Three things passed me by this last week that all centred on
the economy. 1. The media analysis of the government quandary that the low
interest rates are failing to stimulate growth in consumer spending and that
this is a very bad thing. 2. Watching the documentary Tomorrow with friends at the
One World Centre on Friday night; and 3.
Richard Rohr’s meditations on Economy:
Old and New.
While not new themes to me, the congruence was noticeable. The
demands for the economy to be based on perpetual growth is failing and we need
to recreate a new economy which values the natural world and safeguards peoples
livelihood to prevent a collapse across societies. The excellent doco Tomorrow
showed positive examples around the world on 5 dominant themes Agriculture;
Energy; Economics; Democracy; and Education. Under Economics there was the
example of a French envelope/packaging company that deliberately didn’t pay
dividends to shareholders and invested all profits into the wellbeing of staff
and the workplace. There wasn’t much difference between the highest and lowest
paid workers; they planted four trees for every one tree that was used for
making paper; changed to water soluble inks without any toxins; installed solar
energy and recycled water amongst many other innovative practices that made
working there enjoyable and demand was increasing. There were many other
examples of localised and cooperative ventures across all the topics.
From Richard Rohr’s writings: The title of Sharif Abdullah’s book, Creating
a World that Works for All, is an invitation to us all to
participate. He invites us to a lifelong practice of the better, the art of
being a “Mender” who consciously seeks out opportunities to practice
interconnection and interdependence with other beings, which are indeed
foundational to any new economy. Abdullah writes:Being
a Mender, an activist for an inclusive society, is a spiritual discipline. We
practice a different kind of spirituality: the spirituality of turbulent times.
Working to alleviate suffering is the way we practice our faith. We try not to
act from anger or fear. We act because, in this life we have been given, we
believe we can help make things better. Acting out of compassion to
lessen suffering and improve the lives of others is the way we celebrate the
Spirit. Knowing that each of our acts, however small, builds the vitality of
the Web of Life brings us joy, satisfaction, and power.
Another great sounding book An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture
by Peter Block, John McKnight, and Walter Brueggemann describes the
shifts in thinking that could create a post-consumer economy. Instead of
centralised wealth and power and profits, to be neighbourly, localised communal and cooperative culture.
Such inspirational examples and writings challenge me at the
practical level about purchase decisions. My conditioning to buy the cheapest
has added to mass production, taking from natural world in the most ‘efficient’
way, eroding worker’s conditions/rights and separating me from the provider. Lots
of challenges there.
