From
Poverty and Terrorism
to
Justice and Peace Making:
Globalisation for the Common Good
By
Kamran
Mofid, TFF
Associate*
Overcoming
poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of
justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human
right, the right to dignity and a decent life. While
poverty persists, there is no true freedom.
Nelson
Mandela
The
most basic right of all humanity is to eat three
decent meals a day. Hunger is actually the worst
weapon of mass destruction. It claims millions of
victims each year. There will be no peace without
development and no development without social
justice.
Luiz da
Silva
If
there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbours.
If there is to be peace between neighbours,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
Lao Tzu (570-490
B.C.)
Religion can
be a realm of extraordinary power. It can
offer solace in troubled times. It can make
sense of the seemingly senseless because
that's the world we live in. It can give us
strength to meet the physical and spiritual
challenges of life. Religion helps us find
our place in the cosmos; it knits families
and communities together; it endows
individuals with compassion and morality.
Whether one believes without question or
wrestles with doubt, whether one is part of a
religious community or worships in the
privacy of the soul, religious practices and
beliefs are among the phenomena that define
us as human.
Kofi
Annan
Abstract
The topic which I wish to address
here is vast; all I can reasonably hope to do is paint a
picture with very broad brushstrokes. The first section
of this paper is an attempt to explain what Globalisation
for the Common Good is. In the second part, I will
endeavour to explain how and why I came to believe in the
merits of Globalisation for the Common Good. In this
part, I will shed light on my personal journey to
Globalisation for the Common Good. It has been an
intellectual, emotional and spiritual journey; it has
involved wrestling with a diverse range of concepts,
ideas concerning the relationship between economics,
theology and spirituality as well as concerns for human
dignity and socio-economic justice.
I deeply and passionately believe
that conflict/terrorism is mainly mobilized around the
concept of justice. In many cases, challenging injustice
is the first step towards eliminating it. To avoid
violent conflict, concerted international action is
needed to address systemic economic/socio-political
injustice. Nations need to develop institutions of fair
and transparent governance. They also need to help
provide health care, education, sanitation, as well as
affordable housing and encourage an inclusive society.
Addressing injustice is central to the resolution of most
intractable conflicts and the eradication of terrorism.
Economic injustice, depravation and hopelessness are the
real "Weapons of Mass Destruction", any where, and every
where in the world.
No amount of military might, no
amount of depleted uranium enriched missiles, no amount
of Agent Orange, no amount of smart and not so-smart
bombs will destroy terrorism, as long as this world is so
unjust, so unequal and so inhumane. History is on the
side of this argument and it would be an affront to
humanity to ignore this.
Part
One - Globalisation for the Common Good
Today the globalised world economy,
despite many significant achievements during the last few
decades, and especially since the end of the Second World
War, in areas such as science, technology, medicine,
transportation and communication, is facing major
catastrophic socio-economic, political, cultural,
spiritual and environmental crises.
We are surrounded by global
problems of inequality, injustice, poverty, greed,
marginalisation, exclusion, intolerance, fear,
depression, anxiety, mistrust, xenophobia, terrorism,
sleaze and corruption. These problems are affecting the
overall fabric of societies in many parts of the world.
Moreover, the twentieth century was
the bloodiest in human history, with holocausts,
genocides, ethnic cleansing, two world wars and hundreds
of inter and intra-national wars. Furthermore, today
after decades of selfishness, greed, individualism,
emphasis on wealth creation without care about how this
wealth is being created, the world is entering a period
of reflection, self-examination and a spiritual
revolution. Many people around the globe have come to an
understanding that it is possible to create a better
world if a critical mass of people with a sense of human
decency and a belief in the ultimate goodness of
humanity, rise and realise their power to transform the
world. More and more people around the world are
realising that there are no short cuts to happiness.
Material wealth is important. This should not be denied.
However, physical wealth is only one ingredient for
happiness. Realisation of a complete sense of happiness,
inner peace and tranquillity can only be achieved through
acting more on virtues such as wisdom, justice, ethics,
love and humanity. This spiritual revolution needs
architecture and dedicated architects.
In this study I argue that the
marketplace is not just an economic sphere, 'it is a
region of the human spirit'. Whilst considering the many
economic questions and issues we should also reflect on
the Divine dimension of life, Moreover, and should, in
contrast to what is practised today, be concerned with
the world of heart and spirit. Although self -interest is
an important source of human motivation, driving the
decisions we make in the marketplace every day, those
decisions nevertheless have a moral, ethical and
spiritual content, because each decision we make affects
not only ourselves but others too. Today's modern
economists consider their discipline a science, and
thereby divorced from ethical details, the normative
passions of right and wrong. They have turned their
discipline into a moral-free zone.
