Power and Purification: Marxists and Buddhists

Part I of Social Economics examines how values affect views of economic systems. Some economists like to argue for universal adoption of “the economic way of thinking.” But, of course, there is no such universal approach. In this chapter I outline two alternatives to mainstream views which provide heavy critiques of markets, Marxist and Buddhist. Two more are presented in the next chapter. A central assertion of Karl Marx was that distributions of income and wealth are determined by the power structure within the economic system, in contrast to the neo-classical view in which income and wealth disparities reflect differences in market value produced. Marx emphasizes class structure, based on separation by ownership of productive assets, which, he argues, creates a power differential, which leads to coercion which in turn leads to inequality. Buddhist Economics emphasizes an economic system that purifies human character and builds community through genuine caring. Buddhist economics seeks maximum well-being with minimum consumption. Work is seen by the Buddhist economist as integral to the development of character, in contrast to the neo-classical view of work as a disutility, something to generally be avoided. The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is examined from the Buddhist and neo-classical perspectives.