相对稀缺原则在人们的需求与欲望，和满足这些需求与欲望所必需的手段之间建立了一种关系。稀缺原则断言，人有某些需要得到满足的需求，而要让人生存下去，必须有某些手段来满足这些需求。资本主义所承认的需求是物质方面的需求，例如对食物、衣物、药品、教育和安全的需求。道德需求与价值，如骄傲、荣誉和社会责任，或精神需求，如对上帝旨意的尊崇，则不为资本主义体系所承认。非物质方面的需求被忽视，在经济学研究中没有一席之地。米尔顿·弗里德曼证实了这一观点，他说："对于一个经济实体而言，赚钱是其唯一的社会责任。"37

The relative scarcity principle establishes a relation between the needs and the desires of people on one hand and the means necessary to satisfy these needs and desires on the other hand. The scarcity principle asserts that man has certain needs, which require satisfaction, and there must be some means to satisfy these needs in order for man to survive. The needs recognized by capitalism are the materialistic ones, such as the need for food, clothing, medicine, education, and security. The moral needs and values such as pride, honour, and social responsibility, or spiritual needs such as the sanctification of God’s will, are not acknowledged by the capitalist system. Nonmaterialistic needs are disregarded and have no place in the economic studies. Milton Friedman confirms this view when he says, “Making money is the only social responsibility for an economic entity”37.

商品和服务与需求之间的关系十分简单。商品和服务内含一定的效用，而效用正是使某物令人渴望的原因；因为产品内在的效用，使其能够满足人的某种需求。因此，从经济角度看，只要有人因某产品能满足其部分需求而渴望它，该产品（任何东西）便被视为具有经济效益。具有经济效益的产品可以是必需品，也可以是次要的；可以有用，也可以有害。商品或服务具有经济价值的唯一标准，就是其内含的效用使其能够满足人的一项或多项物质需求。因此，葡萄酒、烟草、毒品、枪械和苹果都被视为有益，因为有人渴望它们。股票、衍生品、利息（高利贷）也同样有益，只要有人能从其使用中获益。电动汽车在节能和环保方面为社会带来巨大益处。然而，这些产品的经济效益远低于燃油汽车的经济效益；因此，只有当石油价格飙升到足够高的水平时，电动汽车才可能在经济上可行。

The relationship between commodities and services on one hand and the needs on the other hand is straightforward. Commodities and services embody within them certain benefits. The benefit is what makes something desirable; because the benefit inherent in a product is what enables that product to satisfy a human need. Therefore, a product (anything) is considered beneficial from the economic perspective if some people have a desire for the product, because it satisfies some of their needs. An economically beneficial product can be essential or marginal, useful or harmful. The only criterion for a commodity or service to have an economic value is the benefit embedded within the commodity or service which enables them to satisfy one or more of the human materialistic needs. Thus wine, tobacco, drugs, guns, and apples are considered to be beneficial because there are people who desire them. Stocks, derivatives, interest (usury) are also beneficial as long as there is someone who would benefit from their use. Electric cars carry great benefits to the society in terms of energy saving and environment friendliness. However, the economic benefit of these products is far less than the economic benefit of petroleum-based vehicles; hence, electric cars may become economically feasible only when the price of oil soars so high.

资本家看待满足需求的手段，也就是商品和服务，只从它们能够满足某种需要的角度出发，而不考虑其他任何因素。资本主义认为葡萄酒是一种有益的、具有经济价值的产品，因为它满足了一些人的需要。酿酒者则被视为提供了一种具有经济价值的服务的人，因为他满足了一些人的需要。

The capitalist looks at the means of satisfaction, that is, the commodities and services, from the viewpoint that they satisfy a need, without taking any other factor into consideration. Capitalism considers wine a beneficial product with economic value because it satisfies the needs of some people. The winemaker is perceived as one who provides a service with an economic value because he satisfies the need of some people.

