Tania Singer - Caring Economics: Conversations on Altruism and Compassion, Between Scientists, Economists, and the Dalai Lama

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Today, we live in a truly interconnected world. In todays global economy, the destinies of peoples across nations, even continents, have become deeply intertwined. This unprecedented level of economic integration has brought prosperity to many and raised peoples standard of living. However, there is no denying that it has also exacerbated the growing gap between rich and poor, not only between nations but also within nations themselves.

Concern about how to bridge this gap between rich and poor prompts many questions. Can something be done to make our economic systems fairer? Is the basic premise of our modern capitalist systemthat the markets invisible hand will ensure self-sustaining efficiencyvalid in todays globalized world? Is there any place for powerful positive human motivation, such as altruism, in our economic systems, or is the common assumption that selfish behavior reaps greater rewards correct? Is growth measured in terms of GDP (gross domestic product) really the best indicator of a nations economic progress? Finally, and perhaps most important of all, we need to examine the connection between economic systems and our quest for happiness.

In April 2010, a group of people came together in Zurich, Switzerland, under the auspices of the Mind and Life Institute to discuss these and other questions over two days. The main question, What is the relevance of pro-social motivation and altruism in competitive systems such as the dominant Western economic system?, took on added relevance in light of the 2008 global financial crisis. Participants included psychologists, contemplative scientists, and neuroscientists working on the foundations of economic decision making, cooperation, pro-social behavior, empathy, and compassion, and others working on innovative economic systems. I had the good fortune to be part of this stimulating conversation.

It became increasingly clear that fundamental rethinking needs to take place in the field of economics. Economics needs to broaden its horizons. Questions of fairness and more equitable distribution, as well as larger social and environmental impacts, need to be taken into account. There is a growing realization that ethics and compassion in economics are equally important; after all, economics involves human activity and the basic goal of promoting greater happiness and alleviating suffering.

I am happy to know that with the publication of this book, Caring Economics , the rich and thought-provoking exchanges that took place at the Zurich meeting can be shared with many other interested individuals. I am grateful to everyone whose contribution made the meeting and the book possible. The kind of economic system we should have is a question relevant not only to experts but also to each and every one of us. I look forward to the emergence of a new kind of economic system that combines the dynamism of the market with an explicit concern for more equitable distribution of its fruits. I hope that the discussions revealed in these pages will serve as a catalyst for bringing that about.

JUNE 27, 2014

Tania Singer, Matthieu Ricard, and Diego Hangartner

These days whenever we turn on the television or pick up a newspaper, it seems that we are bombarded with discussions of an impending financial crisis and its possible remedies. Many of the proposed solutions do not address the depth of the problem but instead aim merely to resume business as usual. People increasingly recognize the shortcomings of such approaches, and the need to rethink our economic systems and actions on an individual and global level. For many, simply preventing another financial crisis is not enough. Around the world, young people and families, scholars and workers, activists and politicians are calling for a more caring, sustainable, equitable economyone that does not accommodate the desires of a few elites but benefits the worlds community through compassion and humanitarianism, and offers long-term care for future generations and the fate of the biosphere. Is such a system possible? What would it look like, and how could it change our world?

In April 2010, world-renowned scholars from such diverse disciplines as economics, neuroscience, philosophy, contemplative practice, and business came together with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Zurich, Switzerland, to investigate these questions at a conference entitled Altruism and Compassion in Economic Systems, organized and hosted by the Mind and Life Institute. The Mind and Life Institute emerged out of a series of interdisciplinary dialogues between His Holiness the Dalai Lama, scientists, philosophers, and contemplatives to investigate the mind and the nature of reality, and thereby promote well-being on the planet. Since 1987, these dialogues have explored a wide range of topics, from physics, cosmology, ecology, and ethics to destructive emotions and education.

In many ways, Altruism and Compassion in Economic Systems was one of Mind and Lifes most ambitious conferences, the vision of neuroscientist Tania Singer. In 2006, Tania joined a research program at the University of Zurich that brought together psychologists, neuroscientists, and economists to investigate the foundations of human pro-sociality and cooperation. By this time, microeconomists such as Ernst Fehr (later one of the conference speakers) had already shown that people take fairness into account during economic exchanges; yet existing economic models were primarily based on selfish preferences. Concepts of compassion and altruistic motivation, which were frequently studied in psychology and were the focus of highly developed Buddhist practices, were still foreign to economic scholarship and the applied economic world. Tania wanted to bring these disciplines together to explore how competitive economic systems could be reconciled with humanitarian values and pro-social motivation. She proposed the idea to Mind and Life and joined forces with head of Mind and Life Europe Diego Hangartner and French-born author and Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, and planning for the conference began.

At first, some scholars questioned what Buddhist and contemplative studies could bring to a discussion of economics. The two sets of ideas seemed divergentthe former concerned with compassion, voluntary simplicity, and reducing suffering, the latter with the pursuit of material wealth and the external conditions of comfort and well-being. Yet these systems also have something important in common: they are both designed to foster human happiness. Have they delivered on their promises? Tania, Matthieu, and Diego wondered what would happen if these disciplines came together in conversation with neuroscience, philosophy, and business. Could the conference participants envision an economic system that delivered both material prosperity and human well-being? The dialogues that ensued provided insights into the nature of economic systems and actions, and offered a new model for homo economicus as a fundamentally pro-social being.

Toward a Caring Economy

What we begin with is this premise: since what we seek is happiness, the most valuable resources are those that lead to this goal.