In short, this study views the
problem and challenge of globalisation partly from
economic but primarily from ethical, spiritual and
theological point of view. How can we order the modern
world so that we may all live well and live in peace? In
all, globalisation will need to combine economic
efficiency to meet human needs with social justice and
environmental sustainability. The study moreover argues
for the creation of an "ecumenical space" for dialogue
amongst civilisations and the building of community for
the common good by bringing economics, spirituality and
theology together.
As it has been noted, and it is my
intention to argue further that, perhaps the most
significant development in the material world for nearly
two decades is the phenomenon of globalisation. This is
the accelerated integration of the global economy through
finance and trade. As noted above, spectacular
breakthroughs in science and technology, particularly
information technology, have speeded up the
process.
Even as it is an economic
phenomenon, globalisation is not limited to the arena of
economics and economic institutions. Its impact is felt
on political and social institutions, as well as culture.
No human institution is impervious to it. Even religion
is challenged by it.
Globalisation has brought
prosperity and wealth to many nations and individuals. It
has brought the blessings of science and technology to
more and more people. It has shared knowledge and
information on a scale which is beyond measure. At the
same time, it has its very dark and dangerous
side.
The darkest manifestation of
globalisation is the persistence of poverty,
unemployment, and social disintegration even as economies
are being integrated in the global economy. It is the
continuing destruction of the environment and the
marginalisation of women even as more and more wealth is
created at an unbelievable pace. Economic, social and
political injustice have accelerated in the wake of the
frenzied transactions in global financial and trade
markets. Below I share some disturbing statistics with
you:
- Half the world -- nearly
three billion people -- live on less than two dollars
a day. (less than a cow gets in a daily subsidy in the
EU, Japan or N.America for example. The Eu provides
annualy $51 billion in agricultural subsidy, followed
by Japan at $30 billion and the US at about $18
billion).
- The GDP (Gross Domestic
Product) of the poorest 48 nations (i.e. a quarter of
the world's countries) is less than the wealth of the
world's three richest people combined.
- Nearly a billion people
entered the 21st century unable to read a book or sign
their names.
- Less than one per cent of what
the world spent every year on weapons was needed to
put every child into school by the year 2000 and yet
it didn't happen.
- 1 billion children live in
poverty (1 in 2 children in the world). 640 million
live without adequate shelter, 400 million have no
access to safe water, 270 million have no access to
health services. 10.6 million died in 2003 before they
reached the age of 5.
- 852 million people across the
world are hungry, up from 842 million a year ago.
- In essence, hunger is the most
extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families
cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food.
- The spreading HIV/AIDS
epidemic has quickly become a major obstacle in the
fight against hunger and poverty in developing
countries.
- Because the majority of those
falling sick with AIDS are young adults who normally
harvest crops, food production has dropped
dramatically in countries with high HIV/AIDS
prevalence rates.
- In southern Africa, close to
500,000 people died of AIDS in 2001 alone, fuelling a
serious food crisis in 2002-2003 in which more than 14
million people faced hunger and starvation.
- Infected adults also leave
behind children and elderly relatives, who have little
means to provide for themselves. In 2001, 2.5 million
children were newly orphaned in Southern Africa.
- Since the epidemic began, 25
million people have died from AIDS, which has caused
more than 13 million children to lose either their
mother or both parents. For its analysis, UNICEF uses
a term that illustrates the gravity of the situation;
child-headed households, or minors orphaned by
HIV/AIDS who are raising their siblings.
- 42 million people are living
with HIV/AIDS in the world - 92.8 percent of them in
developing countries. 3 million are children under the
age of 15. 2.9 million of those children live in the
developing world, mostly in Sub-Saharan
Africa
In all, around the world,
inequality is increasing, while the world is further
globalising. Moreover, even in the wealthier countries in
the west, the gap between rich and poor; have and
have-nots is growing wider by the day. In addition, the
meltdown in the value of the stock market has left
millions with no pension in their old age. Given the
continuous existence of such levels of abject poverty
everywhere, and our inability or unwillingness to over
come it- is a true sign of a globalisation of
civilisation in denial. In this respect, the wise words
of Nelson Mandela rings true "Overcoming poverty is
not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is
the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to
dignity and a decent life. While poverty persists, there
is no true freedom".
We are caught in a strange world of
contradiction: a world of progress and of poverty. The
poor, marginalised and excluded, have been forgotten.
However, even those who are well off financially, it
seems, are unable to live well in human terms. In the
materialistically saturated western world, anxiety,
depression, insecurity and real desperation are the main
causes of ill health and premature death. We were told
that economic prosperity, with its share dividends and
material comfort would bring us happiness. What a
delusion!