资本主义本身并不关心社会的本质,而是关注经济物质资源(经济商品与服务),将其视为满足人类物质需求的手段。这一观点实质上界定了资本主义经济制度的首要功能:提供商品与服务以满足人的需要,而不考虑其他任何因素。需要注意的是,道德因素并不在资本主义的核心基础之中。

Capitalism, as such, does not concern itself with the nature of society, but rather with the economic material resources (economic commodities and services), as means of satisfying human materialistic needs. This view in essence defines the primary function of the capitalist economic system: supply commodities and services to satisfy man’s needs, irrespective of any other consideration. Note that the moral factor is absent from the core foundation of capitalism.

资本主义认为，相对于人类的需求而言，商品和服务是有限的。人类的需求被认为是无限的，并且在不断增长。资本主义还认为，除了必须满足的基本需求之外，还存在其他非必需的需求和欲望，并且随着人类迈向更高水平的城市化，这些需求和欲望会持续增加。满足所有这些不断增殖和增长的需求，是一个无论生产多少商品和服务都无法完全实现的目标。换言之，相对于需要这些商品和服务的需求而言，商品和服务将始终是稀缺的。

Capitalism believes that the commodities and services are limited relative to the human needs. The human needs are thought to be unlimited and constantly growing. Capitalism also believes that besides the basic and primary needs, which must be satisfied, there are other non-essential needs and desires which continue to increase as man proceeds to a higher level of urbanization. Satisfying all these needs which continue to multiply and increase is a goal that cannot be completely fulfilled, no matter how much commodities and services are produced. In other words, the commodities and services will always be scarce relative to the needs which require these commodities and services.

这一原则为资本主义政治经济学的主要目标提供了依据，也界定了资本主义所要解决的核心问题。具体而言，这一问题可以用以下问题来表述：如何利用不足的资源和满足手段，去满足不断增长的人类需求？这正是“产品相对稀缺”原则的实质（34，35）。满足重要性各异的目的所需手段的稀缺，几乎是人类行为无处不在的状况46。

This principle provides the basis for defining the main objective of the capitalist political economy and it formulates the main problem addressed by capitalism. In particular, this problem is defined by the following question: how to satisfy ever-growing human needs using insufficient resources and means of satisfaction? This is the essence of the principle of “relative scarcity of products” (34, 35). Scarcity of means to satisfy ends of varying importance is an almost ubiquitous condition of human behavior46.

从这一视角看，社会面临一个经济问题，即商品和服务的相对短缺。这种短缺的必然结果是，某些需求只能得到部分满足，甚至完全无法满足。手段既然稀缺，就不可能全部实现所有目标；根据手段的稀缺程度及各目标的相对重要性，某些目标便不得不被放弃。在这种情况下，社会成员有必要就规则达成一致，以决定哪些需求应当得到满足，哪些需求应当被搁置。换言之，有必要确立一项规则，来决定如何将有限的资源分配到无限的需求上。这些规则又由另外两项原则进一步界定，即产品的价值以及价格机制。

From this perspective, the society faces an economic problem, which is the relative shortage of commodities and services. The inevitable result of this shortage is that some needs are either partially satisfied or not satisfied at all. If the means are scarce, they cannot all be achieved, and according to the scarcity of means and their relative importance, the achievement of some ends has to be relinquished46. In this case, it is necessary that the members of society agree on rules that decide which needs have to be satisfied and which needs are to be deprived. In other words, it is necessary to set a rule that decides the manner of distributing the limited resources over the unlimited needs. These rules are further defined by the other two principles, namely, the value of the product and the price mechanism.

请注意，资本主义所要解决的主要问题是一般意义上的需求与资源，而非某个人或某位人士的具体需求。问题在于如何使资源得以供应，以满足需求，但未必是约翰或哈桑的需求。解决这一问题最自然、最直接的办法是实现最高水平的生产，以便向整个国家提供最高水平的商品和服务。这并不等同于将资源直接分配给个人。

Note that the main problem addressed by capitalism is the needs and resources in general and not the specific needs of a man or human. The problem is to make resources available to satisfy the needs, but not necessarily the needs of John or Hasan. The natural and straightforward solution for this problem is to achieve the highest level of production, in order to supply the highest level of goods and services to the nation as a whole. This does not mean the supply of resources to individuals per se.

