Buddhist Economics

The first thing, which many associate with Buddhism, is the image of a monk. This image doesn'€™t comply with our €˜traditional€™ thoughts about economics. Skyscrapers, malls, stock market on the other hand though would conjure up an image of Economics. This mainly happens because while talking about economics we conform to Western standards and vocabularies, hence it has been difficult in the past to avoid these while talking about Buddhist economies. The term "Buddhist economics" may evoke the image of an ideal society where all economic activity -- buying and selling, production and consumption -- conforms to strict ethical standards. But such an idealized image, attractive as it may sound, does not convey the full depth of the Buddha's teachings.

The concept of Buddhist economies arises from one of the Buddha’s eightfold noble paths, which states €œRight Livelihood”.

Ernst Schumacher coined the term “Buddhist Economics€ in the year 1955 when he travelled to Burma as an economic consultant to Prime Minister U Nu. He was one of the first to integrate Buddha’s teachings with Economics and his book €œ"Small is Beautiful"€ is considered to be the treatise for the same. Mr. Schumacher's point that the existence of Right Livelihood as one of the factors of the Noble Eightfold Path necessitates a Buddhist economics has a number of implications. Firstly, it indicates the importance given to Right Livelihood (or economics) in Buddhism. Secondly, and conversely, it means that economics is taken to be merely one amongst a number of factors (traditionally eight) that comprise a right way of life, that is, one capable of solving the problems of life.

 

 

Role of religion and ethics in shaping Buddhist Economics

 

Economics and all the Social Sciences according to Buddhist economists is completely removed from reality and based solely on man made truths. Buddhist economics takes a spiritual approach, as such it does not delve into the technical aspect of Economics but it examines the basic fears, emotions and desires that motivate our economic activity. Hence ethics play a major role in Buddhist economics and it tries to move away from the objectivity of Modern economics and delve into the subjective aspect of Economics and takes into consideration both the absolute and also the abstract.

Buddhist economics departs from the Modern economic principles in a lot of areas, which include resources like labour, acquisition of wealth, distribution of wealth. It seeks to be socially just and counts on people to be ethical in dealings amongst themselves and not resort to economic exploitation, which is on display everywhere today. Hence it seeks to obtain the €œMiddle Way€ which can be best explained through this verse, "Don't eat just because you feel like it, eat when you feel hungry . . ."

 

 

Problems with modern economic concepts

Like other sciences in this age of specialization, economics has become a narrow and rarefied discipline; an isolated, almost stunted, body of knowledge, having little to do with other disciplines or human activities. Ideally, the sciences should provide solutions to the complex, interrelated problems that face humanity, but cut off as it is from other disciplines and the larger sphere of human activity, economics can do little to ease the ethical, social and environmental problems that face us today. And given the tremendous influence it exerts on our market-driven societies, narrow economic thinking may, in fact, be the primary cause of some of our most pressing social and environmental troubles.

    Like other sciences, economics strives for objectivity. In the process, however, subjective values, such as ethics, are excluded. With no consideration of subjective, moral values, an economist may say, for instance, that a bottle of whiskey and a Chinese dinner have the same economic value, or that drinking in a night club contributes more to the economy than listening to a religious talk or volunteering for humanitarian work. These are truths according to economics.

    But the objectivity of economics is shortsighted. Economists look at just one short phase of the natural causal process and single out the part that interests them, ignoring the wider implications. Thus, modern economists take no account of the ethical consequences of economic activity. Neither the vices associated with the frequenting of nightclubs, nor the wisdom arising from listening to a religious teaching, are its concern. Hence for an example ethically it might be a good thing if a student reads a book but for an ‘objective’ economist it might be a waste of resources, having no productive effect whatsoever.

The Buddha's teachings point to Dhamma, or truth. In Buddhism the term Dhamma is used to convey different levels of truth, both relative truths and ultimate truth.

Yet this is precisely the trouble with modern economic thinking. It is found lacking in any holistic and spirituality and fails to give a comprehensive insight into the events and this happens largely due to the narrowness of their specialized view.

    Modern economics has been said to be the most scientific of all the social sciences. Indeed, priding themselves on their scientific methodology, economists take only measurable quantities into consideration. Some even assert that economics is purely a science of numbers, a matter of mathematical equations. In its efforts to be scientific, economics ignores all non-quantifiable, abstract values.

But a simple fact needs to be realized that economic process begins with want, continues with choice, and ends with satisfaction, all of which are functions of mind. Abstract values are thus the beginning, the middle and the end of economics, and so it is impossible for economics to be value-free. Yet as it stands, many economists avoid any consideration of values, ethics, or mental qualities, despite the fact that these will always have a bearing on economic concerns.