We need to wake up and begin to see
the bigger picture. The only remedy, we are told by
neo-classical ideologues and fundamentalists who have
brought us all this misery to begin with, is to strive
for more of the same mores: more economic growth, more
production, more consumption, more cost-cutting, and more
sacrifices to achieve them as they impose harsh human and
ecological costs. Who are the people who think that all
these sacrifices - personal, family, social, cultural and
ecological - are necessary to meet their bottom
line?
It is this bottom-line mentality,
so damaging to human relationships and personal
well-being that has caused so much anger around the
world. Today, everywhere you look you see this anger and
the forces of destruction at work: crime and the gun
culture, alcohol and drug abuse, cheap sex and human
trafficking, xenophobia and bombs - smart bombs and
not-so-smart ones, even human bombs.
Why are we doing all this to
ourselves and others? What globalisation! What shabby
custodians of God's gifts we have been! Is this the kind
of world we want or would like to leave to our children?
Is this a world which Sa'adi, the wise Persian poet,
would have understood all those centuries ago? His words
are inscribed at the entrance to the United Nations
Secretariat in New York:
The
Children of Adam
Are
limbs of one another,
In
terms of Creation,
They're
of the self-same Essence.
As it has been noted time and again
by so many researchers round the world, globalisation as
it is today, has not delivered what it said it would,
because it has turned itself into an economic only
phenomenon and nothing else. It is time to understand
that global money-only capitalism becomes corrupt without
democratic civic values and ethical
restraints.
Looking at what is being
recommended, we can note that, nearly all of the
proposals on the global economy concern the need to
unleash the power of the market, liberalise trade,
deregulate and privatise- which are all purely economic
considerations. It is as though humanity and the
environment are irrelevant except as servants of the
overarching need to expand the global economy- as if that
could satisfy all human needs and aspirations. Material
wellbeing, economic growth and wealth creation are
important. But, to create a world of true happiness,
peace and wellbeing, wealth must be created for a noble
reason. Economics, commerce and trade, without a true
understanding of the aspirations of the people it is
affecting, cannot bring justice to all. Social
transformation can be achieved only when unselfish love,
spirituality and a rigorous pursuit of justice are
embraced.
It is important to recall that,
economics, from the time of Plato through to Adam Smith,
John Stuart Mill and others, was as deeply concerned with
issues of social justice, ethics and morality as with
economic analysis itself. However, most students studying
economics today learn that Adam Smith was the "father of
modern economics" but do not know that he was also a
moral philosopher. In 1759, sixteen years before his
Wealth of Nations, he published The Theory of
Moral Sentiments, which explored the self-interested
nature of man and his ability to still make moral
decisions based on factors other than selfishness. In the
Wealth of Nations, Smith laid the early groundwork for
economic analysis, but embedded it in a broader
discussion of social justice and the role of government.
Students today know only of Smith's
famous analogy of the "invisible hand" and refer to him
(rather obliquely) in defence of free markets. They
ignore his clear understanding that the pursuit of wealth
should not take precedence over social and moral
obligations, and of how a "divine Being" produces "the
greatest quantity of happiness".
In short, they are taught that the
free market as a "way of life" appealed to Adam Smith.
However, again they are not told that, Adam Smith
distrusted the morality of the market as a morality for
society at large. He neither envisioned nor prescribed a
capitalist society, but rather a "capitalist economy
within society, a society held together by communities of
non-capitalist and non-market morality." That morality
for Smith, included-among other things- mutual
neighbourly love; an obligation to practice justice; a
norm of financial support for the government "in
proportion to [one's] revenue"; and a tendency in
human nature to derive pleasure from the good fortune and
happiness of other people.
It is my intention to argue that,
grave economic injustice prompts conflict and it is one
of the main reasons for the continued local, national and
international terrorism. Indeed, as it has been noted,
history has shown that poverty often leads to war and
armed conflict. If many members of a society suffer from
poverty or perceive huge disparities in wealth, they are
likely to consider their situation unjust. Furthermore,
economic injustice is often linked to unmet human needs,
which can give rise to protracted or violent conflict.
Individuals may come to view
violence as the only way to address the injustice they
have suffered and ensure that their fundamental needs are
met. This is especially likely if no procedures are in
place to correct the situation or bring about retributive
or restorative justice.
Justice conflicts often involve
unequal power relationships, where the rights and needs
of the weaker group are subordinated to those of the
dominant group. This sort of injustice is often rooted in
ideologies of exclusion that are deeply embedded in
people's ways of thinking and difficult to alter. Such
power imbalances limit the bargaining power of the group
that suffers from injustice, and make it more likely that
the group will go to extreme ends to make its voice
heard.
Therefore, as history has shown,
time and again, it is futile to believe that one can beat
terrorism through the use of a brutal force alone. We
must understand that, it was the brutal force which
created the terrorism to begin with. In this regard, the
wise words of Albert Einstein rings true, "The world
cannot get out of its current state of crisis with the
same thinking that got it there in the first place".
