Islamic Economic Thought in Comparative Perspectives: Towards an Islamic Theory of Value

It is our purpose in this chapter to formulate the theoretical foundations of Islamic economic theory in the following areas in comparative perspective: (a) the theory of value and price; (b) social policy development endemic to the formation of value and price; and (c) internal consistency between the principles/assumptions and the theoretical system explaining value and price formation. The comparative economic paradigms that we will consider here are classical and neoclassical thought, Marxist doctrine, the Keynesian school and the post-Keynesian schools. Several other contemporary developments in these areas will also be comparatively discussed. The emphasis of this chapter will be on the theoretical foundations of the subject matter, with a view to bringing out the methodological problems of the three areas mentioned above.