- Buddhist Economics
- A Middle Way for the market place
- Ven. P. A. Payutto
- translated by Dhammavijaya and Bruce Evans
- compiled by Bruce Evans and Jourdan Arenson
Contents
Translator's Foreword (first
edition)
Author's Preface
Sources
Introduction
Chapter One
The Problem of Specialization
The Two Meanings of Dhamma
How Ethics Condition Economics
Chapter Two
The Buddhist View of Human Nature
From Conflict to Harmony
Ethics and the Two Kinds of Desire
Ethical Considerations in Economic Activity
Chapter Three
Buddhist Perspectives on Economic Concepts
Value
Consumption
Moderation
Non-consumption
Contentment
Work
Production and Non-production
Competition and Cooperation
Choice
Life Views
Chapter Four
The Role of Wealth in Buddhism
Right Livelihood
Miserliness
Knowing Wealth's Limitations
Mental Attitude to Wealth
The Major Characteristics of Buddhist Economics
Chapter Five
Teachings on Economics from the Buddhist Scriptures
The Monastic Order
Householders
Government
The Inner Perspective
Seeking and Protecting Wealth
The Happiness of a Householder
The Benefits of Wealth
Wealth and Spiritual Development
Translator's
Foreword (first edition)
These days Buddhist meditation techniques are well-known in the West and Buddhist
insights into the human condition are, at least in academic circles, exerting a growing
influence. Unfortunately the popular image of Buddhism is often an overly-austere one and
many people still consider it to teach a denial or escape from worldly concerns into a
private, hermetic realm of bliss. However, if we take the trouble to go to the words of
the Buddha himself, we find a full and rich teaching encompassing every aspect of human
life, with a great deal of practical advice on how to live with integrity, wisdom and
peace in the midst of a confusing world. Perhaps it is time for such teaching to be more
widely disseminated.
In this small volume, Venerable Dhammapitaka (P. A. Payutto) offers
a Buddhist perspective on the subject of economics. While not seeking to present a
comprehensive Buddhist economic theory, he provides many tools for reflection, ways of
looking at economic questions based on a considered appreciation of the way things are,
the way we are. I hope that making this work available in English may go at least a short
way towards resolving what has been called the current 'impasse of economics,' and to
awaken readers to the wide-reaching contemporary relevance of the timeless truths that the
Buddha discovered and shared with us.
Dhammavijaya
May, 1992
Author's
Preface
It is well known that the study of economics has up till now avoided questions of moral
values and considerations of ethics, which are abstract qualities. However, it is becoming
obvious that in order to solve the problems that confront us in the world today it will be
necessary to take into consideration both concrete and abstract factors, and as such it is
impossible to avoid the subject of moral values. If the study of economics is to play any
part in the solution of our problems, it can no longer evade the subject of ethics.
Nowadays environmental factors are taken into account both in economic transactions and in
solving economic problems, and the need for ethics in addressing the problem of
conservation and the environment is becoming more and more apparent.
In fact, economics is one "science" which most clearly
integrates the concrete and the abstract. It is the realm in which abstract human values
interact most palpably with the material world. If economists were to stop evading the
issue of moral values, they would be in a better position to influence the world in a
fundamental way and to provide solutions to the problems of humanity and the world at
large. Ideally, economics should play a part in providing mankind with opportunities for
real individual and social growth rather than simply being a tool for catering to selfish
needs and feeding contention in society, and, on a broader scale, creating imbalance and
insecurity within the whole global structure with its innumerable ecosystems.
I would like to express my appreciation to Dhammavijaya, who
translated the first Thai edition of Buddhist Economics, which was published by the
Buddhadhamma Foundation in August, 1988, into English. His translation was published in
May, 1992, and that edition has served as the basis for the second edition. I would like
to also express my thanks to Bruce Evans and Jourdan Arenson, who were inspired enough to
compile and translate further sources of teachings on Buddhist economics from among my
talks and writings published in both Thai and English, and thus produce a more
comprehensive treatment of the subject. I would also like to express my appreciation to
Khun Yongyuth Thanapura and the Buddhadhamma Foundation who, as with the First Edition,
have seen the printing through to completion.
Ven. P. A. Payutto
July, 1994
Sources
This book has been compiled from material in the following works by the author:
1. Buddhist Economics, the original booklet of a talk given
by the author at Thammasat University on March 9, 1989; translated by Dhammavijaya.
2. "A way out of the Economic Bind on Thai Society" (Tahng
ork jahk rabop setthagit tee krorp ngum sungkhom thai), published in Thai by the
Buddhadhamma Foundation, translated by Bruce Evans.
