Saturday, January 24, 2009

A question for Davos

A friend of mine recently used a phrase that hit me strong: Economics - where real people are spending real money.

It really made somethings clear to me. Isn't a major part of the problem we are having now that economics is based on a model using man as a rational creature with perfect information making decisions driven purely by self-interest? That is about as far away from real people as I can imagine getting. And real money? Debt backed money may be equally far away from real money.

I realize we got to where we are with many tiny little steps but now we are at the abyss and need to take big and bold actions to save things. How do we turn around the whole distorted model of economics?

mindfulness ....

thinking about what you are doing
thinking about why you are doing it
thinking about what the effects of doing it are going to be

2 comments:

Kelly Evans said...

I like your blog entries, and the response to this one is a bit random. As someone who is working on a platform designed to model a new economic paradigm, that can help raise living standards world-wide, thinking about the topics you discuss is my daily fare.

I think one of the challenges in transitioning to a more wholesome form of "money," and a more "social" form of business, is to make a model that allows a smooth transition from the status quo...that doesn't threaten people who benefit from current systems, but at the same time, allows something more universally beneficial to grow out of this ground.

That's what I'm working on. I'd love to talk with you some time. Our project will be based at www.selfport.com when we launch. Right now, there is a splash page there.

BTW, I'd like to know more about what "Buddhist economics" means. As someone who is deeply influenced by Buddhism, and also working in the area of social entrepreneurialism, I've often talked about an economy that reflects some of the basic principles that Buddhism recognizes, such as inter-dependence, mutual benefit, etc.

Linda Nowakowski said...

Kelly,

I have been traveling for most of the last 6 weeks and I just got this note. I wish I knew how to reach you. Please send me an email at lindern at gmail dot com.