Material-development and growth fuels the
economy. Policy makers, technicians, bureaucrats intensify their efforts
to accelerate and expand its growth. The world will be destroyed by this way of
thinking.
In former times, when society was based on agriculture in
small family farms, rooted in religious culture of community, sharing, charity,
selflessness -- cooperation rather than competition was the norm.
Harmony and
preservation of resources was valued.
Our modern way of life is not superior to the village life
of rural societies.
Why do the technocrats think they are ‘improving” the world,
or way of life, through their heartless innovations?
Why do they think
things are improving, for the better? How do they measure improvement?
Mahatma Gandhi rejected production-consumption as the
goal/aim of human life.
Spirituality is primary to material, he said. The less
dependence on material things, the greater the freedom of spirit. The bigger
anything is, the more dehumanizing, inhuman, it becomes. Big systems are
destructive to humanity.
Reject “bigness” and “growth” as admirable values; but
admire “smallness,” simplicity, balance as the qualities of development.
Shumacher, in his book Small is Beautiful, said: “The
keynote to Buddhist economics is simplicity and non-violence. From the
economists point of view, the marvel of the Buddhist way of life is the utter
rationality of its pattern – amazingly, small means leading to extraordinarily
satisfactory results.”
He recommended (1) methods free of machinery; (2) play as
part of life/work; (3) decentralization of power, decisions on the lowest
level.
Wise technologies would: Respect simple satisfactions, traditional
values, gradual progress in both physical and spiritual endeavors, preservation
rather than destruction, reduction of craving, avoidance of violence, and
development of spiritual rather than material things.
As I reflect on "wise technologies" I think these suggestions would be a way of evaluating skillful or unskillful decisions:
Human values vs Technological values
People first vs profits first
Spiritual development
vs
material development
Preservation vs innovation
Inward vs outward
Quality vs quantity
Technology must
submit to nature vs nature must submit to technology
Contentment vs desire/craving
Unity (harmony) vs conformity
Needs vs luxury
Abundance vs scarcity
Balance vs growth
Connection vs attachment
Interbeing (social) vs individual/self
Diverse (local) vs universal (global)
Cooperation vs competition
Sharing vs hoarding
Simplicity vs complexity
Decentralization vs centralization
Small vs big
Slow/gradual vs fast/instant results
Humans submit to
nature vs humans submit to machines
Priceless vs valued
Subjective vs objective
Welfare vs warfare
Duty vs rights
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