Islamic principles of limited government

Since I know that most people don't want to read a 22-page article called An Islamic Perspective on the Wealth of Nations, I plan to summarize a few of its highlights in my blog, inshallah. The article is divided into four major parts, dealing respectively with private ownership of property, hard currency monetary policy, low taxation, and limited government. In the article, author Imad ad-Dean Ahmad sets out several principles that Muslim nations should follow. These include:

• Decentralization of ownership of the resources down to the level of the individual, protected by a system of well-defined private property rights including the internalization of costs incurred by environmental impact must be the first concern of any Islamic government towards the end of an economically successful society.
• In any case, sound monetary policy is a pre-requisite for sustainable comprehensive development. Hard money is the sunnah method for establishing sound money through the natural process of the market.
• If Muslim states wish to see prospering economies they should reduce the variety and size of taxes. Ideally they should impose only those taxes authorized by the Quran and at those rates practiced by the righteous caliphs.
• Muslim states which wish to see an industrial revolution should pursue a policy that permits the private sector to engage in any and all lawful pursuits.

I'm not an economist so I can't go into a great deal of detail explaining what Ahmad is saying but the clear thrust of all of his arguments is that the government needs to get out of peoples' lives and out of their dealings with each other (which make up the basis of the economy). Ahmad also believes that limited government is the Islamic way and the example of the Prophet Muhammad (sAas) and the early caliphs and he cites verses of the Quran and historical narratives to back up his case. Next: A look at the "hard currency" issue.