A Case for Non Interest Banking in Nigeria amidst the Collapsing Paradigms in the Global Economy

Abstract

This paper argues for reconsideration and reevaluation of the underlying assumptions and paradigms of the world capitalist system in particular and that of economics in general. This is against the backdrop of an increasing discontent of majority of the world's people against the growing inequality between the rich and the poor. It contends that the genesis of the problem is rooted in the concept of the selfish, individuated economic man, which has fueled our appetite for greed, selfishness and unbridled primitive capitalist accumulation. Thus these clannish and narrow assumptions must be relaxed to bring in the more altruistic, non-material components of man. This new philosophy and concept of our economic man incidentally aligns with the principles of Islamic banking, a variant of non-interest banking. But it cautions that the imperatives of citizen education and a de-emphasis on religious sentiments are central to guaranteeing the success of the programme. Keywords: Non-interest banking, Crumbling orthodoxy, Economic man, Paradigm shift 1. Introduction The current recession, also termed melt down, started in 2007 due to the subprime mortgage crises in the US, and the latter and other Western nations have been [...]