Revisiting the Mission of Islamic Finance Amid Rising Global Consumerism

What the paper says

A deepening culture of consumerism increasingly defines modern economic life; an ethos systematically engineered and sustained by capitalist financial structures and, more specifically, by the evolving business models of commercial banks. What began historically as an intermediary role for facilitating productive activity has shifted into an elaborate financial architecture that promotes relentless consumption, often at the cost of social stability, ethical values, and long-term shared well-being. Global data shows that household consumption makes up over sixty percent of a nation's GDP, with Pakistan ranking 13th, consuming 85.24% of its GDP in household consumption 1 (TheGlobalEconomy.com, 2025) . Furthermore, according to some, market estimates the 2 total consumer spending in the world amounts to around USD 63.12 trillion in 2025 . This expansion reflects not only rising global incomes but also a manufactured dependence on credit-driven consumer behavior that capitalism has created worldwide. The structural consequences are visible: according to the International Monetary Fund (2024), global household debt amounts to about 54 percent of global GDP, rather than remaining reliably below disposable income, which nonetheless highlights how deeply consumption is now 3 intertwined with borrowed future earnings . It's despite the fact, however, that the global private debt fell during 2023 by 2.8 percentage points to 143 percent of GDP.