The Price of Civilization

1. The Price of Civilization Chapter 9 The Mindful Society

2. The Mindful Society • Steps toward a new American economy, a healthier society, and a more ethical basis for the study and practice of economics • Problems begin at home, with the choices we are making as individuals • “relentless drumbeat of consumerism” has lead to extreme shortsightedness, consumer addictions, and the shriveling of compassion • Mindful society: one in which we once again take seriously our own well-being, our relations with others, and the operation of our politics

3. Our Future • Future belongs to America’s youth • Millennial Generation: people between the ages of 18 and 29 in 2010 who are socially connected, Internet-savvy, and searching for a new mode of social involvement and political engagement. • Obama “seems more likely to be a transitional figure than a transformative one”

4. The Middle Path • Two of the greatest ethicists in human history: Buddha in the East and Aristotle in the West • Long-term happiness of humanity • “The Middle Path” (Buddha, 5th century BC) keeps humanity balanced between the false allures of asceticism and pleasure seeking • Aristotle (3rd century BC): moderation in all things is the key to eudemonia (human fulfillment) • Hard path; “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is self.” (Aristotle)

5. Challenging the Middle Path • Libertarianism of the free-market Right: the freedom of the individual is the only valid aim of ethics and government • Tea Party and America’s richest • The biggest error: individuals can find happiness by being left alone, unburdened by ethical or political responsibilities • Happiness arises through relationship with wealth and relations with others • Compassion, mutual help, and collective decision making good for those who receive help (poor) and those who give (rich)

6. Mindfulness • One of the eight steps on the way to self-awakening • An alertness and quiet contemplation of our circumstances, putting aside greed and distress • Eight crucial dimensions: • Self: moderation of consumerism • Work: balancing work and leisure • Knowledge: education • Others: compassion and cooperation • Nature: conservation of Mother Earth • Future: saving for the future • Politics: public involvement in government • World: acceptance of diversity

7. Money, money, money • Good governance, more trust, happier married life, more time for friends, and meaningful and secure work > money • Collective action • More income = more buyer’s remorse (a regret about the level of consumption and a desire to cut back) • Materialist: person for whom earning and spending money are a central aim of life • Far less happy and secure

8. Life Expectancy • Once society reaches per capita income of $3000, life expectancy generally 70+ years • Chile: 1/5 US’s GDP per capita, higher life expectancy than US • Costa Rica, Greece, South Korea, and Portugal: much poor than the US, but have higher life expectancies • US has one of the highest per capita incomes, but is only ranked around 17th for life satisfaction • Personal happiness depends on our attitude toward income and how we use it

9. Restoring Mindfulness • Cognitive • Study sources of happiness • Learn to enrich our lives by the quality of our relationships and generosity to others • Reflective or meditative • Propaganda used to change our interests by appealing to emotions, especially fear or pleasure • Aims to unplug the mind from daily sensory overload to regain a balance with longer-term needs • Practice • Aristotle: “We foster virtue by practicing virtue.” • Virtuous qualities are self-reinforcing • Acts of compassion awaken our desire to be more compassionate

10. Meaningful Work • Unemployment is the single largest factor in the public’s unhappiness • Libertarian: worker representation in company decision making would ruin US competitiveness • But Europe! • Active Labor Market Policies: use government funding to match workers to jobs and to improve targeted job training for skills that are demanded

11. Buddhist Science • Dalia Lama • Tibetan Buddhism: keeps doors open to science and doctrines are open to revision based on new scientific evidence • Technology allows us to be scientifically illiterate, but still benefit from advancements • Should use technology to learn about science, in order to spurt knowledge and more advances • 84% of Americans “see science as having a mostly positive effect on society.”

12. Anarcho Prim: Does it solve? • The complexity of our economy and the need for scientific expertise to manage it • Preindustrial knowledge only supports only around 10% of the planet’s population • Need respect for expertise and democratic governance • Federal government sucks at encouraging an informed debate about policy options • See: healthcare

13. Reviving Compassion • Mindfulness of others is much stronger within groups, rather than across racial/ethnic divides • Poverty trap: a system of handouts, in which the poor are not helped enough to overcome poverty but just barely enough to survive in poverty • Need proactive, not reactive policies • More public funding to provide healthy diet, quality preschool and public school, and access to higher education for this generation’s low income students • Bob Putnam’s “hunkering down”

14. Ecological Overshoot • Much more removed from nature – especially rich • Human impact is so great that we threaten the planet’s core biophysical functioning • Americans: highest per capita impact, least regard for actions • Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe: human-induced climate change is the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.” • Big Oil and Coal’s power stops politicians

15. Futurology • Infrastructure worth building cannot be “shovel-ready” • Taking moral and practical ownership of the long-term consequences of our actions and to trace those consequences as carefully as possible into the far future • Hans Jonas: we need a new ethic for the future; never before has a human generation been able to make or break the next

16. Futurology • National Intelligence Council’s study of the US’s challenges in 2025 • Climate change = scarce resources • Demand outnumbers supply • Lack of access to stable supplies of water • Economic shocks and surprises because of above • Washington does nothing • Budgets are yearly • “Kick the can” on issues

17. Balance of Politics • Provide an antidote to the dead end of corporatocracy • Americans need to learn to balance • Need private businesses in market economies • Also need to stop them from lobbying and propagandizing

18. Overcoming 3 Crises • Ideological • Mistaken belief that free markets can solve the economy alone • We need free markets and government operations • Institutional • Political role of large corporations • “License to operate as a company does not include a license to pollute our politics.” • Moral • The nature of modern democracy • Very little public deliberation/involvement

19. Mindfulness of the World • Readiness to adopt global norms for the good of all nations • World is deeply interconnected; everything affects everyone • Wall Street crisis, AIDS/H1N1/Plague • Political cooperation around the world • Deep distrust and growing competition over scarce resources hurts mindfulness

20. Hans Küng’s Global Economic Ethic • Diverse religious traditions share fundamental ethical standards regarding economic life and behavior • Principle of Humanity • “Being human must be the ethical yardstick for all economic action.” • Economy should fulfill the basic needs of humans “so that hey can live in dignity.”

21. Universal Ethical Themes • Importance of respect and tolerance of others • Right to life and its developments • Sustainable treatment of our society • Rule of law • Distributive justice and solidarity • The essential values of truthfulness, honesty, and reliability • Core value of mutual esteem

22. JFK • “Let us not be blind to our differences – but let us also direct attention to our common interests… so at least we can help make the world safe for diversity … We are all mortal.” • Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 • Limited all detonations of test nukes except underground • Soviet Union, UK, and US