Introduction
Even though Eastern European states in their development and reforms, as well as restructuring, are following the same guidelines that were unveiled centuries ago in Ibn Khaldun’s theory of Umran in terms of property rights, attempting to get rid of price controls on crucial goods and services, doing away with bureaucracy, and implementing a purely market-driven economy, Muslim countries are still stuck in archaic systems due to a lack of democracy, unequal income distribution, and inflation, as well as wealth being accumulated in a few hands, and other numerous social ills.
This paper dwells on the intricacies of the Ibn Khaldun’s theory of Umran and economic growth, dissecting its building blocks, and addresses the question of how Muslim societies and countries can benefit from his views in tackling their endemic economic problems to come up with a development strategy that will, in the end, achieve justice, division of labor, economic stabilization, full employment, and growth.
Ibn Khaldun’s Umran Theory
Throughout history, the growth and the eventual decay of societies have drawn the attention of scholars seeking to interpret the reasons behind this observable trend. Unearthing the reasons of such a peculiar fact of the historical rise and the subsequent fall of civilizations helps prevent any further decay, thus, achieving and maintaining the society’s continuous rise and prosperity. The Umran theory allows viewing the problem from not only historical but also theoretical and empirical perspectives, which helps shed light on both the implications of the governmental policies on trading, investment, innovative strategies, etc., and the possible outcomes of the strategies that are currently applied to address the issues in the identified domains.
Defining Umran Theory
The term Umran is derived from Umar, which is an Arabic word. Ibn Khaldun’s Umran theory makes it quite clear that the birth of a civilization, its development, and its ultimate demise should not be viewed as a single-factor occurrence. Instead, it needs to be perceived as the phenomenon that has been shaped by a variety of factors, including societal, economic, political, and cultural ones. Furthermore, the ethical principles that civilizations were built on and the political systems by which they were supported need to be taken into account as the influences that affected their successes and downfalls. Each one of the stated aspects acts as a set-off that influences the other aspects. The end product of the reactions of all the identified aspects determines whether the empire or community will either collapse or prosper. In his theory, Khaldun stated that there was a clear connection between the evolution of civilizations, from their start to their ultimate demise, which could be explained with the help of the cause-and-effect principle, and which could provide a theoretical foundation or the analysis of the rise and fall of empires, dynasties (dawlah) and civilizations (Umran). The term Umran refers to civilization or a state of living together where the society’s inhabitants cooperate with one another either through blood ties or necessity.
Measurement Of Umran
Khaldun made use of the term Umran or urbanization of communities to demonstrate Umran’s macro concept as an indication of to what extent the state has a role in driving the key indicators of social and economic activities. At this point, one must bring up a common misunderstanding of the Umran concept. Although the subject matter is typically viewed as the means of explaining the development of the contemporary society from the perspective of the cause-and-effect concept; however, the specified approach is a common misconception and a misuse of the Umran theory. The latter, in its turn, should be viewed as the measurement framework that will help locate the extent to which a particular civilization has evolved, as well as which stage it has reached in its progress. This means that a country that has more construction activities, a vibrant market, etc., can be termed as experiencing economic development or growth. Hence, from the Umran theory perspective, the stage at which the society currently is in its progress can be determined by carrying out an analysis of its population, the essential social constructs, and the market vibrancy that can be observed in the target environment.
Why The Population?
Unlike the rather pessimist Malthusian population growth law as well as other contemporary scholars that believed population growth in any society often leads to underdevelopment, Ibn Khaldun’s growth theory is based on labor force and population. The bigger the population, the bigger the available labor force. This leads to a bigger division of labor that favors industrial booms which are crucial for a country’s growth in population. Furthermore, the observed phenomenon indicates that population should be viewed as one of the essential macroeconomic indicators from the perspective of the Umran theory since it helps evaluate the degree to which the society has progressed in its economic, political, and social growth. Similarly, when considered through the prism of the Umran theory, the population can be linked directly to the notions of training, education, and the associated socioeconomic standards and requirements. The center of the analysis by Ibn Khaldun is the individual or human being. The reasons for the identified phenomenon to be observed are that the demise of a civilization and the well-being of its residents have proven to be linked directly. It would be wrong to attribute the decay of a state and the regress of its population to economic and political factors only; the social and the environmental issues also play an important role in making a state collapse.
