From Greed to Wellbeing : A Buddhist Approach to Resolving Our Economic and Financial Crises

Despite our fitful attempts over decades at reform, the global financial system seems caught in cycles of boom and bust, instability, and scandal. In this timely new book, Joel Magnuson builds on the classic works of E. F. Schumacher and other kindred spirits to provide a Buddhist economics perspective on this recurring pattern, and offers new possibilities for real change. The book centers on the belief that greed, aggression, and delusion (Buddhism’s “three poisons”) are embedded within our financial institutions and that they perpetuate the continued widespread attachment to endless economic growth and financial accumulation that are responsible for social and ecological malaise. Arguing that mainstream economics fails to adequately address this cycle, Magnuson presents a new framework of Buddhist economics, helping readers gain a deeper understanding of current economic problems and offering a course toward genuine wellbeing. FROM GREED TO WELLBEING 2 Contents 6 Introduction 8 1. Buddhist economics and the three fires 18 “Greed is good” economics 21 The Realm of Hungry Ghosts 24 Greed, aggression, and delusion 24 E.F. Schumacher 27 Siddartha’s journey 31 The middle way 35 The four noble truths and the noble eightfold path 37 Buddhist economics as lived ethics 48 2. Buddhist economics and socially engaged Buddhism 54 Socially engaged Buddhism 56 A Buddhist-institutionalist view for action and reflection 69 3. Happiness failing on the world stage 82 Gross domestic product 85 Alternatives to GDP 92 Gross National Happiness 95 Bhutan and the United Nations resolution on happiness 105 The Rio Plus 20 Failure 111 4. The greed-infected cloud of hot money 114 Market populism 115 The original purpose of money and financial systems 116 Speculation 120 Speculation and the recurring pattern of instability 122 American-style neoliberalism and more instability 126 5. If the Buddha chaired the Federal Reserve—banking for right livelihood 152 America’s terrible experiment 155 The Greenspan Put and bubble maintenance 161 Quantitative easing: the Greenspan Put under another name 168 Banking for right livelihood 175 Creating right livelihood banks in your communities 176 Twelve pathways toward RLBs 181 RLB as government utility 189 6. Stepping out of the circle of pathology 194 Stepping out and staying in 197 The importance of mindfulness 199 Mindfulness and meditation 200 Mindfulness and social engagement 206 Avoiding McMindfulness 207 7. Accepting impermanence 218 Inevitable change and impermanence 220 Appendix 230 Five elements of a Buddhist approach to economics 230 Notes 234 Glossary 248 Index 254 The global financial system seems caught in a cycle of boom and bust, instability and scandal. Building on the classic works of E F Schumacher and other kindred spirits, Magnuson provides a Buddhist economics perspective on this recurring pattern and offers new possibilities for change.