Abstract
Increasingly, concern is being expressed from a number of quarters about the shortcomings of modern capitalism. On the other hand, the command (i.e., centrally planned) socialist economies have apparently not been a success, resulting in the widespread view that there is no alternative to the current shareholder value capitalism model. This model, intellectually grounded in neoclassical economics, still dominates business school education, thereby shaping future business leaders and economic policy makers, and at least implicitly informs much popular discourse, including that of the popular press. Given the very serious shortcomings of modern capitalism, which will be discussed in this chapter, there is a need to reconceptualize economics to transform our societies for the better. This chapter, therefore, considers how Buddhist philosophy and the ethical principles derived from it can provide an alternative system of thought, to inform the development of an improved economic system that works for all.
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Lucas, M. (2018). The Need for and Nature of Buddhist Economics. In: Stanley, S., Purser, R., Singh, N. (eds) Handbook of Ethical Foundations of Mindfulness. Mindfulness in Behavioral Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76538-9_11
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