(3) Unable to be a science, but wanting to be one The large number of examples I have given so far have been intended to demonstrate the intimate and significant effect that ethics and values have on …
(4) Lack of clarity in its understanding of human nature Having shown how economics is related to other matters, particularly values, and how it is affected by other things we may now turn to another …
(e) Contentment and Consumerism At this point I would like to introduce a few comments on the subject of contentment. Although it doesn’t fit in exactly with the argument being put forward here, it is…
(c) Work and working Work’ and ‘working’ are also terms that are understood in different ways by conventional and Buddhist economics, and once more the difference is related to the two kinds of desire…
(2) Not harming oneself or others A further meaning of the term ‘just the right amount’ is of not harming oneself or others. This is another important principle and one that is used in Buddhism as the…
(b) Consumption The question of consumption is similar to that of value. We must distinguish what kind of desire our consumption is intended to satisfy. Is it in order to answer the need for things of…
(1) Specialization At the present time economists consider economic activity in isolation, without reference to other forms of human activity or to other academic disciplines. This specialization is o…
Summary In summary, one important point that must be stressed is that the economic results that we seek are not ends in themselves. They are means, and the end to which they must lead is the developme…
Limitations of Economic Theory in the Industrial Age (1) Specialization (2) Not free of ethics, but inattentive to them (3) Unable to be a science, but wanting to be one (4) Lack of clarity in its und…
Technology I would like to digress a little at this point and say something about technology. The question may be asked as to what our understanding of technology is. In Buddhism, or particularly in B…