3. Parts of the chapter called 'The Problem of Motivation,'
translated by Bruce Evans from the book Buddhadhamma.
4. The section on Right Livelihood, which makes up part of the
chapter on morality (sila) from Buddhadhamma, translated by Bruce Evans.
5. Part of the chapter entitled "Foundations of Buddhist Social
Ethics," written in English by the author, which appeared in Ethics, Wealth and
Salvation, edited by Russell F. Sizemore and Donald K. Swearer, published by
University of South Carolina Press, 1990, Colombia, S. Carolina.
Introduction
The Spiritual Approach to Economics
Our libraries are full of books offering well-reasoned, logical formulas for the ideal
society. Two thousand years ago, Plato, in The Republic, wrote one of the first essays on
politics and started a search for an ideal society which has continued to the present day.
Plato built his ideal society on the assumption that early societies grew from a rational
decision to secure well-being, but if we look at the course of history, can we say that
rational thinking has truly been the guiding force in the evolution of civilization? The
reader is invited to imagine the beginnings of human society: groups of stone age humans
are huddled together in their caves, each looking with suspicion on the group in the next
cave down. They are cold and hungry. Danger and darkness surround them. Suddenly one of
them hits on a brilliant idea: "I know, let's create a society where we can trade and
build hospitals and live in mutual well-being!"
Such a scenario is not likely. Early humans, and the first
societies, were probably bound together more by their deep emotional needs for warmth and
security than any rational planning. And over the millennia, our societies have evolved to
a large extent at the directives of these emotional needs. To be sure, rational thinking
has played some part in the process, but if we take an honest look at our so-called
advanced society, we must admit that our needs for security today are not so different
from the cave man's. While our societies are certainly more complex, the propelling force
is still emotion, not reason.
If we are to honestly discuss economics, we must admit that
emotional factors -- fear and desire and the irrationality they generate -- have a very
powerful influence on the market place. Economic decisions -- decisions about production,
consumption and distribution -- are made by people in their struggle to survive and
prosper. For the most part, these decisions are motivated by an emotional urge for
self-preservation.
There is nothing inherently bad about fear and irrationality; they
are natural conditions that come with being human. Unfortunately, however, fear and desire
drive us to our worst economic excesses. The forces of greed, exploitation and
overconsumption seem to have overwhelmed our economies in recent decades. Our
materialistic societies offer us little choice but to exploit and compete for survival in
today's dog-eat-dog world. But at the same time, it is obvious that these forces are
damaging our societies and ravaging our environment.
In the face of such problems, the science of economics adopts a
rational approach. The job of economists is to devise well-reasoned models to help society
rise above fear, greed and hatred. Rarely, however, do economists examine the basic
question of fear and the emotional needs for security that drive human beings. As a
result, their theoretical models remain rational solutions to largely irrational problems,
and their economic ideals can only truly exist in books.
Perhaps a little idealism is not so harmful; but there is a danger
to the purely rational approach. At its worst, it is used to rationalize our basest, most
fear-ridden responses to the question of survival. We see this tendency in the corporate
strategists, policy advisors and defense analysts who logically and convincingly argue
that arms production is in our best interests. When rationalism turns a blind eye to the
irrational, unseen irrational impulses are all the more likely to cloud our rationality.
The book you are reading takes a different approach -- a spiritual
approach. As such, it does not delve into the technical intricacies of economics. Instead
it examines the fundamental fears, desires and emotions that motivate our economic
activities. Of all the spiritual traditions, Buddhism is best suited to this task. As we
shall see, the Buddhist teachings offer profound insights into the psychology of desire
and the motivating forces of economic activity. These insights can lead to a liberating
self-awareness that slowly dissolves the confusion between what is truly harmful and what
is truly beneficial in production and consumption. This awareness is, in turn, the
foundation for a mature ethics.
Truly rational decisions must be based on insight into the forces
that make us irrational. When we understand the nature of desire, we see that it cannot be
satisfied by all the riches in the world. When we understand the universality of fear, we
find a natural compassion for all beings. Thus, the spiritual approach to economics leads
not to models and theories, but to the vital forces that can truly benefit our world --
wisdom, compassion and restraint.
In other words, the spiritual approach must be lived. This is not to
say that one must embrace Buddhism and renounce the science of economics, because, in the
larger scheme of things, the two are mutually supportive. In fact, one needn't be a
Buddhist or an economist to practice Buddhist economics. One need only acknowledge the
common thread that runs through life and seek to live in balance with the way things
really are.
Bruce Evans and Jourdan Arenson
Chapters | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |