what vision, values and principles out to drive our individual and collective economic behavior...locally and globally?
Chris, yes i think this is also a good question and when we say "locally", it's important to consider cultural differences and traditions influencing economic behavior Asking following question, Should economics manage human needs or human needs manage economics ? My intention was to question economics as a science. The idea behind is sometimes we forget that the science should be there to serve us. I was thinking the rules and regulations imposed on developing countries by IMF as if the payment of the debts, inflation rates etc are more important then human lives; as if we were born to satisfy the needs of the markets and the economy. Funda ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Kloth" <ch...@got2change.com> To: <osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu> Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2005 7:42 PM Subject: Re: how would you write an invitation to a global practice of peace > Funda Oral wrote: > > >Should economics manage human needs or human needs manage economics ? > > > > > Please tolerate a bit of uncharacteristic literalism with me as I > respond to the question. While I suspect I know what you are really > intending to ask and support the impulse to ask the question, I feel a > need to clarify the terminology so that it places more of the > responsibility on us instead of the ubiquitous "them" implicitly > referred to in the way I read the question. > > > My understanding is that, at its most basic level, economics refers to > the study and practices related to how human needs and wants are (or are > not) met. My understanding is that it emerged as a named focus > discipline from philosophy. In addition to financial/monetary resource > allocation, it refers to how all goods and services are allocated and > the terms of exchange...including purchase by controlled or uncontrolled > price setting, mandatory or voluntary government spending, use of funds > donated to institutions representing faith communities, advocacy groups > or other philanthropic voluntarily or be obligation, bartering, gifting, > etc. On a deeper level it includes organizing our economic policies and > practices around visions, values and principles. > > > > In that context, each of us makes personal economic decisions daily that > influence the larger world incrementally as individuals but > significantly in the aggregate. We choose to invest in financial > markets, or have others manage our investment, (anyone have a retirement > plan of some kind?), or not. We can choose to direct our finances > toward socially responsible businesses, or initiate or vote on > shareholder issues in other companies to try to influence their > behavior, etc. If we have the resources to do so we can also choose > the extent to which we will allocate our personal time, money or other > resources to influencing what is going on in our world locally or > globally. These are economic decisions we have 100% control of. > > > We also choose to (or not to) make our voices heard in ways that make a > difference (different than simply making our voices heard) with respect > to local, regional, national and international issues. We can become > active in influencing public policy on many levels. We can work hard to > make sure the voices of those with whom we believe we disagree are > authentically invited to participate in Open Space meetings we are a > part of sponsoring or facilitating. We can work on our own abilities > to discover any values that we may share with people who advocate > strategies that we oppose and learn from their perspectives before we > demonize them. If we work together we can increase the power of out > individual voices....a choice that is ours to make. > > > > So, for me the question is what vision, values and principles out to > drive our individual and collective economic behavior...locally and > globally? > > > Shalom > > > Chris Kloth > > > Think globally, act locally > > * > * > ========================================================== > osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu > ------------------------------ > To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, > view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: > http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html > > To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: > http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist
