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Buddhist Economics

"Sri Lankan economist Neville Karunatilake wrote that: "A Buddhist economic system has its foundations in the development of a co-operative and harmonious effort in group living. Selfishness and acquisitive pursuits have to be eliminated by developing man himself." Karunatilake sees Buddhist economic principles as exemplified in the rule of the Buddhist king Ashoka."

What I intend to add:

The core values of western economics are based in the selfishness of human nature and profit maximization. In Buddhist Economics on the other hand, the driving principle is maximization of wellbeing with minimal use of resources.E. F. Schumacher, an early proponent of Buddhist economics, drew inspiration from the Buddhist principle of "Right Livelihood" in his influential essay "Buddhist Economics." The focus of right livelihood is finding employment which harms neither oneself nor others. Schumacher seizes on the point that the capitalist system assumes that people see work as "a necessary evil," or something to be disliked. He proposes that, based on Buddhist ideas of divine balance, there ought to be a healthy split between leisure and work. In Buddhist economics, there are three major functions to work, "to give man a chance to utilise and develop his faculties; to enable him to overcome his ego-centredness by joining with other people in a common task; and to bring forth the goods and services needed for a becoming existence." This shift in the way work is viewed, both by employers and employees, would fundamentally alter the incentives driving modern economies.

Paragraph after my contribution:

"Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck and its government have promoted the concept of "gross national happiness" (GNH) since 1972, based on Buddhist spiritual values, as a counter to gauging a nation's development by gross domestic product (GDP). This represents a commitment to building an economy that would serve Bhutan's culture based on Buddhist spiritual values instead of material development, such as being gauged by only GDP."