Foundations and Institutional Mechanisms of Public Choice in Islamic Economy

One of the basic challenges in the public spheres, which has become an important issue in the new political economy, is the protection of public interests against personal profiteering. This challenge has been accepted in conventional economics as a field reality and based on its foundations, and its modification through the privatization of many public areas has been considered as a solution, which has not had much effect in facing the extent of the problem of public choice. In response to this question, what is the solution of Islamic economics for the problem of public choice? The results of the current research, which was carried out with a descriptive-analytical method, indicate that, based on the foundations of Islamic economics, there is no problem called public choice, at least theoretically, because the conflict of public interests with personal interests through the expansion and development of personal interests into short-term worldly interests. And the long-term interests of the hereafter and putting the interests of the group together with the long-term interests of the individual have been eliminated. From a practical point of view, the institutional mechanisms of Islamic economy such as legal, moral, economic, social and political mechanisms, if they are institutionalized in the society, will realize the desired general choice of Islam. These mechanisms, in complete coordination with each other, provide the grounds for rational choice based on developed rationality for people, due to which, they do not see the public interest apart from their long-term personal interests. This concept of public choice is very important for Iran's economy, which is a resistance economy with an Islamic approach.