A Comparative Study of the Purpose of Consumer in Islamic and Conventional Economics

@ Mostafa Abutalebdokht Shooraki / PhD Student of Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute

                                                                                                           mostafa_abutaleb2000@yahoo.com

Mohammad Jamal Khalilian Ashkazari / Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute                                                                                                                           m_khalil411@yahoo.com

Mohammad Javad Tavakoli / Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Imam Khomeini Educational and Research Institute                                                                                                                                        tavakoli@iki.ac.ir

Received: 2020/03/15 - Accepted: 2020/09/10

Abstract

The utility maximization is typically introduced as the consumer purpose in a conventional economics; desirability to be used in any sense is based on worldly pleasure, especially material. The extensive utility maximization has been considered as the goal of the consumer including the sum of material and spiritual pleasures in this world and the hereafter according to the Islamic economics with the development of the concept and scope of pleasure. This study examines the purpose of the consumer in Islamic economics and its requirements for using analytical method. The purpose of the consumer in Islamic economics is to maximize the desirability of the hereafter, along with a reasonable level of worldly desirability according to the hypothesis of the study. According to the research findings, accepting extensive utility maximization as a consumer purpose of Islamic economics requires adjusting the enjoyment of material pleasures and moving beyond instrumental rationality. The maximization of mundane utility function, with  ignoring the hereafter utility function not only does not maximize  the extensive utility ; It also minimizes it; because the condition of the study of the deep pleasures, intense and eternal pleasures to the Hereafter, as well as the worldly spiritual pleasures is adjustment which means ignoring some instantaneous and fleeting material worldly pleasures. Moreover, instrumental rationality cannot be the basis for maximizing utility. Therefore, the extensive utility maximization requires modifying material pleasures.

Key words: Consumer purpose, Islamic economics, Conventional economics, Pleasure, Hedonism.

JEL: D11, B00, P4.