 

 

Distinguishing features of Buddhist Economics

 

Thus Buddhist economics strives to create a more humanistic approach to economics where men are considered above goods, creativity on part of men to be over production and considering material goods over humans would be evil for a Buddhist economist, as it would imply shifting of focus from the human to the subhuman. The Buddhist point of view takes the function of work to be at least threefold:

1)     To give man a chance to utilise and develop his faculties

2)      To enable him to overcome his ego-centeredness by joining with other people in a common task;

3)      And to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence.

To organise work in such a manner that it becomes meaningless, boring, stultifying, or nerve-racking for the worker would not be accepted by a Buddhist economist as it would indicate a greater concern with goods than with people, a lack of compassion which is evil in nature and a soul-destroying degree of craving to the most primitive side of this worldly existence i.e. inhumane lust for wealth. Equally, only striving for leisure as an alternative to work would be considered a complete misunderstanding of one of the basic truths of human existence, namely that work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss of leisure.

From the Buddhist point of view, there are therefore two types of mechanisation which must be clearly distinguished: one that enhances a man’s skill and power and one that turns the work of man over to a mechanical slave, leaving man in a position of having to serve the slave. An example of this can be handloom and the power loom.

The very start of Buddhist economic planning would be a planning for full employment, irrespective of the face that underemployed economy would lead to a greater output and the primary purpose of this would in fact be employment for everyone who needs an "outside" job: it would not be the maximisation of employment nor the maximisation of production.

The keynote of Buddhist economics, therefore, is simplicity and non-violence. From an economist’s point of view, the marvel of the Buddhist way of life is the utter rationality of its pattern—amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfactory results.

For the modern economist this is very difficult to understand. He is used to measuring the "standard of living" by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is "better off" than a man who consumes less. A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well - being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption.

Buddhist economics is different from the economics of modern materialism, since the Buddhist sees the essence of civilization not in a multiplication of wants but in the purification of human character. While the materialist is mainly interested in goods, the Buddhist is mainly interested in liberation. But Buddhism is “The Middle Way” and therefore in no way antagonistic to physical well - being. It is not wealth that stands in the way of liberation but the attachment to wealth; not the enjoyment of pleasurable things but the craving for them. Thus the underlying stress of Buddhist Economics is on simplicity and non-violence and it is in no way against physical well - being. According to it Spiritual health and material well - being need not be contradictory to one another, rather they can be natural allies.

Thus the study of Buddhist economics can be suggested even to the one who believes in “high growth” because it is according to the Buddhist economists the question of choosing the right way of development, “Middle Way.”

 

 

Relevance of Buddhist Economics today

 

Today we live in an increasingly complex and an ever-changing environment. Sheer greed and poor regulation by a few western governments has rocked the entire world and jeopardized the economic and thus social well being of millions of people. Around the globe people are being laid off as a measure of ‘cost cuts’ by the companies and in order to offset their losses. Financial markets have been bearish all over thus robbing the investors of their hard earned money. Major world economies have gone into a recession and as a result trade has declined, exporters and business are suffering. A question needs to be asked that why has all this happened? What was the fault of those thousands of hard working people who are being laid off and being rendered unemployed in this ruthless age of survival?

The answer is not as straightforward as it seems. Bubbles and recession are a part of the highly flawed, ‘self correcting’ capitalist system hence the problem lies in the deeper rut which mankind has got into. Sheer greed and the lust of money have made people forget the humanistic values, which were so highly cherished during the formation of our great nation.

The preamble of our constitution proudly declares India as a “Socialist” nation. Acute concentration of wealth and 33% of our population i.e. about 465 million people living below the poverty line (according to World Bank) would hardly serve as a good indicator of this fact.

Worldwide today there are about 1 billion people in the world subsisting on $1 a day or less. These people typically spend 80% of their income on food thus the economics slowdown compounded with the food crisis spells catastrophe for them. Thus its evident that the mechanisms put into place by the bourgeoisie as Marx referred to the influential and the rich have failed mankind and a way needs to be found out from this mess.

 

The answers to all these problems might lie in Buddhist economics. With its stress on according respect to labour and aiming for full employment, it would effectively eliminate a large part of the problems arising out of unemployment. Buddhist economics stresses on purification of human character and combines the social justice of communism while stressing on non-violence along with progressive model of capitalism while stressing on respectability of resources including labour. Hence it seeks to achieve a judicious mix development both in terms of wealth and spirit.

