Economics is not just a commodity exchange movement; it is a relationship based on awareness. It reflects human nature when facing need, desire limits, and the meaning of sufficiency.
In Ramadan, the population does not change, salaries do not jump exceptionally, nor does the annual consumption volume change. Nevertheless, the pace changes, desires awaken, purchasing accelerates, and demand rises above its usual level as if time itself has shrunk into an intense year spanning thirty days.
What happens economically is not so much a shortage but a repositioning of demand. We do not necessarily consume more, but we consume faster as if we compress time, thereby compressing the market. This creates a temporary imbalance between the naturally phased supply and the psychologically driven accelerating demand, causing prices to move, not because quantities have disappeared, but because the rhythm has changed.
However, the issue is deeper than a mathematical equation, as the market is as much a moral entity as it is an economic one - every price set is a decision, and each decision entails a notion of justice, profit, and limits.
In some seasons, the difference between those who see trade as a social responsibility and those who see it as a temporary opportunity to maximize margins becomes apparent. Profit in itself is not problematic; it is the spirit of economic activity, but when it detaches from the conscience, it becomes a tool to pressure the vulnerable.
The ethics crisis does not appear in times of prosperity but in moments of need. When some capable individuals realize that demand is emotional, and that fear drives people to stock up, prices rise based on the fragility of the moment rather than the actual cost.
Here, the market becomes a mirror reflecting a deeper imbalance in the collective consciousness, turning the spiritual occasion into a peak of consumerism.
In contrast, the consumer also bears his share of the equation, as extravagance is not only an individual act but a force that inflates and exaggerates, as every purchase exceeding the need is a message to the market that demand is ready to pay more. Thus, we circle in a loop feeding on itself, fear creating demand, demand justifying price, and price deepening the fear.
Ramadan, in its essence, is a call to self-discipline before regulating the market. To redefine sufficiency and reconsider the meaning of moderation. If economics is a science of balance, then ethics is the condition for this balance. When the condition is disturbed, the figures inflate.
The market does not have an independent conscience; its conscience is the sum of our consciences, desires, and consumer behavior. If values rise, prices stabilize. And if selfishness advances, the balance falters.
Ultimately, the real question is not why prices rose, but why desires escalated beyond needs, and why the internal regulator was absent when the spiritual season arrived with its highest meanings.