Similarly, the theories based on the premise of the exponential growth of the population as the driving factor behind the collapse of the civilization have also proven to be inconsistent. According to the existing studies on the subject matter, the increasingly high GNP rates that can be observed all over the world can be attributed to both economic and non-economic factors. Therefore, addressing the identified issues as a system is bound to have more impressive results on the management of the issue compared to merely endeavoring to improve the financial state of the target population by eradicating poverty. Furthermore, the problems related to the drop in the savings rates, which can be witnessed currently across the globe, are likely to have a direct effect on the opportunities or investment, as well as the economic progress of the associated countries. It could be argued that the inconsistency in the adoption and management of the innovative fiscal solutions, such as the improved monetary policies, have had their toll on the aggravation of the situation. They have also been unable to utilize their available resources in a prudent manner. When addressing the issue of poverty and underdevelopment, one must name corruption among the leading causes of the crucial challenges that the residents of the affected countries have to face on a regular basis. Furthermore, when addressing the factors that define the current situation, one must list the lack of theory among the primary reasons for concern since it leads to a drop in the ability of the residents to meet the current workplace market standards and, thus, causes a rise in unemployment rates.
Why Buildings?
In this context, buildings as a measure of development means constructing not only residential houses but also bridges, dams, channels, communication infrastructure, as well as the entire civil infrastructure that shapes the urban societies which are referred to in the Muqadimmah. According to the principal tenets of Khaldun’s theory, citizens must be inspired to create and, therefore, build their empire from scratch, starting with the basic architectural endeavors and up to more complex concepts of infrastructure and political system. It is quite remarkable that the tools which can be used to motivate the population range from the authoritative voice of the state leaders to the philosophy of rewards and appraisals. The assumption made above means that a royal authority and dynasties have a crucial influence on the building of urban areas and the planning of major towns.
Based on Ibn Khaldun’s theory, the principles according to which the state buildings are constructed define the success and the longevity of the civilization. In other words, the more solid and firm the foundation of the building is, the more chances the society has to become a well-developed and long-lasting community. Khaldun famously stated that the life of the dynasty is the life of the town. Furthermore, the longevity of a dynasty also determines the shelf life of the society that is built around it; as soon as the reign of the dynasty is over, the society is bound to collapse as well. Eventually, its civilization will gradually decay, and the empire will end up falling into disrepair. On the opposite side of the spectrum, in case the dynasty lasts longer, newer constructions will continue to appear in the area, and the boundaries of the dynasty and urban areas will continue extending. With time, the town’s layout will cover a bigger area and the city will extend far and wide incorporating neighboring lands and communities. The identified phenomenon was witnessed in the Iraq’s capital city, Baghdad, as well as other historic cities in the region.
Why Expenditure in the Markets and Allowing a Free Market?
Ibn Khaldun states that increased consumer expenditure in a country’s markets is a clear indication or evidence of Umran or development. On the other hand, the lack of spending in the markets is a clear sign of the absence of urbanization. He explains this through Muqadimmah’s cooperation concept. The inability of an individual to retrieve the items that are typically viewed as indispensable independently can be defined as the primary reason for the observed phenomenon to occur. All human beings in a civilization are required to cooperate towards a common end. Therefore, when joining their forces, people become capable of obtaining a significantly larger amount of resources than what they would have accomplished individually. For example, no individuals on their own can manage to generate the share of the grain required for their immediate needs.
However, when several people, including a carpenter, and a smith come together to make the tools, others to drive the oxen and harvest the mature grain, the resulting harvest will be far greater and enough to satisfy the needs of the entire community and trade the same for other necessities. According to Ibn, the amount of effort put into work can be minimized by reconsidering the strategy used to distribute roles and responsibilities among the target population. The available needed is often more than that which is required. Therefore, the residents of the urban areas tend to receive a significantly greater number of resources than the inhabitants of other environments. They will start importing the items that they need from cities that have recorded a surplus of the target product. In this case, the people that witnessed a surplus in harvests end up getting a good deal in terms of wealth.
Geographical Theory On Growth
The geographical environment in Khaldun’s theory of Umran constituted fundamental issues because, according to him, the imposition of unexplained geographical environments is the primary determinant of the state of Umran. Simply put, the larger the geographical environment that is suitable for human prosperity and development is, the greater the urbanization becomes, and vice versa.