A relevant example of this would be Bhutan or ‘Druk Yul’ (the land of thunder dragon) as its commonly called by the locals. Effective implementation of policies of Buddhist economics lead to the Business Weekly ranking it as the 8th happiest country in the world and in the same year it managed to achieve a GDP growth rate of a whopping 14%.

Due to its thrust on sustainable living, rampant destruction of the environment has been avoided and Bhutan has successfully retained its rich environmental and cultural beauty. Gross National Happiness index is given paramount importance there and strictly adhering to it has ensured a holistic lifestyle for the citizens of Bhutan.

 

Thus it is evident that model of Buddhist economics has been applied successfully and has great scope to be replicated across various economies where a balance needs to be found between materialism and spiritualism. Gandhiji has famously quoted that, “ There is enough in this world for a man’s need but net enough for his greed.” In this regard Buddhist economics might just be the way forward.

 

The Bankers never lose

The attitude of the bankers shows an insolent contempt for society, equalled only by limitless greed. Over the last five years Wall Street's five biggest firms paid more than $3 billion to their top executives, while they presided over the packaging and sale of loans that helped bring down the investment-banking system.
In the years of boom huge profits were made by the banking and financial sector. In 2006 alone the big banks had approximately 40 percent of all business profits in the USA. This is an industry where top executives are rewarded 344 times more than the average employee in the USA. Thirty years ago the average CEO made around 35 times the pay of a typical worker. Last year, the average CEO of a top 500 listed company got $10.5 million in “compensation”.
Merrill Lynch & Co. paid its chief executives the most, with Stanley O'Neal taking in $172 million from 2003 to 2007 and John Thain getting $86 million, including a signing bonus, after beginning work in December. The company agreed to be acquired by Bank of America Corp. for about $50 billion on Sept. 15. Bear Stearns Cos.'s James “Jimmy” Cayne made $161 million before the company collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in June.
The $3.1 billion paid to the top five executives at the firms between 2003 and 2007 was about three times what JPMorgan spent to buy Bear Stearns. Goldman Sachs had the highest total, with $859 million, followed by Bear Stearns at $609 million. CEO pay at the five firms increased each year, doubling to $253 million in 2007, according to data compiled from company filings.
The same is true of other countries. In Britain the top banking executives receive enormous salaries and bonuses. Michael Geohogan of HSBC got £3.5 million in 2007 (£2.54 m. in bonuses); Andy Hornby of HBOS got £1.93 million (nearly £1m in bonuses); Eric Daniels of Lloyds TSB got £2.7m (£1.8m in bonuses); Fred Goodwin of RBS got £4m (£2.8m in bonuses); John Varley of Barclays got £2.38m (£1.4m in bonuses).
In the past the banker was a respectable man in a grey suit who was supposed to be a model of responsibility who would subject people to a severe interrogation before lending money. But all that changed in the last period with interest rates low and liquidity in plentiful supply. The bankers threw caution to the wind, lending billions for high margins to people who found they could not afford repayments when rates rose. The result was the sub-prime mortgage crisis that helped to destabilise the entire financial system.
Governments and central banks conspired to fuel the fires of speculation in order to avoid a recession. Under Alan Greenspan the Federal Reserve kept interest rates very low. This was praised as a very wise policy. By these means they postponed the evil day, only to make the crisis a thousand times worse when it finally arrived. Cheap money enabled the bankers to go on a leverage spree. Individuals borrowed to invest in property or buy goods; investors used cheap debt to invest in higher-yielding assets, or borrowed against existing investments; bank lending outstripped customer deposits and activities were kept off balance sheet.
Now all this has turned into its opposite. All the factors that pushed the economy up are now combining to create a vicious downward spiral. As the debt is unwound, the shortage of credit threatens to bring the economy to a grinding halt. If a worker makes a mess of his job, he will lose his job. But when the bankers wreck the entire financial system they expect to be rewarded. The men in smart suits who have made fortunes out of speculating with other people’s money are now demanding that the taxpayer bail them out. This is a most peculiar logic, which most people find very difficult to understand.
The bankers wish us to forget all this and concentrate on the urgency of saving the banks. All the pressing needs of society are to be put to one side and the wealth of society in its entirety must be put at the disposal of the bankers, whose services to society are assumed to be far more important than those of nurses, doctors, teachers or building workers. The governments of the EU and the USA spent in one week the equivalent of what /would be needed to relieve world hunger for nearly 50 years./ While millions starve, the bankers continue to receive lavish salaries and bonuses and maintain an extravagant lifestyle at the public expense. The fact that there is a crisis makes no difference to this.
Recently fifty top executives of the bankrupt Fortis insurance company spent 150,000 euros in a “culinary event” in the prestigious Louis XV restaurant of the hotel Monegasco de Paris, the most expensive in Montecarlo. The restaurant has the best selection of the finest wines in the world, according to the Belgian paper 'De Morgen', about 250,000 bottles, "most of them impossible to buy", in the words of the travel guide 'Lonely Planet'. To spend a night in this hotel costs between 500 and 1,000 euros in the low season, while a lunch costs more than 300 euros. The excuse was that this event had been planned months ago. But the Belgian and French taxpayers will pick up the bill right now.
The CEOs of another bankrupt company, the multinational, AIG, spent another 440,000 dollars in one week in hotel bills, when they went on a week’s holiday paid for by the Federal Reserve – that is, by the US taxpayer. This little holiday was organized shortly after the company collapsed. The Democrat chairman of the House Committee, Henry Waxman, showed a photograph in which the bankers appeared in a hotel in Monarch Beach, California, where the rooms cost 1,000 dollars a night. The rescue plan for AIG cost the USA $85 billion. The CEO’s took advantage of the taxpayer’s generosity to spend around $200,000 dollars on rooms, more than $150,000 on meals and $23,000 on the hotel’s health treatments, according to Waxman.
These few examples are an eloquent comment on the real attitude of the bankers.

