Spiritual economics

This article by spiritual teacher David Spangler on Spiritual Economics
frmo In Context magazine is over 20 years old now, but I think still highly pertinent.

Love, Malcolm

Re: Spiritual economics

Hi Malcolm,

Thanks for that article. I think it reinforces our need for a moral and spiritual component in the area of economics.

I'll write more on it in my blog shortly.

Blessings

Raf

Re: Spiritual economics

” We have become expert in transforming natures' goods into new products to satisfy our ever increasing desire for material consumption. At the same time, the waste products from manufacturing, some 90% of actual inputs, are becoming harder to absorb and process. Whilst nature provides obvious goods in the form of wood, minerals and fossil fuels, little attention is paid to the crucial services it provides in acting as a both a source and a sink for economic activity. These services include waste processing, climate regulation, water supply and regulation, soil formation, nutrient cycling, food production, erosion control, pollination and even recreation and cultural values.

The value of these services has been largely ignored by the mainstream economics profession rather like the value of unpaid labour in the economy. A mother who goes out to work and hires a nanny to look after her children suddenly finds out the monetary value of her work in the household. Previously no value was attributed to looking after children but as soon as someone is employed formally then the value is recognized. Of course anyone who has children knows too well the value of unpaid labour in the home.

Re: Spiritual economics

Thanks Malcolm for posting it…have seen it quoted elsewhere. haven't read it. I just browsed
Malcolm's wonderful blog, with deep discussions on wisdom, reality, truth and more.

Re: Spiritual economics

Greetings to each of you.

I've been inspired by the work and thoughtfulness of several people, including Alfredo Sfeir-Younis. In his article “Embracing Spiritual Economics,”  Sfeir-Younis writes:

“Today, the major challenge in front of us is the reconciliation between the material and non-material dimensions of our human existence, in essence, the reconciliation between economics and spirituality. For many people, this may sound like a serious contradiction in terms. Economics is widely seen as the science of material scarcity, focusing on how to allocate existing and finite material goods and services among our infinitely large human needs. But even the most material of sciences has already come to terms with the importance of the non-material elements of life on this planet.”

“The prime step toward the humanization of economics, on the other hand, is to move away from aggregated categories of analysis that do not tell the real story. Economics with a human face must be practiced now. Moreover, the ultimate step would be to move from an economics with a human face to economics with a human soul so that we understand and interact with the true dimensions of human change and transformation. We must not limit ourselves to an economics that is only the residual of market transactions, where the fittest is the only one who wins.”

“Economics must be at the service of our societal and global vision and at the service of what we want our society to become, not vice-versa. The material expression of our vision should not be the result of economic and financial transactions. Our vision should be one that guides economic thinking and procedures. Our spiritual dimension is always an essential ingredient of this vision, as we are not material beings have a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a material experience.”

“Let us bring the being into economics. It is only spiritual economics and spiritual entrepreneurship that truly embody the being of what humanity is all about. All fields of human existence, including science and religion, are rapidly evolving towards finding and embracing the true nature of our existence. Why shouldn’t economics do so too?”

[End excerpt - Read the full article text at the Kosmos Journal web site: http://www.kosmosjournal.org/kjo/articles/articlessub2/spiritual-economics.shtml]

Ultimately, approaching exchanges – economics – with a 'spiritual perspective simply acknowledges the interconnectedness of all things, including people, other life forms, the Planet that provides for us, etc. Through this lens, we might make decisions that address the wellbeing of all, balancing the immediate 'returns' with immediate and seventh-generation impact, versus the current predominant focus on ultra-consuming to fuel the short-term, max-ROI, double-digit-growth agendas of the traditional corporation.

As you know, there are quite a few interesting pathways being explored and experimented with in real organizations and communities, and real people – living economies, human-scale enterprise, green solo/SOHOpreneurs, right-livelihood, conscious and simplified consuming, and actual consumption 'fasts' to highlight patterns of mindless or meaningless consumption.

Changing our individual patterns of consumption and reducing our eco-footprint, and sharing our experiences and learnings, is a key part of the 'spiritual economics' equation. I wrote a blog entry on my 18 months 'consumption fast', which was definitely challenging and unbelievably transformative. My elder-mentor really knew what she was doing when she challenged me to do it!

Sincerely,
Jamie

Re: Spiritual economics

Hi Jamie I admire your personal commitment and example. Other terms for consumption fast may be voluntary mindful or conscious living, simple living or voluntary simplicity which Henry David Thoreau, Gandhi, Tagore and many others practised. I wanted to post in your blog, couldn't …here it is.

I liked Linda's description “Voluntary simplicity is not about doing
without. In fact it's just the opposite – it's about having enough.
Enough intimacy with others and with nature, enough sense of purpose
and fulfilling work, enough fun and joy. Voluntary simplicity is about
living life fully, of experiencing life as a whole human being. It's
also about caring for the earth and people throughout the world who
truly do not have enough.” - Linda Breen Pierce

Other resources one might check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_living

As for myself material is also spiritual and whenever i am going against
my heart and spirit I always feel unfulfilled. It is encouraging to see
so many of us are increasingly making mindful choices based on what we
really feel inside. Thanks for posting Alfredo's article in Kosmos. Interestingly I wrote to Kosmos about an article on Transforming Capitalism, they said articles are by invitation only. Interesting to see Alfredo, who is an economist himself saying 'economists should not be allowed to practice unless they are in the path of self-realization, especially in matters public policy and global vision.

What I am discussing in my paper is far reaching and it connects inner transformation with planetary transformation through civic engagement and community learning initiatives. Currency or money itself must be designed as a vehicle that allows everyone to engage in mindful earning and spending of money, fulfill each person's potential for self-realization, self-actualization and value-fulfillment and takes humanity off the grid of fear-based survival, greed, war and adversarial competition.

Re: Spiritual economics

Greetings, Susmita.

Thanks for expanding the conversation with some additional (and wonderful) examples. And Linda's quote is true-on — simplicity isn't so much about 'doing without', but with having enough. These, of course, are very subjective until we get real about how much we're doing unconsciously and what, truly, 'having enough' means to us.

From an economics perspective, we often hear the excuse, “Well, we're just meeting the consumers' needs.” Not people, not citizens, but consumers. This is why making shifts on the 'consumer' side of the equation is so important. Mindless consumption begs or empowers mindless industrial production, so who gets 'mindful' first?

Like Gandhi, A.T. Ariyaratne and others have known, the change starts within … a change of heart (the actual meaning of the word 'repent'), and ripples outward. We can be inspired by words and actions of others, but we have to make the change within, and then our habits change.

A consumption fast is just one way of really looking at what you buy, when, and why. It's illuminating. Once you have more awareness of that, you can make choices that are truly meaningful, because you have a much better idea of 'what is enough'.

Gandhi wrote that the more time a person spent in prayer, the less able he or she was to be or tolerate violence. The same can be applied to mindless consuming or anything else. Even the desire to 'consume' becomes moot, because you realize why you're 'consuming'. Sit with the very energy of the word for a few minutes … consume. You'll recognize the imbalance in a way beyond the intellectual grasping of the word.

As Ingrid Bengis wrote, “Words are a form of action, capable of influencing great change.”  So what would be the more balanced word … the replacement for 'consume' (and thus 'consumer', 'consumption', etc.)?

Looking forward to hearing others' perspectives in this dialogue.

Love,
Jamie