Our ability to project justice onto
the world requires love, the unconditional search for
absolute truth, the capacity to engage in an intimate
dialogue with the natural universe within. Justice is all
about empowerment. If you can empower yourself and others
with justice, then, sustainability and good globalisation
will follow.
There is an urgent need about
realizing unselfish love in our globalising world. Love
is a joyful and full-hearted affirmation of the
well-being of others that can be expressed in the forms
of tolerance and forbearance, forgiveness and
reconciliation, compassion and care, and service to the
neediest as well as to the nearest. When we extend
ourselves to others in this way we become happier and
more content, for paradoxically, in the giving of self
lies the unsought discovery of self. Moreover, given our
desire to realise a globalisation which is good for all,
it should be noted that, social transformation can occur
only when unselfish love, spiritual experience and a
rigorous pursuit of justice are linked.
The ethical and spiritual teachings
of all religions and their striving for the common good
can provide a clear and focused model of moral behaviour
in what has been termed "the market place". The religious
and business values and sentiments, such as human
dignity, communal solidarity, humility, patience,
service, compassion, reciprocity, social justice, equity,
efficiency, growth and profit should go together,
hand-in-hand, leading to Globalisation for the Common
Good, where every one is a winner. We should acknowledge
that, the marketplace is not just an economic sphere,
but, it is a region of the human spirit, compassion and
dignity.
The call for this dialogue is an
appeal to the deep instinctive understanding of the
common good that all people share. It is an appeal to our
essential humanity to deal with some of the most pressing
concerns of peoples the world over. Religion has always
been a major factor in the growth of human civilisation.
Business and wealth creation when they are for a noble
reason are blessed and vital for human
survival.
As it has been noted, because the
yearning for justice is a natural substance running
through humanity's cells, by denying it we only pour more
fuel on guilt's fire. While love of justice can yield
great harvests for individuals, communities, societies,
and nature as a whole, this same passion can surface as
hatred and violence when it is not given the freedom to
permeate our lives and keep our inner longing
alive.
Whether caught in material or
spiritual poverty, those robbed of the right to justice,
become justifiably angry and hateful. These emotions, in
turn, inflame vengeful actions that perpetuate more
violent reactions. This cycle of violence and misery, can
be broken only with justice. This is the truth into which
we must tune. This is the dream we must bring into being:
this is Globalisation for the Common Good.
Paul Ormerod, former Director of
Economics at the Henley Centre for Forecasting, in his
book, The Death of Economics notes that" Good
economists know, from work carried out within their
discipline, that the foundations of their subject are
virtually non-existent…Conventional economics offer
prescriptions for the problems of inflation and
unemployment which are at best misleading and at worst
dangerously wrong…Despite its powerful influence on
public life, its achievements are as limited as those of
pre-Newtonian physics…it is to argue that
conventional economics offers a very misleading view of
how the world actually operates, and it needs to be
replaced".
An equally accomplished economist,
Mark Lutz, in his book, Economics for the Common
Good, observes that "Modern economics is the science
of self-interest, of how to best accommodate individual
behavior by means of markets and the commodification of
human relations…In this economic world view, the
traditional human faculty of reason gets short-changed
and degraded to act as the servant of sensory desires.
There is no room for logic of human values and rationally
founded ethics. Human aspirations are watered down to
skillful shopping behavior and channeled into a stale
consumerism. One would think that there must be an
alternative way to conceptualize the economy".
Therefore, what is there to be
done? Is there an alternative to this selfish,
self-seeking, neo-liberal, economic/money-only
globalisation?
To this end, I recommend the
practical vision and mission of Globalisation for the
Common Good. Globalisation for the Common Good means the
promotion of ethical, moral and spiritual values - which
are shared by all religions - in the areas of economics,
commerce, trade and international relations. It
emphasizes personal and societal virtues. It calls for
understanding and collaborative action - on the part of
civil society, private enterprise, the public sector,
governments, and national and international institutions
- to address major global issues. Globalisation for the
common good is predicated on a global economy of sharing
and community, grounded in an economic value system whose
aim is generosity and the promotion of a just
distribution of the world's goods, which are divine
gifts.
Globalisation for the Common Good
is not about charity. It is not about collecting money.
It is about justice. To know justice and to serve it, is
to feel the pain of, and to become one with the sufferer;
is to ask fundamental questions about the roots of
injustice and to fight for their eradication. Today's
global problems are not economic or technological only.
The solutions are not more economic growth, privatisation
or trade liberalisation. What the world needs is a
Spiritual Revolution, where I, I, me, me, culture is
replaced with we and us culture. Globalisation for the
Common Good is that needed culture: the culture of
solidarity and oneness with the poor, suppressed,
marginalised and excluded. Globalisation for the Common
Good is for the practise of Economics of Compassion,
Economics of Kindness and Economics of Solidarity. These
kinds of economics can only be practised by people who
are compassionate and kind. Globalisation for the Common
Good is the way to build a world that is just, free and
prosperous.
THE
ESSENTIAL DIMENSIONS OF GLOBALISATION FOR THE COMMON
GOOD:
The acknowledgement
of God, Ultimate Reality, or the One.
Our lives are grounded in an Ultimate Reality, the source
of the sacredness of all life and of the spiritual power,
hope, and trust that we discover in prayer or meditation,
in word or silence, and in our striving for just
relationships with all existence.
The investment of
Spiritual Capital. The most
powerful way for faith and spiritual communities to
influence beliefs, norms and institutions is through
prophetic voice and public action. Highly visible faith
and interfaith affirmation of the great spiritual truths
of peace, justice, and the sacredness of the Earth and
all life can make a tremendous contribution to
Globalisation for the Common Good. Action and service by
spiritual and faith communities and groups can provide a
vital source of inspiration and energy for the healing of
the world.
The practice of
selfless Love. The most
important point of convergence shared by the world's
great spiritual traditions is to be found in the practice
and power of selfless love for all humanity. It is the
wellspring of the best hope for a better
future.
The cultivation of
interfaith Dialogue and Engagement.
It is absolutely vital that religious and spiritual
communities come together with one another in honest and
open dialogue. It is also essential that these
communities enter into dialogue with secular groups,
organizations and governments working for a better world.
Religious and spiritual communities - in mutual respect
and partnership - must engage the critical issues that
face the planetary community as the 21st century
unfolds.
The nurturing of
cultures of Peace. True
cultural evolution is perhaps best measured in the
growing rejection of violent approaches to conflict
resolution in favour of the cultivation of the
infrastructures of forgiveness, reconciliation and peace.
Our greatest contribution to the future lies in ensuring
that our children grow to maturity in cultures of
peace.
The struggle for
Justice. Justice is the heart
of all creation. It is the profound feeling of oneness
with all other beings in the universe. Today, it finds
its most vital expression in social and economic
fairness, concern for others and the vigorous defence of
human rights.
The realization of
Gender Partnership. Challenging
the assumptions and infrastructures of patriarchy is
essential to cultural evolution. Women and men, living
and working together in harmony and equity, can build
stronger, more creative religious communities and
societies.
The path of
Sustainability. In this rapidly
changing world, our reverence for the Earth will
determine the fate of the entire community of planetary
life. This deep, visionary and unconditional caring for
what is yet to come, is the love of life embedded in
ecological sustainability.
The commitment to
Service. Service is our link to
spirit. Personal action for a better world is the
discernable manifestation of the divine in the human. The
essence of service is the grace of giving. We give
because giving is how life begins and how it continues.
This process will enhance personal responsibility for the
common good.
Globalisation for the Common Good
affirms that economics is, above all, concerned with
human well-being and happiness in society and with care
for the Earth. This cannot be separated from moral and
spiritual considerations. The idea of a "value-free"
economics is spurious. It demonstrates a complete
misunderstanding of what it means to be a human being.
We affirm our conviction that
genuine interfaith dialogue and cooperation is a
significant way of bringing the world together. It is
indispensable to the creation of the harmonious global
culture needed to build peace, justice, sustainability
and prosperity for all. The call for Globalisation for
the Common Good is an appeal to our essential humanity.
It engages the most pressing concerns of peoples the
world over.
Globalisation for the Common Good,
by addressing the crises that face us all, empowers us
with humanity, spirituality and love. It engages people
of different races, cultures and languages, from a wide
variety of backgrounds, all committed to bringing about a
world in which there is more solidarity and greater
harmony. This spiritual ground for hope at this time of
wanton destruction of our world, can help us to recall
the ultimate purpose of life and of our journey in this
world.
Part
Two - Globalisation for the Common Good: How It All
Began
The Story
of My Life
I was ready to tell
the story of my life
but the ripple of tears
and the agony of my
heart
wouldn't let me.
I began to stutter,
saying a word here and
there,
and all along I felt
as tender as a crystal
ready to be shattered
in this stormy sea
we call life.
All the big ships
come apart
board by board,
how can I survive
riding a lonely
little boat
with no oars
and no arms?
My boat was finally
broken
by the waves
and I broke free
as I tied myself
to a single board.
Though the panic is
gone,
I am now offended -
why should I be so
helpless,
rising with one wave
and falling with the
next?
I don't know
if I am
non-existence
while I exist
but I know for sure
when I am
I am not
but
when I am not
then I am.