http://www.marxist.com/

Delhi- beginning of the greatest xperience!!

"Its good that the youth of the country are taking an initiative, its your job to see that the prejudices are eliminated. You are in a way ambassadors of your country and you are going to represent India in Pakistan." As these words were spoken by the First Seceratary of Pakistan embassy Mr. Arif Khan, four of us listened in rapt attention. Me, A, Y, and J almost felt surreal. Its not a commonplace thing for Indians that too young students to sit in the room of First Seceretary of Pakistan and have an hour long discussion on Indo-Pak relations.

It made me completely forget the early morning Indigo flight which me and Y took in order to rush to Delhi to procure our visas. Even the general lack of sleep and food didn't matter at all at that moment. Days of long calls and moments of tense anxiety had finally paid off and that moment for which we all had been groping all this while in dark had finally come to light. As i lay my hands on my passport which had the pakistan visa stamped, it felt absolutely euphoric. That moment of unbound joy was followed by a big surprise. As it turned out the chair of the conference Rishubh Chopra also procured his visa at the same time as us and as a result the "big secret" of AIESEC confernce was let out and we knew who the chair was! For the record he was one helluva guy, 25 countries at the age of 24 along with a member of AIESEC international and as a result, an experience of managing 30000 people in over 105 countries!! After purchasing the tickets, four of us headed off to Karim's located opposite the Jama Masjid. It is when we reached there that the true colours of Delhi came into view. Narrow strrets swarmed with lots of people along with roadside vendors selling stuff used by quacks to meat to handicrafts all welcomed us into the true heart of Delhi which painted a picture of the city in complete contrast to the one which we saw in the embassy and political area of Chankyapuri. It was truly a city within a city, a city which was unplanned, didn't possess the beautiful facade of South Delhi yet was achingly stunning at the same time. It represented the remains of a glorious bygone era and was still largely untouched by the modern age. The crowded 'gullis' had ensconced in them this little haunt called Karim's which is supposed to serve the best kebabs in Asia.

After the sumptuous meal, we paid a visit to the Jama Masjid. No words can adequately do justice on my sense of wonder as i lay my eyes on this magnificient monument. The arches, domes and the scale of this monument is truly humongous. Its one of the places which completely mesmerises a person and makes one forget all our religious and communal divides, making one feel proud to be an Indian and one can't help but get a sense of ownership towards this spellbounding monument.

Another major highlight of my stay in Delhi would be the visit to what i consider my true intellectual calling, St. Stephens. It was a really special moment when i entered its campus, felt those brick walls, leanes against those pillars gazing at out to into the open azure blue sky with a view of its red walls. Couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness as i reflected on the possiblities if i was actually a student of this place. These thoughts continued to roll in my mind as i sipped my drink in their cafeteria and as i discussed with J, this hallowed institution. All the while i had a strong strong urge to study here but obviously i guess i wasn't good enough in my boards so this would just be a dream for me. Still the trip was a really satisfying one for me as i finally stepped into this college after dreaming about it for like years. Maybe i would have liked to enter this college in capacity of being a Stphenian but i guess thats life, it closes one door and opens others.

