[Buddha-l] Poll on Buddho-capitalism

[Richard Hayes]

On Monday 14 May 2007 15:49, Blumenthal, James wrote:

> I am thinking about the kind of capitalism I observe around me in American
> everyday where people are flooded with images attempting to generate in
> them attachemt to objects so that they will buy them.  Consumerism is the
> defining characteristic of capitalism as it is practiced in America.

I don't think it makes much sense to regard the kind of capitalism that has 
taken root in the USA (and in most places infected by the contagion thereof) 
as the norm of what capitalism must be. Surely what exists now deserves to be 
qualified. It is not capitalism as such but very dysfunctional and morally 
decadent form of capitalism. In condemning it, I think one should be clear 
that it is the decadence and dysfunctionality that is worthy of condemnation, 
not the capitalism itself.

> Not being encouraged to spend it lavishly
> > on comforts and luxuries, they live modestly and accumulate a surplus of
> > resources that they then give to charities and invest in other
> > enterprises.
>
> Sounds nice.  Where does it exist?

It is not so uncommon really. One can find it easily enough if one looks for 
it. It used to be more common perhaps. What has changed, I think, is that 
moral bankruptcy used to draw more negative attention from prominent people, 
while now it is not only accepted by those in power but actually encouraged 
by reckless tax cuts and all manner of deregulation. I think if you were to 
go a few hundred miles north of where you are these days, you'd find an 
abundance of healthy capitalism in a place the wise call Canada.

> Sure, I said that I thought it was possible to live ethically in a
> capitalist society, just very rare.

It is probably a lot less rare than you think. You may be predisposed to see 
only the ugly forms of debased capitalism and to overlook the more healthy 
and sustainable kinds that are fully compatible with Buddhist precepts and 
indeed with universal religious precepts. It could be that, like a lot of us 
who have grown disenchanted with trends of recent years, you have allowed 
anger to filter and flavor your perceptions. But, as Lusthaus rightly points 
out, the usual Buddhist word for filtered perception is delusion (or at least 
parikalpita).

-- 
Richard P. Hayes
Department of Philosophy
University of New Mexico
http://www.unm.edu/~rhayes