Buddhist economics

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Like any of the great world religions, Buddhism also makes statements about the economic behavior of people that result from its ethical teachings. The Buddhist economics , also called Buddhist economics, is a spiritual approach to the economy . The Buddha proclaimed numerous economic commands, for example not to trade in meat, live animals or weapons. There were also very precise recommendations for the ratio of expenses for one's own purposes, gifts to others and savings reserves that must always be built up. The sutras also warn against wasting and indulging in luxury and a considerate approach to people and natural substances. At the same time, however, excessive frugality and stinginess are criticized. Anyone who has funds should not hoard them by hoarding, but should always enter new productive cycles and thus also benefit others. Between the two extremes of devotion to sensual pleasures on the one hand and self-tormenting asceticism on the other, Buddhism teaches the middle way. While the Buddha gave a whole series of very concrete recommendations for the economic and social action of both ordained and lay people against the background of ancient Indian society, modern Buddhist economics against the background of globalized societies (yet) has no theoretical foundation, but it shows first approaches. The Buddhist understanding of the economy tries to provide clarity about the extent to which production and consumption are harmful or useful; Ultimately, this should contribute to human maturation. It's about finding a "middle way" between a purely worldly and an extremely ascetic way of life. Often the Buddhist economics is seen as the opposite of the western economics, since not economic growth is in the foreground, but simplicity, frugality and non-violence. Buddhist economics is above all a doctrine of intention and motivation in economic activity, but it does not provide an alternative explanatory model, for example of production, the exchange of goods on markets or price formation. As a doctrine of ethics, it is normative in the sense of recommendations for right economic action as part of the "right livelihood" (a link in the noble eightfold path).

history

The term was coined in 1955 by Ernst Friedrich Schumacher as "Buddhist Economics" while he was in Burma as an economic advisor to Prime Minister U Nu . Since then, his followers and authors of Theravada Buddhism, such as B. Prayudh A. Payutto. Schumacher's essay "Buddhist Economics" first appeared in his work Asia: A Handbook in 1966 and later in his well-known work The Return to Human Measure. Alternatives for business and technology , which became known under its English title Small Is Beautiful (published in German in 1977).

Approaches to Buddhist economics

According to this view, rational economic decisions are only possible if we understand what causes irrationality. When people understand what creates desire, they realize that all the riches in the world cannot satisfy that desire. When people understand the ubiquity of fear, they develop compassion for all living things. This spiritual approach to economics is not based on theories and models, but on the view of Buddhist teaching, such as B. Compassion and Reluctance.

In modern western economics, the "work" factor is associated with costs for the employer. For employees, work serves to support life. According to the Buddhist view, work has three functions: It should help people to use and develop their abilities; it should help him to overcome his self-centeredness by joining forces with others for common activities; and it is supposed to produce the goods and services necessary for existence. Because of these functions, the goal of economic activity can only be full employment and not consumption and profit maximization, which give goods a higher priority than people, which leads to inhumanity.

In contrast to the materialist, who regards goods as the highest value, the Buddhist seeks the liberation from wealth, which he finds in the "middle way". Simplicity and non-violence are the core elements of Buddhist economics.

According to Buddhists, the economy is inseparable from other areas of knowledge. It is part of a collaborative effort to solve human problems. In addition, Buddhist economics makes its contribution to social, individual and ecological frugality.

Differences to Western Economics

The basic ideas of simplicity and non-violence are in contrast to the ideas of western economics, which provides for permanent profit maximization and combines a higher standard of living with more consumption. In contrast, Buddhist economics tries to produce goods with as little resources and effort as possible.

Consumption is considered auspicious in modern economics. In contrast, Buddhist economics tries to minimize suffering and desires. In addition, the world of thought in modern economics is self-centered and oriented towards the self-interests of individual individuals. On the contrary, generosity and caring for others are considered satisfactory in Buddhist teaching. The Buddhist economy stands for holism and mindful economic action. While conventional economics see human desire as a positive drive to sensual joie de vivre, prosperity, wealth and happiness, Buddhism recognizes in desire the root of all suffering and in overcoming human desire structures the way to true, lasting happiness and spiritual liberation. Instead of longing for more and more, there is the goal of purifying and purifying the mind.

In this context there is the need of Buddhist economics for sustainability and protection of the environment and resources. "From the standpoint of Buddhist economics, then, production from locally available resources for locally-generated needs is the most sensible form of economic life, while dependence on imports that come from far away, and the consequent necessity for export to unknown and unknown countries To produce peoples living far away is highly uneconomical and can only be justified in special cases and on a small scale. " Furthermore, the permanent use of limited resources, such as B. oil and coal, an act of violence against nature, which in turn leads to resource struggles and thus to violence among people.

