The Philosophy of Zakāt — Page 37
37 The E vils of Capitalism and Communism The biggest evil of Capitalism is that the wealth of the nation is amassed in the hands of a limited few and the rest of the nation becomes a prey to want and poverty. It was on account of this iniquity that Communism gained its roots. lt is based on the p rinciple that no one really is the rightful owner of what he earns and the real master of the national wealth is the State which must distribute it according to the needs of the members of the community. When we devote our mind to both these systems we are bound to come to the conclusion that both these systems belong to the Opposite extremes. If Capitalism is responsible for the wretchedness and distress of a great number of the people living under it and due return is given to the real producer of wealth, Communism also completely ignores the labor and effort put in by the real producer of wealth. Under this system the person who has put in the labor to produce is totally deprived of its possession. The r esult is that the true zeal to work with earnestness dies out. Communism also fails to define human needs with the state determining such needs. The history of Capitalism tells us that the capitalist countries tend to rob the others so that they may get more and more rich. They openly trample over the rights of the others and usurp the