Principles to Live By
I just listened to a fascinating interview on Democracy Now! with economist Manfred Max-Neef.
I was not familiar with his work, but knew I was in for a treat after hearing Amy Goodman’s introduction:
He won the Right Livelihood Award in 1983, two years after the publication of his book Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics. “Economists study and analyze poverty in their nice offices, have all the statistics, make all the models, and are convinced that they know everything that you can know about poverty. But they don’t understand poverty,” Max-Neef says.
As Mr.Max-Neef spoke, it became apparent that “Barefooot economics” sounded a lot like the “Buddhist economics” I first read of almost 40 years ago in E.F. Schumacher’s classic 1973 work “Small is Beautiful“.
I hadn’t heard the issues and problems articulated so beautifully, simply, and clearly, so I wanted to share his wisdom and restate the five postulates and one over-arching fundamental value principle he outlined (verbatim):
“1. The economy is to serve the people, and not the people to serve the economy.
2. Development is about people, not about objects.
3. Growth is not the same as development, and development does not necessarily require growth.
4. No economy is possible in the absence of ecosystem services.
5. The economy is a subsystem of a larger finite system, the biosphere, hence permanent growth is impossible.
The fundamantal value to sustain a new economy should be that economic interest, under no circumstances, can be above the reverence for life. Nothing can be more important than life – and not just human life – but life in all its manifestations. ”
These principles reflect the conclusions of another pathbreaking 1972 book that also has guided my thinking and shaped my values: “Limits to Growth“
I urge all to listen to the entire interview – click here.