分配商品与服务的问题与生产问题紧密相连。经济研究的目标是增加社会所消费的商品与服务的供给。在资本主义制度下，经济健康指标包括衡量社会生产速度的国内生产总值或国民生产总值（GDP、GNP）以及股票市场指数。因此，增加国民生产便是资本主义制度下与经济问题相关的最重要的研究之一：“商品和服务相对于需求而言的稀缺。”简言之，相对稀缺界定了问题，也决定了解决之道。需求与欲望不断增长，资源却不足。于是要不断生产更多的资源。这被视为解决社会经济问题（包括贫困与匮乏问题）的办法。相对稀缺原则存在若干缺陷，必然会在生活于资本主义制度下的社会中造成严重的错误，并最终可能导致该制度的崩溃。

The problem of distributing the goods and services is closely connected to the problem of production. The objective of economic studies and research is to increase the supply of goods and services which are consumed by the society. Under capitalism, the economic health indicators include the gross domestic or national product (GDP, GNP) and stock market indexes which measure the rate of production in a society. Thus the problem of increasing the national production is one of the most important studies related to the economic problem under capitalism: “the scarcity of the commodities and services in relation to the needs.” In short, the relative scarcity defines the problem and dictates the solution. Needs and desires are growing. Resources are not sufficient. Produce more and more of the resources. This is the solution to the economic problems of the society including the problem of poverty and deprivation. The principle of relative scarcity has several defects, which are bound to cause serious errors in the societies living under capitalism and could eventually cause the collapse of the system.

资本主义经济制度的主要目标是增加国家的整体财富,它力求通过尽可能高的生产水平来实现这一目标。这直接源于"产品相对稀缺"理论。为弥补产品的不足,需要最大限度地增加产品(商品和服务)的生产。通过提高国民收入或国民生产总值,可以最大程度地满足人民的需求。这一目标通过提高国内生产水平实现,并且让个人在不受束缚的情况下工作和生产,从而使其获得财富。经济的目标并不是满足个人的需求,也不是促进社区中每个个体的需求得到满足;相反,资本主义关注的是通过提高生产水平和增加国家国民收入,来满足整个社会的需求。社会成员之间的收入分配,是通过财产自由、工作自由以及"价格机制"的作用来实现的。个人可以从国民财富总额中获取其能够得到的任何财富。每个人都竭尽所能,运用自己所能负担的任何手段、技能或工具来争取自己的那一份财富。只要商品生产持续增长、财富持续增加,个人能否满足自身需求,便不是经济所关心的问题。

The main objective of the capitalist economic system is to increase the country’s wealth as a whole, and it strives to achieve that through the highest possible level of production. This is a direct result of the theory of “relative scarcity of products.” To compensate for the shortage of products, it is required to maximize the production of products (commodities and services). The highest level of satisfaction of the needs of the people results from increasing the national income, or the gross national product. This is achieved by raising the level of production in the country, and by enabling individuals to acquire the wealth as they are left free to work and produce. It is not the objective of the economy to satisfy the needs of the individuals or to facilitate the satisfaction of every individual in the community; rather capitalism concentrates on satisfying the needs of the community as a whole by raising the level of production and increasing the national income of the country. The distribution of income among the members of society occurs by means of freedom of possession and freedom of work and by the utility of the “price mechanism”. It is left to the individuals to acquire whatever wealth they can get from the total sum of the national wealth. Everyone strives to get his/her share of the wealth using whatever means, skills, or tools he/she can afford. Whether the individual is or is not able to satisfy his/her needs is not of concern to the economy, as long as the production of goods continues to grow, and the wealth continues to grow.

因此,个人的贫困不被视为经济体系需要解决的问题。这种对贫困的看法本质上是错误的,因为它既无法改善个人的生活,也无法满足每个人的基本需求。事实上,"相对稀缺"这一定义本身就为个人的贫困敞开了大门。既然人们承认社会中现有的资源不足以满足所有人的需要,那么那些能更快、更便捷地获取财富的人自然会占有更多财富。社会中总会有一部分人落后,获得更少,消费更少,最终跌破贫困线。

Consequently, the poverty of the individuals is not considered a problem for the economic system to resolve. This view of poverty is inherently wrong because it does not improve the life of individuals, and does not fulfil the basic needs of every individual. In fact, the very definition of relative scarcity opens the door wide open for the poverty of individuals. Since it is recognized that the resources that exist in a society are not enough to satisfy the needs of all, it is only natural for the ones who have faster and more access to wealth to acquire more of it. There will always be a segment of the society which will lag behind, acquire less, and consume less, and eventually fall below poverty lines.

经济制度所要解决的是人的需要以及满足这些需要的手段。作为满足需要手段的商品和服务的生产，与这些商品和服务的分配，被资本主义视为一个不可分割的整体课题。商品和服务分配的问题被包含在商品和服务生产的问题之中。资本主义作为一种制度，并不区分生产与产品的占有。因此，资本主义者将经济学与经济制度纳入同一个范畴之中，而不加以区别。

The economic system addresses the needs of people and the means of satisfying these needs. The production of commodities and services, which are the means of satisfying the needs, together with the distribution of these commodities and services, are treated by capitalism as one subject, inseparable from each other. The subject matter of the distribution of commodities and services is embedded within the subject of the production of commodities and services. Capitalism as a system does not distinguish between production on one hand and possession of products on the other hand. Consequently, the capitalists integrate the economic science and the economic system within the scope of one subject without differentiating between both.

实际上，经济制度与经济科学之间应当有清楚的区分。经济制度（其原则、法律、规章）处理财富的占有、支出和分配问题。财富的占有、支出和分配因人们对生活的观点或意识形态而异。例如，伊斯兰在财富的占有、所有权、支出和分配等问题上，就不同于社会主义/共产主义和资本主义。这些制度各自都有其关于生活的意识形态观点。例如，每种意识形态对所有权问题的处理方式都不同。资本主义强调私有制，社会主义/共产主义采用公有制，而伊斯兰则同时采用私有和公有两种所有制。

In reality, though, there should be a clear difference between the economic system and economic science. The economic system (its principles, laws, regulations) deals with the issues of wealth possession, expenditure, and distribution. Possession, spending, and distribution of wealth vary according to the viewpoint about life or ideology. Islam, for example, differs from socialism/communism and capitalism in issues related to possession, ownership, spending, and distribution. Each of these systems has its own ideological viewpoint of life. For example, each ideology treats the issue of ownership in a different manner. While capitalism emphasizes private ownership, socialism/ communism utilizes public ownership, and Islam uses both private and public ownership.

经济学研究生产、产品改进、发明以及生产资料。与其他任何科学一样，经济学对所有民族都具有普遍性，并不隶属于某一种意识形态。例如，改进生产本质上是一个技术性的科学问题，无论人们持何种意识形态或人生观，都可以加以采用。以自动化作为改进产品的手段为例，资本主义者、社会主义者或穆斯林都可以使用，不存在任何意识形态上的障碍。

Economic science deals with production, product improvement, invention, and the means of production. Economic science, like any other sciences, is universal to all nations and is not particular to any one ideology. The improvement of production, for instance, is a technical scientific issue and can be adopted by people irrespective of their ideology or life view. For example, automation as a means of product improvement can be used by capitalists, socialists, or Muslims without any ideological barriers.

资源生产与其获取、分配方式之间的这种割裂，是资本主义制度的一个根本缺陷，必然导致错误，并可能使资本主义经济走向失败。每当资本家面对贫困问题时，他们往往选择生产更多的产品，而不是着眼于分配他们已经拥有的产品；而这些现有产品很可能已经绰绰有余，足以喂饱饥饿的人、安置无家可归的人并医治病人。

The integration between the production of the economic resources and the manner of their acquisition and distribution is a fundamental fault in the capitalist system which is bound to cause errors and potential failure in the economy of capitalism. When capitalists face the issue of poverty, they resort to produce more products instead of focusing on distributing the ones which they already have and might be more than enough to feed the hungry and house the homeless and treat the ill.

资本主义只把物质需求视为需要满足的唯一需求。这是资本主义的一个严重缺陷，因为它违背了人的本性，人既有物质需求，也有非物质需求。除了物质需要，人还有本能、情感、感觉、理智和心灵。其中每一个方面都需要得到满足和/或加以调节。饥饿就是需要食物来满足的物质需求的一例。恐惧则是非物质需求的一例，是生存本能的一种表现。贪婪也是生存本能的另一种表现。这两类需求都应当得到重视和照顾。几乎所有人都一致认为，贪婪和恐惧对近期的金融危机影响最大。忽视非物质需求，很容易让贪婪之类的品性主导生产和获取的方式。结果，贫困就成了规模如同流行病一般、难以根除的问题。非物质需求还包括崇拜和尊崇神的需要、爱与恨的需要、骄傲与爱国的需要，以及许多其他需要。

Capitalism views the materialistic needs as the only ones which need to be satisfied. This is a serious flaw in Capitalism because it violates the natural composition of a human being which exhibits both materialistic and non-materialistic needs. Besides the material needs, humans have instincts, emotions, feelings, intellect, and mind. Each of these units requires satisfaction and/or organization. Hunger is an example of a material need which requires food for its satisfaction. Fear is an example of nonmaterial needs which is a manifestation of the survival instinct. Greed is another manifestation of the instinct of survival. Both needs should be addressed and taken care of. It is almost unanimous that greed and fear had the greatest impact on the most recent financial crisis. Ignoring the nonmaterialistic needs can easily allow traits such as greed to dominate the production and acquisition practices. As a result, poverty becomes irresolvable problem with epidemic proprtions. The nonmaterialistic needs also include the needs to worship and sanctify a God, the needs of love and hate, the needs of pride and patriotism, and may many more.

如果忽视这些需求，或在生产和消费产品时认为它们无关紧要，就会在社会中造成巨大的不平等。在资本主义之下，人们普遍认为，企业股东的唯一作用就是赚钱。企业的社会责任问题已达到流行病般的程度，这是众所周知的。市场（生产与消费）中道德价值的缺失，对社会的整体福祉产生严重影响，进而不可避免地影响经济的福祉。如前所述，道德危机被广泛认为是导致主要金融机构倒闭的金融危机的一个重要原因。随着时间推移，道德价值的衰败是一种自然且可预见的结果，因为资本主义在生产和消费的循环中只关注和聚焦于物质需求。

Failure to address these needs or considering them irrelevant at the time of production and consumption of products create a great disparity in the society. It has become widely known under capitalism that the only role of a stakeholder in a company is to make money. Social responsibility of corporates is known to be a problem with epidemic scale. The absence of moral values in the market (production and consumption) has serious impacts on the overall well-being of the society, which invariably affects the well-being of the economy. As discussed earlier, moral crisis had been widely acknowledged to be a major factor behind the financial crisis which led to the collapse of major financial institutions. The decay of moral values over time is a natural and expected consequence of the fact that capitalism focuses and concentrates only on materialistic needs during the cycle of production and consumption.

在工作场所中，基于性别、种族、肤色和民族的歧视，正是物质需求与非物质需求之间这种割裂的直接结果。直到1963年政府介入之前，美国资本主义体制下的企业可以向女性支付低于男性的薪酬，即便两者从事的是同一份工作。1963年，前总统约翰·F·肯尼迪签署了《同工同酬法》（Equal Pay Act）43，规定雇主向从事相同工作、做相同工作内容的男性和女性支付不平等薪资属于违法行为。1963年，女性每赚取一美元男性收入，只能得到五十九美分；而到了2009年，女性每赚取一美元男性收入，仍只能得到七十八美分。非裔美国女性和西班牙裔女性的薪酬，仍远低于白人男性和白人女性（分别只有每美元六十四美分和五十四美分）。

如前所述,资本主义不重视任何价值,只重视产品的物质价值和人类需求的物质属性。米尔顿·弗里德曼37认为,企业的社会责任就是实现利润最大化,除赚钱之外承担任何其他社会责任的做法都是一种非法税负,甚至是盗窃;实现利润最大化将为社会带来总体上最好的结果。

As noted above, capitalism does not give weight to any value, except to the material value of the product and the material nature of the human need. According to Milton Friedman37, the social responsibility of business is to maximize profits and any commitment to fulfilling social responsibilities other than making money is an illegitimate tax, or even theft; maximizing profits will produce the best overall consequences for society.

值得注意的是,商业伦理学直到20世纪70年代才在美国作为一门学科兴起;国际商业伦理学则出现在20世纪90年代末。这清楚表明,经济中的伦理层面并非建立在资本主义的核心理论之上。商业世界中的伦理问题,是因不道德的行为而出现的,而这些行为已再也无法被忽视。

It is interesting to note that the study of business ethics did not emerge as a field of study in the United States until the 1970s; international business ethics emerged in the late 1990s45. This is a clear indication that the ethical aspects of the economy are not based in the core theory of capitalism. The ethical aspects in the business world emerged as a result of unethical practices, which no longer could be ignored.

缺乏商业中的伦理与道德维度，并且绝对地专注于赚钱和牟利，是资本主义理论起源中的一个重大缺陷。这必然会滋生无数不道德的做法，从而对整体经济的稳定造成不利影响。据西奥多·罗斯福·马洛克24所言，道德价值无法通过培训课程、课程开发或执行摘要来重新确立。一旦非物质需求被忽视，道德便已从这一体系中剥离出去。

The absence of the ethical and moral aspect of the business and the absolute focus on making money and profit is a major flaw in the origin of the theories of capitalism. This is bound to create a myriad of unethical practices, which adversely impacts the stability of the economy at large. According to Theodore Roosevelt Malloch24, the moral values cannot be reinstated through training sessions, course development, or executive summaries. Morality has been detached from the system the moment the nonmaterialistic needs were ignored.

在资本主义之下，救济穷人（一种财富分配的形式）只有在带来物质利益时才会进行，例如减税。但这种行为不会是为了响应真主的命令，也不会是为了追求真主的喜悦与悦纳。大多数在资本主义世界中行之有效的慈善组织都以宗教为基础，这并不令人意外。

Under capitalism, feeding a poor (a form of wealth distribution) may be done only if it brings a material benefit, such as tax break. But it will not happen in response to an order from God or in pursuit of God’s pleasure and satisfaction. It is not surprising that most of the effective charity organizations in the capitalist world are religion based.

除了在生产和消费过程中缺乏道德和伦理因素之外,资本主义还未能认识到:社会整体有其特定的需要,这些需要不同于个人的需要。如前所述,资本主义以政教分离的原则为基础。此外,它建立在所有权自由之上,强调私有产权原则。这一基础使资本家相信:社会仅由相互往来的个人组成,人们通过交换各自的努力和/或产品来满足彼此的需要。在资本主义者看来,社会的主要组成部分是个人。人与人之间发生的主要交易,是与产品和努力的交换相关的交易。国家在社会中只是一种工具,其主要职能是保障交易的自由进行。为了完成这一任务,国家需要人民(通过纳税)付费,以回报国家向社会中的个人所提供的服务。这种对社会的看法是有缺陷的。

Besides the absence of the moral and ethical factor in the production and consumption process, capitalism fails to recognize the fact that the society as a whole has certain needs which are different from those of the individuals. Capitalism, as discussed earlier, is based on the principle idea of separation of church and state. Further, it is built upon the freedom of ownership which emphasizes the private ownership principle. This foundation has led the capitalists to believe that the society is made only of the people who interact with each other in order to satisfy each other’s needs through the exchange of their efforts and/or products. The main component of the society in the capitalist’s view is the people. The main transactions, which occur between people, are those related to the exchange of products and efforts. The state in the society is a tool, whose main function is to guarantee the free execution of transactions. In order to accomplish its task, the state needs to be paid by the people (through taxes) in return to the services provided by the state to individuals in the society. Such view of the society is flawed.

资本家声称，任何社会面临的经济问题都是商品和服务的稀缺。他们还主张，需求持续增长而又无法全部满足，即商品和服务不足以完全满足人类的所有需要，才是经济问题的根源。这种观点是错误的，而且很可能与人性相抵触。必须满足的需要是个人作为人所具有的基本需要（食物、住所、健康和衣着），而非奢侈的需要，尽管后者也应当追求。人的基本需要是有限的，他们所称的商品和服务所依托的资源与努力，确实足以满足人类的基本需要；完全满足全人类的基本需要是可能的。换言之，产生问题的并非资源的不可得，而是资源的分配。因此，经济问题应当是资源的分配问题，即以一种能使每个人充分满足其基本需要、并帮助他们努力获取奢侈需要的方式来分配资源。

The capitalists claim that the economic problem which faces any society is the scarcity of commodities and services. They also claim that the steadily increasing needs and the inability to satisfy all of them, i.e., the insufficiency of commodities and services to satisfy all of man’s needs completely, is the basis of the economic problem. This view is erroneous and and may well collide with the human nature. The needs which must be met are the basic needs of the individual as a human (food, shelter, health, and clothing), and not the luxurious ones, although they too should be pursued. The basic needs of humans are limited, and the resources and the efforts which they call the commodities and services are certainly sufficient to satisfy the basic human needs; it is possible to satisfy all of the basic needs of mankind completely. In other words, it is not the unavailability of the resources that creates the problem; rather it is the distribution of these resources. The economic problem should, therefore, be the distribution of the resources in a manner to enable every individual to completely satisfy their basic needs and to help them to strive for attaining their luxurious needs.

对于需求不断增长的说法并不准确。人作为人的基本需求并不会增长，它们是固定且界定清晰的。奢侈性需求则可能增加并随之变化。城市化程度的提高确实会增加对奢侈品的需求；但无论城市如何发展，基本需求始终保持不变。一个人无法满足其非必需的奢侈性需求，并不会在社会中造成问题；真正造成问题的，是无法满足基本需求，例如对食物、住所、衣着和健康的需求。据报道，先知穆罕默德ﷺ曾说："谁家中安宁，身体健康，且当日有食物，他便已获得了他一生所需的一切。"67

The reference to the steadily increasing needs is not accurate. The basic needs of man as a human do not increase. They are fixed and well defined. The luxurious needs may increase and vary. It is true that the advancement in various levels of urbanization increases demands for luxuries; but certainly the basic needs remain the same irrespective of urban development. The inability of a person to satisfy his luxurious non-essential needs does not cause a problem in the society; what causes a problem is the inability to satisfy the basic needs such as the needs for food, shelter, clothing, and health. Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is reported to have said, “He who has security at his home, a healthy body, and food for his day, indeed has attained all the needs for his life”67.

此外,日益增长的奢侈需求问题,只与一国中的部分人有关,而并非与所有个人有关。这一问题可通过人类满足自身需求的天然动机来解决。这一动机驱使人们努力满足这些奢侈需求。一国民众可以通过扩大国家资源、到其他国家工作,或提高产品、货物和服务的质量来满足这些需求。这属于提高和改善生产质量的方式与手段问题,是经济科学的范畴,而非经济制度的问题。这与彻底满足社会中每一个个体的基本需求的问题不同,后者属于经济制度的问题,而非经济科学的问题。

Moreover, the question of the increasing luxuries is a question which is related to some people and not to all individuals in a country. This question is solved through the natural motivation of a human to satisfy his needs. This motive drives man to work towards satisfying these luxurious needs. People in a given country may meet these demands by expanding the resources of the country, working in other countries, or improving the quality of products, goods, and services. This is a matter related to the means and ways of increasing and improving the quality of production, which is an issue of economic science rather than economic system. That is different from the issue of completely satisfying the basic needs of each and every individual in society, which is a problem of the economic system rather than the economic science.