Now how can I be
a sceptic
about the
resurrection and
coming to life again
since in this world
I have many times
like my own imagination
died and
been born again?
That is why,
after a long agonising
life
as a hunter,
I finally let go and got
hunted down and became
free
Rumi
How It
All Began
I was born in Tehran, Iran in 1952.
In 1971, after finishing high school, I came to England
to further my education. In 1974 I married my English
wife, Annie, and two years later we emigrated to Canada.
I received my BA and MA in Economics from the University
of Windsor in 1980 and 1982 respectively. We returned to
England in 1982, and in 1986 I was awarded my PhD in
Economics from the University of Birmingham.
From 1980 onwards, for the next
twenty years, I taught economics in universities,
enthusiastically demonstrating how economic theories
provided answers to problems of all sorts. I got quite
carried away by the beauty, the sophisticated elegance,
of complicated mathematical models and theories. But
gradually I started to have an empty feeling. I began to
suspect that neo-liberal economics was an emperor with no
clothes. What good were elegant theories which were
unable to explain all the poverty, exclusion, racism,
corruption, injustice and unhappiness that exist in the
world?
I came to feel that my life as a
lecturer was like a make-believe movie: sit and relax
… in the end models dreamt up by detached economists
will sort out the world's ills! My classrooms were
becoming unreal places. I began to ask fundamental
questions of myself. Why did I never talk to my students
about compassion, dignity, comradeship, solidarity,
happiness, spirituality - about the meaning of life? We
never debated the biggest questions. Who am I? Where have
I come from? Where am I going to?
I told them to create wealth, but I
did not tell them for what reason. I told them about
scarcity and competition, but not about abundance and
co-operation. I told them about free trade, but not about
fair trade; about GNP - Gross National Product - but not
about GNH - Gross National Happiness. I told them about
profit maximisation and cost minimisation, about the
highest returns to the shareholders, but not about social
consciousness, accountability to the community,
sustainability and respect for creation and the creator.
I did not tell them that, without humanity, economics is
a house of cards built on shifting sands. Where was the
economic theory that reflected my students' real lives?
How could I carry on believing in such an unreal world? I
could not go on asking them to believe unbelievable
theories in the name of economics.
I wanted to run away from all the
white elephants: the barren theories and models in my
textbooks, the department of economics, the MBA programme
which created managers who couldn't manage anything. I
could not carry on defending the indefensible. How could
I respect modern economics when it had no respect for
other disciplines?
These conflicts caused me much
frustration and alienation, leading to heartache and
despair. I needed to rediscover myself and a real-life
economics. After a proud twenty-year academic career, I
resigned from my position as lecturer and, after a
debilitating year of soul-searching, decided that I would
become a student all over again. I would study theology
and philosophy, disciplines nobody had taught me when I
was a student of economics.
It was at this difficult time that
I came to understand that I needed to bring spirituality,
compassion, ethics and morality back into economics
itself, to make this dismal science once again relevant
to and concerned with the common good. It was now that I
made the following discoveries:
• Economics, from the time of
Plato right through to Adam Smith and John Stuart Mill,
was as deeply concerned with issues of social justice,
ethics and morality as it was with economic analysis.
Most economics students today learn that Adam Smith was
the 'father of modern economics' but not that he was also
a moral philosopher. In 1759, sixteen years before his
famous Wealth of Nations, he published The Theory of
Moral Sentiments, which explored the self-interested
nature of man and his ability nevertheless to make moral
decisions based on factors other than selfishness. In The
Wealth of Nations, Smith laid the early groundwork for
economic analysis, but he embedded it in a broader
discussion of social justice and the role of government.
Students today know only of his analogy of the 'invisible
hand' and refer to him as defending free markets. They
ignore his insight that the pursuit of wealth should not
take precedence over social and moral obligations, and
his belief that a 'divine Being' gives us 'the greatest
quantity of happiness'. They are taught that the free
market as a 'way of life' appealed to Adam Smith but not
that he distrusted the morality of the market as a
morality for society at large. He neither envisioned nor
prescribed a capitalist society, but rather a 'capitalist
economy within society, a society held together by
communities of non-capitalist and non-market morality'.
That morality for Smith included neighbourly love, an
obligation to practice justice, a norm of financial
support for the government 'in proportion to
[one's] revenue', and a tendency in human nature
to derive pleasure from the good fortune and happiness of
other people.
