⚖️ Causes of Social Decline in the Wake of Freedom and Capitalism
❖ The Concept of Freedom in the Seventeenth Century
The notion of freedom as a social concept began to flourish in Europe during the seventeenth century. This concept essentially meant enslavement to the lower self (Nafs al-Ammārah), where a person becomes subservient to his desires, greed, lust, and anger.
According to Immanuel Kant, a free individual is one who is self-reliant and considers his own desires as guidance rather than accepting any divine instruction.
This mindset promotes the idea of “Lā ilāha illa al-insān” — a pure form of ignorance (Jāhiliyyah Khāliṣah), which forms the spiritual core of capitalism.
❖ Capital: The Practical Manifestation of Nafs al-Ammārah
Capital is the practical embodiment of the commands of Nafs al-Ammārah, and it serves as a means to fulfill human desires.
Under the capitalist system, it creates a particular form of individuality, referred to as citizenship.
✔ The citizen engages in legislation through the republic to legally safeguard the rule of capital and desire.
✔ The system of human rights is crucial for the establishment, consolidation, and implementation of the capitalist state.
❖ The Concept of Human Rights and Capitalist Ownership
The concept of human rights also emerged in seventeenth-century Europe.
Key thinkers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Locke were prominent proponents of this idea.
According to Locke:
- Man possesses ownership over his body, and the purpose of this ownership is to participate in the process of production.
Locke classified ownership into three categories:
① Life
② Wealth
③ Opinion
❗ The sole rational objective of all three is to increase capital.
Anyone who does not utilize their life, wealth, and opinion for the growth of capital is not worthy of being considered a human being in the eyes of the capitalist state.
This ideology served as the justification for the massacre of indigenous people in America and the plunder of the continent.
❖ Freedom of Expression and Hostility Toward Religion
Freedom of expression became a weapon in capitalist states, used to dismantle religious governance in Europe.
✔ In France, Britain, and America, it was used to eliminate religious authority.
✔ Founders of the American constitution — Jefferson, Hamilton, and Madison — supported this concept to separate the state from religion.
Objective:
The aim of freedom of expression was to deprive society of divine obedience, so that all social affairs may be decided according to the desires of Nafs al-Ammārah.
The French Revolution stands as a clear example, where religious commandments were rejected under the guise of freedom of expression.
❖ Social Decline through Freedom of Expression
The society established under the guise of freedom of expression succumbs to self-worship, lust, and wrath.
✔ Under state patronage, immorality, unlawful consumption, and deceit are nurtured.
✔ The media and entertainment industry are turned into tools for capital accumulation.
Modern knowledge, including contemporary science and social sciences, rests on the fundamental premise that truth is determined by experience and opinion, and truth itself is ever-changing.
According to Karl Popper:
“Truth is only what can be falsified.”
This very ideology leads to moral degradation and shamelessness in capitalist societies under freedom of expression.
❖ Conclusion
The concepts of freedom and capitalism ultimately become the cause of social destruction and the decline of religious values, as Allama Iqbal remarked:
“Tāzah phir dānish-e-hāzir ne kiyā sehr-e-qadīm
Guzar is ‘ahd mein mumkin nahīn bē chōb-e-Kalīm”
