya kazi na kumiliki mali ili kukidhi mahitaji yake; kwa hiyo, ni jambo la kawaida kabisa kutamani kumiliki mali. Kukidhi mahitaji ya mwanadamu ni jambo lisiloepukika ambalo haliwezi kukataliwa wala kupuuzwa. Jaribio lolote la kumzuia mwanadamu kumiliki utajiri lingepingana na asili yake; vivyo hivyo, jaribio lolote la kumzuia kumiliki kiasi fulani tu nalo lingepingana na asili yake. Kwa hiyo, ingekuwa kinyume cha maumbile kusimama kati ya mwanadamu na upatikanaji wake wa mali, au kusimama kati yake na juhudi zake za kupata mali hiyo. Sababu moja dhahiri ya ujamaa kudumu kwa muda mfupi ni mgongano wake na hamu ya asili ya binadamu ya umiliki binafsi.

The communist view of private ownership contradicts the natural behavior of humans. It is part of man’s nature to work and possess property in order to satisfy his needs; hence, it is only natural to strive for the possession of property. Satisfying man’s needs is an inevitable matter that cannot be denied or ignored. Any attempt to prevent man from possessing wealth would be contradictory to his nature; similarly, any attempt to restrict his possession to a certain quantity would also contradict his nature. It would, therefore, be unnatural to stand between man and his acquisition of wealth, or to stand between him and his efforts to achieve this acquisition. One obvious reason for the short-lived socialism is its conflict with the human natural strives for private ownership.

Umiliki na miliki si onyesho la mpangilio wa jamii kama wanavyodai Wamarx. Badala yake, ni udhihirisho wa silika ya kujihifadhi iliyomo ndani ya binadamu, tangu anapozaliwa. Jamii yenye mawazo yote, dhana, mpangilio, mila na maadili huelekeza sifa hii ya umiliki kuelekea mielekeo tofauti. Jamii za kilimo huelekeza silika ya umiliki kwenye umiliki wa ardhi; jamii za uwindaji huelekeza silika hii kwenye umiliki wa pinde na mishale na zana nyingine za kuwindia; jamii za viwanda huelekeza sifa ya umiliki ya silika hiyo kwenye umiliki wa mashine, viwanda na zana nyingine za uzalishaji. Katika hali hizi zote, jamii haiumbi ndani ya watu mapenzi ya kumiliki kama wanavyotangaza wananadharia wa Kimarx; badala yake, inaelekeza mapenzi hayo upande mmoja au mwingine.

Possession and ownership is not a reflection of societal order as claimed by Marxists. Rather, it is a manifestation of the inner instinct of survival which exists within man, right at birth time. The society with all the ideas, concepts, orders, traditions, and values direct the possession quality into different directions. Agricultural societies direct the possession instinct to the ownership of land; hunting communities direct this instinct to the ownership of bows and arrows and other means of hunting; industrial societies direct the possession attribute of the instinct to own machines, factories, and other means of production. In all of these cases, the society does not create the love to own within individuals as proclaimed by Marxist theoreticians; rather it steers that love in one direction or another.

Matatizo yanayohusishwa na umiliki binafsi kama yanavyoonekana na watu wengi, hasa wanafalsafa wa kikomunisti, hayatokani na umiliki binafsi wenyewe, iwe ni umiliki wa bidhaa au umiliki wa njia za uzalishaji. Tatizo kwa kweli linatokana na kuuona umiliki binafsi kuwa ndio aina pekee ya umiliki katika jamii. Umiliki wa umma au wa serikali haukubaliwi katika msingi mkuu wa ubepari. Kila inapojitokeza haja ya serikali kumiliki mali (kama ardhi, benki, viwanda), hufanyika mjadala mkubwa; upande mmoja, wabepari safi (wafuasi wa ubepari usio na udhibiti, yaani laissez-faire) huupinga vikali umiliki wa namna hiyo. Upande mwingine, wapragmatist huruhusu umiliki wa serikali kama mwitikio wa mgogoro. Mgogoro wa kiuchumi wa karibuni uliifanya serikali ya Marekani kuingilia kati na kumiliki sehemu kubwa za benki, kampuni za bima, na sekta ya magari.

The problems associated with the private ownership as observed by many, particularly the communist philosophers, do not arise from the private possession per se, whether the possession of commodities or possession of means of production. The problem actually arises from considering private ownership to be the only form of ownership in the society49. Public or state ownership is not recognized in the core foundation of capitalism. Every time a need rises for the state to own property (such as land, banks, factories), a big debate takes place; on one end, purist capitalists (supporters of laissez-faire capitalism) detest such ownership. On the other end, pragmatists allow state ownership in response to crisis. The most current economic crisis led the US government to intervene and own large portions of banks, insurance companies, and auto industry.