Representative of Buddhist economics

Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck introduced gross national happiness in his country in 1972 , which is a counter-concept to the gross domestic product. In the broadest sense, this could be used to describe Bhutan as a state that tries to follow Buddhist economics. The "happiness economy", however, is a difficult undertaking that is not necessarily crowned with success. The fundamental problem with such considerations lies in the questionable assumption that happiness is a result of economic trade, and also in the difficulty of measuring happiness in terms of money. This often results in studies, such as those by Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers from the University of Pennsylvania from 2008, which relate happiness to income level and thus want to prove, for example, that in industrialized countries income levels start at approx 9,000 euros no longer have a significant impact on happiness. In the economic consideration of happiness, what happiness really is and what real happiness is usually remains open. Although Buddhism strives for all beings to be happy, the teaching sees in (economic) action the primary goal of avoiding or reducing suffering. Suffering is more unambiguous (ie “operationalizable” in terms of economics) than happiness.

There are now a number of publications on the subject in German. There are also two websites with practice-related materials for school lessons on this topic.

See also

• Buddhist philosophy
• Buddhist ethics
• Gross National Happiness
• Middle way

literature

• Wolfgang Drechsler : The Reality and Diversity of Buddhist Economics . Working Papers in Technology Governance and Economic Dynamics, No. 69, 2016 ( technologygovernance.eu [PDF]).
• Prayudh A. Payutto: Buddhist Economy. With the right intention for prosperity and happiness . Fischer Media, Großenhain 1999, ISBN 3-85681-407-8 .
• Ernst Friedrich Schumacher : Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered . Blond & Briggs, 1973, ISBN 0-06-091630-3 .

Web links

• http://www.khbrodbeck.homepage.t-online.de/buddhwiethik.pdf
• http://www.buddhanetz.org/texte/texte.htm#wirtschaft

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statements on ethically correct management can be found primarily in the following sutras (Pali: Sutta) or collections: the Agganna Sutra, Anguttara Nikaya, Dhana Sutra, Dhanajani Sutra, Digha Nikaya, Parabhava Sutra, Sakammapa Sutra, Samyutta Nikaya, Sigolavada Sutra , Suttanipatta, Ugga Sutra, Vasettha Sutra and the Yygghapajja Sutra.
2. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ cf. Wagner, Hans-Günter: Money, Work and Nature in the Buddhist Economy, in: Zeitschrift für Sozialökonomie, Volume 47 (October 2012), 174/175. Episode, pp. 46–56, p. 46.
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ernst Friedrich Schumacher : Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics As If People Mattered . Blond & Briggs, 1973, ISBN 0-06-091630-3 .
5. ↑ http://www.52wege.de/buddhistische-wirtschaftslehre
6. ↑ see for example Naess, Arne (1989): Ecology, Community and Lifestyle - Outline of an Ecosophy. Cambridge; Macy, Joanna (1994): The Rediscovery of the Sensual Earth. Paths to the ecological self. Zurich and Munich.
7. ↑ http://www.52wege.de/buddhistische-wirtschaftslehre
8. ↑ Laszlo Zsolnai: Buddhist Economics for Business. (PDF) p. 1 , accessed on January 5, 2016 (English). 
9. ↑ Wagner, Hans-Günter: Buddhistische Wirtschaftslehre, in: Buddhismus und Wirtschaft. Series of Socially and Ecologically Committed Buddhism (Volume 2) - ed. from Öko-Büro Hanau, ISBN 3-921697-02-6 , Hanau 2000, pp. 5–12
10. ↑ http://www.grossnationalhappiness.com/
11. ↑ http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/briefings/data/000098/:pf_printable
12. ↑ Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers (2008): "Economic Growth and Subjective Well-Being: Reassessing the Easterlin Paradox," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, Vol. 39 (1), pp. 1– 102, Spring.
13. ↑ see for example Wagner, Hans-Günter: “Glücksökonomie” instead of growth delusion ?, in: Buddhismus aktuell, issue 1 (2011), pp. 42–46.
14. ↑ http://www.buddhanetz.org/texte/brodbeck_oekonomie.htm
15. ^ Karl-Heinz Brodbeck: Contributions to the foundation of a Buddhist economy. (PDF) (No longer available online.) 2007, archived from the original on January 5, 2016 ; Retrieved January 5, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
16. ↑ http://kommundsieh.de/wirtsch.html ; http://buddhismus-deutschland.de/unterrichtsverbindungen/