• The leading figure in the
establishment of the American Economic Association (AEA)
in 1885 was the progressive economist Richard T. Ely. He
sought to combine economic theory with Christian ethics,
especially the command to love one's neighbour (as did
Adam Smith). He declared that the Church, the State and
the individual must work together to fulfil the Kingdom
of God on earth. Few economists or economics students
today know much of this history: that, for example,
twenty of the fifty founding members of the AEA were
former or practising ministers. Ely himself was a leading
member, in the 1880s, of the Social Gospel movement; he
was better known to the American public in this capacity
than as an economist. He believed that economics
departments should be located in schools of theology
because 'Christianity is primarily concerned with this
world, and it is the mission of Christianity to bring to
pass here a kingdom of righteousness.' As a 'religious
subject', economics should provide the base for 'a
never-ceasing attack on every wrong institution, until
the earth becomes a new earth, and all its cities, cities
of God.'
• The focus of economics
should be on the benefit and the bounty that the economy
produces, on how to let this bounty increase, and how to
share the benefits justly among the people for the common
good, removing the evils that hinder this
process.
• 'Economic rationality' in
the shape of neo-liberal globalisation is socially and
politically suicidal. Justice and democracy are
sacrificed on the altar of a mythical market as forces
outside society rather than creations of it.
• Every apparently economic
choice is, in reality, a social choice. We can choose a
society of basic rights - education, health, housing,
child support and a dignified pension - or greed,
pandemic inequality, ecological vandalism, civic chaos
and social despair. Modern neo-liberal economics ignores
the first and promotes the second path as the way to
achieve economic efficiency and growth.
• The moral crises of global
economic injustice today are integrally spiritual: they
signal something terribly amiss in the relationship
between human beings and God.
• Where the moral life and the
mystery of God's presence are held in one breath -
because the moral life is the same as the mystical life -
the moral agency may be found for establishing paths
towards a more just, compassionate and sustainable way of
living. 'Moral agency' is the active love of creation
(for oneself as well as for other people and for the
non-human creation); it is the will to orient life around
the ongoing well-being of communities and of the global
community, prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable;
it is the will to create social structures and policies
that ensure social justice and ecological
sustainability.
• In contrast to this
sensibility, which weds spirituality and morality, stands
modern economics' persistent tendency to divorce the two,
in particular to dissociate the intimate personal
experience of a close relationship with God from public
moral power.
• It is the belief in
collective responsibility and collective endeavour that
allows individual freedom to flourish. This can only be
realised when we commit ourselves to the common good and
begin to serve it.
• There are three
justifications for the common good which are not commonly
discussed in economics:
1. Human beings need human
contact, or sociability. The quality of that
interaction is important, quite apart from any
material benefits it may bring.
2. Human beings are formed in
the community - their education and training in virtue
(their preferences) are elements of the common
good.
3. A healthy love for the common
good is a necessary component of a fully developed
personality.
• The marketplace is not just
an economic sphere, 'it is a region of the human spirit'.
Profound economic questions are divine in nature; in
contrast to what is assumed today, they should be
concerned with the world of the heart and spirit.
Although self-interest is an important source of human
motivation, driving the decisions we make in the
marketplace every day, those decisions nevertheless have
a moral, ethical and spiritual content, because each
decision we make affects not only ourselves but others
too. We must combine the need for economic efficiency
with the need for social justice and environmental
sustainability.
• The greatest achievement of
modern globalisation will eventually come to be seen as
the opening up of possibilities to build a humane and
spiritually enriched globalised world through the
universalising and globalising of compassion. But for
'others' to become 'us', for the world to become intimate
with itself, we have to get to know each other better
than we do now. Prejudices have to disappear: we have to
see that the cultural, religious and ethnic differences
reflect an ultimate creative principle. For this to
happen, the great cultures and religions need to enter
into genuine dialogue with each other.
• Finally, today more than
ever before, given the collapse of Communism and the
increasing human and environmental cost of capitalism,
there is a pressing need for alternative economic models.
Activists are renewing Martin Buber's search for what in
1943 he called 'a genuine third alternative …
leading beyond individualism and collectivism, for the
life decision of future generations'. Crises for our
species such as mass starvation, Aids, unrestrained
violence and the degradation of our biosphere - crises
that transcend economic systems, political dogmas and
national boundaries - are bringing us face-to-face with
questions about self-preservation and self-restraint,
personal and communal responsibility, moral authority and
political power - questions that are at the very core of
our religious traditions. If the idea of divine authority
offends contemporary sensibilities, the environmental
imperatives of creation may be seen to be as pressing as
any divine commandments. The 'market value' of the
world's great faiths is at an all-time high in the
ongoing enterprise of human liberation. It is time to
call for a theological economics which can bring us
sustainability for the common good.
After concluding my theological
studies, I wrote a number of books and articles on my
newly discovered areas of interest and founded an annual
international conference, 'An Interfaith Perspective on
Globalisation for the Common Good', to address the
problems and challenges of globalisation not only from an
economic perspective but also from ethical, moral,
spiritual and theological points of view.
My first conference ('Common Goals,
Common Crises, Common Call and Common Hope') was held in
Oxford in 2002. I did not know what to expect, or how
many would turn up, but I was convinced it was the right
thing to do. We succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. We
had sixty senior speakers and many other participants
from different parts of the world. I felt humbled and
honoured. It was during this Oxford conference that I was
pressed by many delegates to make it an annual
event.
I enthusiastically took up the
challenge but decided that, as we were concerned with
globalisation, the conference should be held in a
different country each year, extending the opportunities
for dialogue and of learning from each other. Moreover,
each conference was to be in association with a local
organisation with aims similar to ours. So our first
conference in Oxford gave birth to a global movement to
promote and serve the common good.
The second conference, 'Ethics,
Spirituality and Religions: Transforming Globalisation
for the Common Good', was held in St Petersburg in 2003,
co-convened with Dr Tatiana Roskoshnaya, Director of the
Institute for Ecological Security in St Petersburg. I had
previously met Tatiana in London while attending a
conference and she had shared with me her concern for
what was taking place in Russia under the name of
free-market privatisation and deregulation. She invited
us to hold the conference there, believing it could
demonstrate that there are alternatives to the economics
of individualism and greed. Once again it was very
successful, with forty-four senior speakers and many
other international participants.
The third conference, 'Integrity,
Spirituality, Ethics and Accountability: Transforming
Business, Corporate Social Responsibility and
Globalisation for the Common Good' was held in Dubai in
2004, again with forty-four senior speakers and many
other participants. We were truly grateful to the Iranian
Business Council (IBC) in Dubai for organising a
wonderful event, 'Iran and Globalisation for the Common
Good', followed by an unforgettable Persian Gala Dinner
and entertainment. The event was under the Patronage of
HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of
Dubai and Minster of Finance. Six hundred invited guests,
senior politicians and businessmen, foreign diplomats,
academics and religious and cultural leaders attended the
event. Thanks to IBC and its visionary President Abbas
Bolurfrushan, we were able to share our vision with some
of the most senior global leaders.
The fourth conference, 'Africa and
Globalisation for the Common Good: The Quest for Justice
and Peace' was held at the Nishkam Puran Institute (NPI)
in Kericho, Kenya, in April 2005 under the esteemed
patronage of the Hon Dr A.A. Moody Awori, MP, Kenyan
Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs. It was
co-convened with Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh, known to all
as Baba Ji, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at our
first conference in Oxford.
The fifth conference, to be held at
the Chaminade University of Honolulu in 2006 as part of a
series of events celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of
the university, will be co-convened with a long-term
friend of globalisation for the common good, Professor
David Coleman.
Our work has benefited greatly from
the opening of our
own website for which I am
grateful to my good friend and colleague Dr Josef
Boehle.
Many campaigners for a better
world, wishing to serve and to promote the common good,
often face an uphill battle every day. In this final
paragraph, I wish to quote a poem from Hafez, the 14th
century Persian philosopher of love, a seeker of wisdom
who became a poet of genius, a lover of truth who has
transcended the ages. Hope this poem will be a source of
hope and inspiration to all of us.
Don't
Despair Walk On
Josef to his father in Canaan
shall return, don't despair walk on;
and Jacob's hut will brighten
with flowers, don't despair walk on.
Aching hearts heal in time,
vanished hopes reappear,
the disparate mind will be
pacified, don't despair walk on.
As the spring of life grows the
newly green meadow,
roses will crown the sweet
nightingale's song, don't despair walk on.
If the world does not turn to
your whims these few days,
cosmic cycles are preparing to
change, don't despair walk on.
If desperation whispers you will
never know God,
it's the talk of hidden games in
the veil, don't despair walk on.
O heart, when the vast flood
slashes life to its roots,
Captain Noah waits to steer you
ashore, don't despair walk on.
If you trek as a pilgrim through
sands to Kaabeh,
with thorns lodged deep in your
soul shouting why, don't despair walk on.
Though oases hide dangers and
your destiny's far,
there's no pathway that goes on
forever, don't despair walk on.
My trials and enemies face me on
their own,
but mystery always backs up my
stand, don't despair walk on.
Hafez, weakened by poverty,
alone in the dark,
this night is your pathway into
the light, don't despair walk on.
*Kamran Mofid, PhD (Econ), Founder,
An Inter-faith Perspective on Globalisation for the
Common Good; Co- Convenor, with Bhai Sahib Mohinder
Singh, Africa and Globalisation for the Common Good: The
Quest for Justice and Peace, An International Conference,
Kericho, Kenya, 21-24 April, 2005. More about
For
The Common Good.
A New Book by Kamran Mofid and Rev.
Marcus Braybrooke, Promoting the Common Good: Bringing
Economics and Theology Together Again, Shepheard-
Walwyn (Publishers), London, June 2005.
Book
details and you can
pre-order
it here.
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