Kukataa kwa Wakapitalisti kwa mali ya umma au ya dola kunatokana na mtazamo wao wa jamii kama ulivyojadiliwa awali. Mtazamo huu unaiona jamii kuwa imeundwa na watu binafsi ambao wanaruhusiwa kuishi, kumiliki, kusema na kuenenda kwa uhuru iwezekanavyo. Kwa hiyo, chini ya mtazamo huu, mali ya umma haina maana yoyote. Hata hivyo, jamii si kundi tu la watu binafsi. Muundo wa jamii unajumuisha, pamoja na watu binafsi, mahusiano na mifumo inayowaunganisha watu pamoja na kuipa jamii umbo lake la kipekee. Mtazamo huu wa jamii unazaa vyombo viwili vingine tofauti katika jamii: umma kwa ujumla pamoja na aina mbalimbali za viungo na mahusiano, na dola, ambayo huyadumisha mahusiano na viungo hivyo kupitia sheria na utaratibu wa jamii. Kila moja ya vyombo hivi—mtu binafsi, umma, na dola—lina sifa zake, mahitaji yake, maslahi yake, na mwenendo wake.

The Capitalists’ denial of public or state property is based on their view of the society as discussed earlier. This view considers the society to be composed of individuals who are allowed to live, own, speak, and behave as freely as possible. Hence, the public property under this view is meaningless. The society, however, is not merely made of group of individuals. The society structure includes, besides the individuals, the relations and the systems that link the people together and provide the society its own distinct shape. This view of the society gives rise to two other distinct entities in the society: the public as a whole with the various types of links and relations and the state which maintains these relations and links through the law and order of the society. Each of these entities—the individual, the public, and the state—has its own characteristics, needs, interest, and behavior.

Mtu binafsi ana mahitaji ya chakula, kinywaji, usalama, makazi, afya, mapumziko, na mengineyo. Anahitaji kupata na kumiliki njia za kutimiza mahitaji haya. Maslahi ya watu binafsi yanatimizwa vizuri zaidi kupitia umiliki wa mali binafsi. Jamii kwa ujumla ina mahitaji ya mshikamano, usalama, umoja, na mengineyo. Jamii inahitaji kupata na kumiliki njia za kutimiza mahitaji haya; maslahi ya jamii yanatimizwa vizuri zaidi kupitia umiliki wa mali ya umma. Dola, kama chombo kimoja, ina mahitaji ya utulivu, usalama, kudumisha utaratibu, ulinzi, kuleta uwiano, na mahitaji mengineyo. Dola lazima ipate na imiliki njia za kutimiza mahitaji yake. Kwa hiyo, tatizo kuu la mtazamo wa kibepari kuhusu umiliki ni kwamba unatambua umiliki wa mtu binafsi peke yake. Wakomunisti walifanya kosa hilo hilo, isipokuwa kwamba wao waliidhinisha umiliki wa umma peke yake na kukataa umiliki binafsi; waliruhusu dola kumiliki kama mwakilishi wa umma. Kwa kweli, wakomunisti wanaamini kwamba dola ina kuwepo kwa muda katika jamii; katika hatua za juu za ukomunisti, dola inapaswa kuyeyuka, na mali pekee itakayobaki ni ya umma.

The individual has needs for food, drink, safety, shelter, health, rests, and others. He needs to acquire and possess the means to satisfy these needs. The interests of the individuals are best served by the individual property ownership. The public as a whole has needs for coherency, security, unity, and others. The public needs to acquire and possess the means to satisfy these needs; the public interests are best served through the public ownership of property. The state as a unit has needs for stability, security, order maintenance, protection, balance creation, and other needs. The state must acquire and possess the means to satisfy its needs. Therefore, the main problem with the capitalist view of ownership is that it recognizes only the private ownership of individuals. The communists made the same error, except that they approved only the public ownership and denied the private ownership; they allowed the state to own in its capacity as a representative of the public. In fact, the communists believe that the state has a temporary existence in the society; at advanced stages of communism, the state should dissolve, and the only property that remains is that of the public.

Matatizo hutokea pale kila taasisi katika jamii inapokiuka haki za mali za taasisi nyingine. Kwa mfano, mali inayomilikiwa na watu binafsi inapochukuliwa na umma na serikali chini ya kivuli cha utaifishaji, matatizo huanza kujitokeza: udanganyifu, rushwa, na kupungua kwa tija. Mali inayopaswa kumilikiwa na umma inapochukuliwa na watu binafsi, matatizo ya udanganyifu, umaskini, na ukiritimba huanza kujitokeza. Mali ya serikali inapochukuliwa na watu binafsi, serikali hutegemea utajiri wa watu hao na kuingia katika madeni; matokeo yake, maamuzi ya kisiasa ya serikali huelemea zaidi upande wa wale wanaoifadhili serikali. Jambo hili huleta dhuluma, rushwa, na kupotea kwa sheria na utulivu.

Problems occur when each entity in the society violates the property rights of the other entities. For example, when the property which belongs to individuals is confiscated by the public and state under the umbrella of nationalization, problems begin to surface: fraud, corruption, and lack of productivity. When the property which should be owned by the public is overtaken by individuals, the problems of fraud, poverty, and monopoly begin to surface. When the state property is overtaken by individuals, the state becomes dependent on the wealth of individuals and falls into debt; as a result, the political decisions of the state become more biased towards those who finance the state. This phenomenon leads to oppression, corruption, and a loss of law and order.