Contemporary Muslim Countries and Societies
Although the time in which Ibn Khaldun lived was different from the current era, his theories and approach to economic development can still be successfully applied. Most of the present day Muslim countries have been unable to get rid of what Khaldun considered to be the main cause of the collapse of ancient Islamic civilizations. Besides the present critical political situation in Muslim societies in terms of dictatorship, lack of democracy, no respect for human rights, and injustices, as well as conflicts between the diverse Muslim factions, an absence of national sentiment and unity, which is the same concept that Ibn Khaldun revealed in his pronouncements, is still one of the principle causes of decaying dynasties.
The organization of Islamic countries or OIC’s 2013 economic overview highlighted dreadful figures that are related to the OIC countries’ socio-economic situation. Even though the 57 OIC nations’ population represented close to 22.7% of the global population, they produced just 11.4% of the total global GDP. The discrepancy between the change in the population growth and the drop in the GDP rates can be explained by the fact that the unemployment rates were at 9% that time. Furthermore, the GDP distribution, as well as the change in the income rates, points to the possibility of a social injustice. There is a substantial and growing gap between the richest and the poorest OIC economies. The average per capita GDP on the basis of purchasing power parity or PPP in the wealthiest member state of Qatar ($102,900) was more than 17 times higher the average figure of all the OIC states combined at just over $5,900. Moreover, eighteen OIC member states are presently classified by the World Bank in the bracket of low-income states, and 32 are categorized as middle-income countries. Only sixteen of these countries can be categorized as upper-middle-income countries and seven as high-income countries. The total GDP, as well as the trade of the group of the OIC countries, is still significantly concentrated in just a few of the states. For example, by the beginning of 2013, only ten member countries were responsible for 72.8% of the overall GDP based on their individual purchasing power parity or PPP.
The inflation rates in these OIC economies are relatively high averaging at around 7.4% as of 2014. On the other hand, the Enabling Environment Index or EEI of these countries is ranked as one of the lowest around the globe. This shows that the socio-cultural and socio-economic environment in these contemporary Muslim states is not conducive. These parameters are negatively affected by extensive inequality, income distribution, and absence of welfare as well as widespread injustice. If the Education Index is taken as an example of the low EEI, we can draw a comparison with the Ibn Khaldun Umran model. The model considers training, education, as well as skillfulness as crucial prerequisites to a country’s economic development. On examining the contemporary OIC countries, it was noted that they have some of the lowest indices of these parameters across the globe. Given the current situation of the highlighted Muslim countries, they can apply the Ibn Khaldun model that was implicitly included in his advice to the Al-Mulk’s or rulers that the Al-Mulk does not materialize except through the comprehensive implementation of the Shariah. It should be noted that the sovereign cannot gain strength unless the al-rijal or the people are considered.
The Current Muslim states should strive to maintain a beneficial political and socio-economic environment. They should retain stability and adherence to the nation or what Khaldun referred to as Asabiyyah based on Islamic Shariah objectives and normative ethical, moral, and cultural values. This is possible through the promotion of Islamic humanitarian objectives and norms.
Furthermore, the taxation issue needs to be addressed when considering the use of Ibn Khaldun’s philosophy in the context of a specific state. Seeing that both producers and suppliers are currently facing numerous challenges related to the rigid set of taxation regulations, providing the target organizations with more flexibility could trigger a rise in the economic growth rates. Taxation systems should be viewed as the principal tool for replenishing the state budget. The distribution of the financial resources retrieved from the reconsideration of the current taxation system, however, needs the strategy that will help invest money in development and welfare.
Conclusion
Ibn Khaldun’s prescriptions of achieving a civilized nation are as applicable today as they were during the era when great Islamic empires were gradually declining. This occurs because the present social, economic, and political environments in modern Muslim states to some extent mirror the situation as it was back when Ibn Khaldun first spoke out on his distinguished thoughts, advice, and analysis. The progress that has been witnessed in the developed western countries can also be attributed to the principles that were propounded by Ibn Khaldun more so touching on human rights, freedom, democracy, labor rights, social security, technology, research, and innovation, property rights as well as effective privatization policies. To effectively implement these approaches in current Muslim countries, significant efforts and commitment from economic scholars, politicians,s and other institutions such as the OIC are required. They also have to be backed up by a transparent and dependable legal system that enforces property ownership and rights. Having an independent and transparent legal framework makes the economy attractive to international investors whose entry into would generate jobs and improve the living standards of the people, while at the same time remitting more taxes to the central government. However, the remittances will only make a difference in the country when there is no corruption from state officials and those charged with supervising infrastructural developments.
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