Its given me amazing experiences uptill now and i eagerly look forward to see whats in store for me ahead..............

ugs

Politics @ Security

4 people dead, buses torched, taxis destroyed, shops forced to shut down, financial capital of the city held to ransom by the goons of Superman"oos" Raj Thackeray whose "party",Maharashtra Navnirman Sena is taking its baby steps to be the latest enterant in the murky and dark world of regional politics.

The melting pot of cultures, ethnic and religious diversities which goes by the name of India has for long been an outstanding example of democracy as a system and as a form of governanace. What made it even more endearing was the fact that inspite of the flaws in the political framework, it still managed to run and run tremendously well showing the utmost faith of people in the supreme authority of our land i.e. the constitution. Hence it is saddening to see that the class of politicians whose primary fuction is to see that such a system sustains itself, are the ones who are hell bent on getting political mileages by playing the chauvanistic religious and the regional card. As if the mindless protests on Valentines day by the Shiv Sena and some random "youth" wing of parties headed by senior citizens wasn't enough triviality to deal with, we have the Superman"oos" Raj who attacks young students from other states who had merely come to write an exam on the pretext of protecting the Marathi culture and the well being of the Marathi people. After targetting the poor taxi drivers, these young students are his latest target. For all his blah about the welfare he cannot duck the questions being thrown at him. Maybe he wants the Maharashtrian youth to be only taxi drivers and 4th class railway employees that's why he targets this segment of the population. Our Superman"oos" is steeped in the welfare of the local people then maybe he would like to explain that why did he buy the Kohinoor mill land when closing down that very mill led a great deal of loss of jobs of the people he claims to fight for? Obviously this great man greatly values Marathi culture and the language, maybe he would like to answer then why do his own children study foreign languages and study in English medium. Ever heard of practising before preaching Mr. Raj??

If he has the right to earn his livlihood by buying mill lands then so do hundreds of shopkeepers who reagardless of their religion and regional identity suffer crippling losses in business. Who is going to compensate for all that destruction of property and private as well as public vehicles that were stoned and torched by his insanely manglomaniac, overzealous workers of his party?

At some level it points to the rotting state of our law enforcement agaencies whose credibility is anyways under doubt after various suspected 'phoney' encounters. Hence complete disregard for them by way of daring them publicly to arrest the culprits by the MNS party workers is very much on the expected lines.It's a plea to the state machinery on behalf of belaguarded and hapless Indians who reside in Mumbai that such elements of our society should be dealt in the strictest maneer possible so that a strong clear message is sent out that law is supreme and a city just cannot be held to whims of a man. Till then, as all Indians do, we too shall adjust and go on with our lives and wait with hope in our hearts that this circus shall soon get over.

And so it starts.........

Today was the day when the oft dreaded "E" word i.e. the exams got over. As i number crunched during the exam the clock ticked away and lo behold as always the time flew which meant i didnt exactly complete my papar but hey! thats been more of a rule than an exception in my case. Between the chilling out and fun with friends in the foyer, i recieve a harried call from M. Y. saying that the pak embassy's got a problem again. DAMN!!! This pakistan embassy is really gonna make us earn our visa i begin to think. As it turns out i was right, it bloody involved a whole lot of work right from printing the form to typing it to finding my dad and getting stuff and actually mailing it after shelling out quite a hefty amount. 10 days left and no signs of any progress on the visa front. A wee bit scary actually!
Due to the exteme work required, all the plans to chill the day exams got over get shelved. My friends are chilling out at PIZZERIA and i crash at my house finally at 8! Though a wifi router awaits me at my house. Didnt exactly know how to set it up but i do guess that will happen pretty soon and i get to write these blogs from my own room.
And so it starts.......my holidays. Packed with crazy stuff, right from interviews in college for HCAP programme to NYDS lahore for which all 3 of us have kept out fingers crossed, followed by the global mdg summit where unfortunately though ive been allotted the lamest topic which delas with environment sustainibility...man wateva!! Apart from this eco circle work coming up along with that of students council and my sister's birthday and over that diwali which though would have a touch of nostalgia around it as dad is leaving for Afghanistan. If this wasnt enough then ive got to work on my research paper for eco sem and over and above that bear nipa everyday and work on my french!! Clearly i need holidays to recuperate from these holidays...............

P.S.
I really do hope that we can make it for N.Y.D.S. Lahore!!
ARTHA 08.....woo hoo!!!