CHANGING ECONOMICS FOR GOOD

Thursday 07 Jul 2016

From the perspective of Buddhism, and its emphasis on finding balance in life through meditation and mindfulness, it is easy to see that our mental existence is a very important part of our being. Buddhist knowledge includes insight into the way the mind works and the way it creates all things.

If we use the Buddha’s insight into the way all things aggregate (The five Khanda’s)(1) we see that the physical part of our lives, the universe and its material form, (which includes our physical bodies and the all the physical stuff we use in our lives), we find it adds to about 20% of that knowledge. The mental part of our lives, which builds our consciousness and includes our perceptions then feelings, provides the other 80%, of our being. Our consciousness then brings all this together as our life.

To understand this process one needs be able to commit a certain level of time for introspection. If our lives are fully committed to making a living, with long working hours, driven by the fear of not being able to put food on the table or not being able make ends meet, it is difficult to make such a commitment to this deeper understanding.  Of course I am speaking generally here, because there are many examples of magnificent meaningful lives that have been lived in or from poverty.

It remains true however, that if there is an individual person or for that matter, a country that has a population that is able to live relatively high on Maslow’s triangle, these people, (like the Buddha who was a Prince) are more likely to be able to devote time to this understanding. I have just mentioned a country as a candidate for this knowledge, because I believe that Australia is a country that could take full advantage of this deep knowledge pointed to by the Buddha. It is very clear that the current economic model that Australia and more generally “the Western World” lives with, is stressing our world and making it sick.  Our continual reliance on the world’s physical resources to make goods as the main trading commodity to sustain our lives is unbalanced. Common sense tells us that the world’s resources are finite and will run out at some time in the future. This is to say nothing of the increasing costs (energy) required to retrieve these resources.  We have become a wasteful and throw away world, creating our wealth at the expense of our physical world. Wealth and power is consolidating to leave poverty and the powerless out in the cold. We all know it is not working! We all know that this current economic model can only be short term. It is unfair and it causes fear for all. Those at the top fear those at the bottom and the bottom lot will continue to resent the imbalance. Eventually, it is inevitable that revolution will come!

It is possible for us to become aware of what is happening and bring our world back to a better balance. We need to create an economic model that moves away from reliance on physical commodities to sell and exchange. We need to put more value into human service. We need to recognise and celebrate the 80% part of our makeup that is and remains mentally derived and personally delivered. To some extent this process is already happening in Australia, but we need to see it with much more clarity.

The Australian government would do well to set up a “Task Force” of respected people from across the spectrum with a view and brief to change the focus of our economic models away from physical commodities and more toward mental nonphysical values that can be set inside our economic framework in the same way that physical commodities are. It needs to be remembered that money and the values it represents is created by us, indeed money itself is created by us and managed by our banks. We can change the focus of its value at any time. We need to change the focus of its value. It is imperative.

The “Task Force” proposed should be peopled with those who are willing to have their core beliefs challenged. The values as they are represented inside the current economic models need to change. The spokespeople of the “Task Force” should be impeccable men and women, trustworthy, with good morality while being balanced with a common touch. People who are naturally influential!

It would be good to have people who know about, or are willing to learn about meditation and mindfulness so they could appreciate the value and truth of the present moment and what it means. This would allow them to better understand the 80% mental and 20% physical premise originally spoken of by the Buddha. Our community needs to know and understand why it is important to value the service we provide to each other. From the basics of how we look after our children, to care of the elderly, the disabled, the weak, the mentally ill, along with those dependent on mind altering substances.  Making sure that everyone has enough for their needs! Then to make our consciousness congruent we need to work towards liberation of animals, so we are not seeing them as commodities to be exploited. These changes are tremendous opportunities for prosperity and happiness that need to be addressed and changed in our economic models.

The “Task Force” outcomes should be able to explain how addressing all these relevant issues will bring us all to more happiness, well-being and peace. It should be able to explain what the Buddha meant when he said the world is Dukkha(2) and why it is important for humanity to work towards liberation. Of course all religions should be able to participate in this discussion, with the caveat that the input and output is balanced and peaceful. It is to be hoped that all parties may be able to give pointers and direction to this end. In short, knowledge of what the human condition is and how it should be used, without losing sight of the original aim, which is to change the focus of our economics to eventually value our mentally derived personal commodities (Service) over physically derived commodities and to find more ways of either recycling the physical or to make it last longer, then building in value around all of this. 

My vision of this “Task Force” is something like the Royal Commission into Human Relationships set up by Gough Whitlam. It would be hoped that unlike that Royal Commission that this “Task Force” would remain apolitical.

Caption from ABC RN:  When Gough Whitlam became prime minister in 1972, homosexuality was illegal, abortion was criminalised and divorce laws were archaic. His establishment of the Royal Commission on Human Relationships marked an often unacknowledged turning point in Australia’s social mores.

Commisioners  Elizabeth Evatt, Felix Arnott, Anne Deveson   21 November 1977

(1) The Five Khanda's --- A discourse given by the Buddha. Khanda is a Pali work meaning aggregation. (The Five Aggregates)

(2) Dukkha --- A Pali word used to describe "Unsatisfactory", one could also say dis-ease or not peaceful. It is a very important word in Buddhism used by the Buddha in his "First Noble Truth" ie: Everything is Dukkha.