The Islamic Merchant- with a sense of spiritual and communal obligation:
While reading 'Rethinking Islam & The West' I came across a passage
(Link to the book by Ahmed Keeler - geni.us/yFHXK )
He was speaking about the Islamic view of the merchant, and how pious traders were a huge cause in the spread of Islam worldwide. The pious merchant was a cornerstone of civilization. Business was a collaborative (instead of competitive) endeavour.
In the marketplace, traders who had already made sales would help drive customers to fellow traders who had yet to make sales. If one's business suffered, others in his industry would band together to help him back on his feet.
These guilds help to set prices to be fair, arbitrated disputes, trained newcomers in ethics/morals of the profession - and due to the emphasis of Islam on charity, worked to establish endowments (waqf).
The catalyst separating that system and the modern American capitalist one was the legalization of usury (interest) - this was a breakthrough for capitalism and the enabling of exploitative behaviors to make money, and viewing people as commodities
Without a larger moral compass - which comes from a Divine accountability - there is no driving force to create that sense of community seen in the merchants of old. What, exactly, would make we want to sacrifice my own comfort for the well-being of my neighbor?
In the absence of some type of stronger bond (e.g. religious community, or family), and a relentless emphasis on the individual, and pursuit of one's own happiness above all else, it would be near impossible to establish - and that's exactly what we see playing out now.
Adapted from:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1285038038553329667.html?s=09
