280 chapter six
man acquires through his effort and work in combination of what
God has provided. Kasb, Ibn-Khaldùn continued, constituted two
things: first, livelihood, when this corresponded to necessities and
basic needs, and second, luxuries and capital accumulation when
kasbgenerated a surplus above the basic needs. Kasb, therefore, could
be referred to as earnings, which could be spent on sustenance and
luxuries and saving, or in other words, earnings equal consumption
and saving. The line between earnings and income seems to be fine,
and if the two words can be used interchangeably, Ibn-Khaldùn’s
equation would become, in modern economic terms, income equals
consumption and saving —the Keynesian equation.
Furthermore, Ibn-Khaldùn’s analysis differentiates between what
is earned by the person himself through his work and effort and
what is acquired through the transfer of earnings. While the first is
referred to as earnings, the second, though is regarded as earnings
to the transferor, is not so considered to the transferee, instead, it is
a transfer of wealth. Inherited wealth is an example. While the inher-
ited legacy was of the deceased’s earnings during his life, and regarded
as such, it is not considered as such to heirs to whom the legacy is
a transfer of wealth. This is a fine differentiation that has two impli-
cations: first, the emphasis on the ethical value of work and effort
in acquiring earnings, and second, the differentiation between earn-
ings, or income, and capital. In emphasising the last point, Ibn-
Khaldùn clarified that when the legacy was used by heirs, the benefits
generated from it would be referred to as income.
Turning his attention to the concept of value, Ibn-Khaldùn, with-
out ignoring other factors, relied on labour as a main determinant
factor of value. “A portion of value whether large or small, comes
form labour”, he stated. But he conditioned the application of that
concept by two main factors: first, the type of article to which the
value was measured and the relative importance of the component
of labour in the production of the article, and second, the level of
skill and expertise required in production. About the first, using an
example from the farming industry, he ascertained, “The share of
labour may be concealed in regions where farming requires little
care and few implements”. In relation to the second, the skilled
labour and high expertise, he verified, “It should be further known
that the capital a person earns and acquires, if resulting from a craft,
is the value realised from his labour. There is nothing here except