Hoja hii inaelekea kwenye hitimisho kuu kwamba umiliki binafsi ni dhana halali katika jamii; hata hivyo, umiliki huu si wa uhuru usio na mipaka. Umiliki binafsi unapaswa kuwekewa mipaka ndani ya wigo wa umiliki binafsi ambao umepunguzwa na kuzuiwa na wigo wa umiliki wa umma na wa dola.

This argument leads to the main conclusion that private ownership is a valid concept in the society; however, this ownership is not absolutely free. Private ownership should be limited to the scope of private ownership which is limited and restricted by the scope of the public and the state ownership.

Kuitaifisha mali ya binafsi pamoja na kubinafsisha mali ya umma ni mambo yenye madhara kwa maslahi ya jamii na yanakiuka haki za watu binafsi. Kuitaifisha mali kunasababisha kuzuiwa kinyume cha sheria kwa mali ya binafsi na kuleta matatizo mengi, kati ya hayo madogo kabisa ni rushwa na kupungua kwa tija. Kubinafsisha mali ya umma, kwa upande mwingine, kunawanyima watu wasiojiweza katika jamii uwezo wa kupata mahitaji yao ya msingi ya chakula, afya, elimu na usalama.

Nationalization of private property as well as privatization of public property are counterproductive and constitute an invasion to the rights of individuals and to the interest of the public. Nationalization leads to illegal restriction of private property and creates a myriad of problems, the least of which is corruption and diminished productivity. Privatization of public property, on the other hand, deprives the less fortunate in the society from securing their basic needs for food, health, education, and security.

Njia sahihi ya kupanga umiliki ni kubainisha wigo wa umiliki kwa kila chombo: watu binafsi, umma, na dola. Mpaka wazi kati ya umiliki wa vyombo hivi unapaswa kuanzishwa vizuri. Tambua kwamba mipaka hiyo ndiyo inayoamua aina ya umiliki kwa kila chombo; kiasi cha umiliki ndani ya kila wigo hakina umuhimu na hakipaswi kuwekewa vikwazo. Haifai kuhamisha umiliki baina ya vyombo hivi vitatu kulingana na masharti na mazingira ya dharura. Kwa kweli, kuhamisha umiliki wa mali ya kibinafsi kwenda umiliki wa umma au wa dola chini ya shinikizo la mgogoro husababisha hali ambayo dola na umma huwa wamiliki wa mali ambayo inapaswa kumilikiwa na watu binafsi pekee, na watu binafsi huwa wamiliki wa mali ambayo inapaswa kumilikiwa na umma pekee.

The proper way of organizing the ownership is to define the scope of ownership for each entity: the individuals, the public, and the state. A clear borderline between the ownership of these entities should be well established. Note that the borderlines define the type of ownerships for each entity; the quantity of ownership within each scope is irrelevant and should not be restricted. It does not pay to transfer ownership between the three entities based on conditions and crisis. In fact, the transfer of private property ownership to public or state ownership under the pressure of crisis leads to the situation where the state and public become the owners of property that should be owned only by individuals, and the individuals become the owners of property that should be owned only by the public.

Labda sifa muhimu zaidi ya uchumi wa kisiasa wa Kiislamu ni kwamba ulibainisha wazi wigo wa aina tatu za umiliki. Zaidi ya hapo, ulikataza kuhamisha aina moja ya umiliki kuwa nyingine, bila kujali hali yoyote. Umiliki chini ya uchumi wa Kiislamu utajadiliwa zaidi katika sehemu ya pili ya kitabu hiki.

Perhaps the most important characteristic of the Islamic political economy is that it clearly defined the scopes of the three types of ownership. It further prohibited the transfer of one type of ownership into another no matter what the conditions are. The ownership under Islamic economics will be further discussed in the part 2 of this book.

Kwa muhtasari, ubepari na uchumi wake wa kisiasa umejengwa juu ya kanuni tatu kuu: uhaba wa kiasi (relative scarcity), thamani ya matumizi na thamani ya kubadilishana, na utaratibu wa bei (price mechanism). Utaratibu wa bei ndio jiwe la msingi la msingi huu. Kanuni hizi zimefungamanishwa ndani ya dhana kuu ya "umiliki wa mali binafsi," ambayo nayo inatokana na wazo la kutenganisha kanisa na serikali. Kanuni hizi pamoja na wazo la msingi la umiliki binafsi zina kasoro na dosari kubwa, kama ilivyojadiliwa katika sehemu zilizotangulia. Ifuatayo, tutachunguza athari za kasoro hizi katika ustawi wa jamii.

In summary, capitalism and its political economy are built upon three main principles: relative scarcity, the benefit and exchange value, and the price mechanism, the price mechanism being the cornerstone of this foundation. These principles are wrapped within the main concept of “private property ownership” which in turn emits from the idea of the separation of church and state. These principles along with the basic idea of private ownership have serious flaws and defects as discussed in the preceding sections. Next, we will explore the impact of these flaws on the well-being of the society.