Trump & Brexit Highlight the Need for more Participation/Islamic Finance

Trump & Brexit are two milestone events that have had global impact and may be an unfortunate sign of greater inequality, financial exclusion and nationalism. This paper proposes that an economic and financial system based on endless debt-fuelled retail consumption and leverage is one of the key drivers behind these events. A non-interest based system - especially for retail would drive better capital allocation, less excess consumptions and a less indebted, stressed and polarised society. This - the author proposes - is a crucial value proposition rarely mentioned in literature typically obsessed with market minutia that does little to advance the cause of Islamic Finance beyond that of debt replication.