Money and Sustainability

This paper overviews the political-economics of FIAT and asset-based money. The paper further highlights the presumably syariah standpoint of the impartiality character of money as the fundamental factor that differentiates money from her conventional counterpart. The paper argues that while it is ideal for asset-based money to make a comeback in the interest of holistic wellbeing (maslahah) of humankind, it necessarily be complemented by an appropriate financial and regulatory system to safeguard its impartiality, i.e., viz, non-tradable, non-interest bearing, and non-debt financing to avoid the recurring pitfalls which are immanent in conventional financial system. It is hoped this rather concise paper will offer a thought provoking discourse on how syariah principles may present the world a useful ideological construct for a new monetary and financial architecture in light of the global financial crises.