3: Compatibility Between Marxist and Islamic Economic Thought

The chapter observes that the Abrahamic religions prohibit interest primarily because it is seen as a source of exploitation and injustice. Marx shared this concern, arguing that interest lacks any objective economic basis and is instead determined by bargaining power, allowing systematic exploitation under capitalism. However, even a socialist economy requires mechanisms to mobilize idle funds for productive investment, and Marx did not fully address how socialism could manage investment risks and uncertainties. This raises an open question: whether advances in information and communications technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence might enable new monetary forms – such as labour money or Socialist Money (S-Money) – that mitigate exploitation while facilitating efficient capital allocation.