Islam's Response to Contemporary Issues — Page 199
Economic Peace 199 Public wealth should not circulate in the higher plane of the wealthy but should flow in the direction of the lower plane of the poor. Islam cultivates a lifestyle, which is simple and, though strictly speaking not austere, is in no way glamorous and profligate to the extent that it begins to offend the poorer sections, causes heartache and widens the distance between the two sections of society. Economic Class Differences It should be well understood here that classes are created not merely by the accumulation of wealth in fewer hands but by the division of capital among owners and the labourers or by landlords and those who cultivate the land. There is much more to the creation of a class society. It is impossible to mention all the factors and how they jointly and severally contribute towards the creation of classes. A study of traditional Indian society should provide an excellent example of the existence of a class structure evolved over thousands of years. The entire course of this evolution was influenced not by the distribution of wealth but by racial, social, religious and political factors. A long history of invasions, internal strife, struggle for survival and domination is preserved in the caste system of India, which has carved so many classes. Marx took serious note of this situation. In a series of letters to New York’s Herald Tribune , he considered the state of society in India as being at variance with the philosophy of scientific socialism.