Sustainability Needs a Convergence of Economics and Spirituality
Acharya Prashant: People feel that because human intelligence knows no limits and human desire knows no limits, therefore the human race is going to keep expanding endlessly. They are taking inspiration from history. They keep saying that if you look at history, man has kept ceaselessly inventing; if you look at history, man has kept endlessly progressing; if you look at history, then man has never stopped at one particular level of development. So, from this historical trend, they want to extrapolate that the future will be the same as the past. What they forget to factor in is the simple variable called the carrying capacity of the Earth. Yes, till now we have kept materially expanding, both in terms of consumption and in terms of population, because the Earth, this planet, could afford that.
But now we have come to a very special point in history; we cannot do it any further, and that is irrespective of the kind of efficient technologies we bring about. When it comes to technology and efficiency, the more efficient a technology becomes, the more widespread its use becomes. Hence, the net material consumption, instead of declining, actually increases. So, if you say that a particular raw material or resource is in scarcity and hence we need better technology to enable its more efficient consumption, then that better technology would indeed make the consumption more efficient, and therefore more affordable, and therefore more widespread. Hence, the net result would not be a decrease in consumption but actually an increase in consumption.
So, let’s get over the idea that with better technologies we will be able to continue expanding materially forever. That is not going to happen. People give the example of Europe; they say, “See, in the middle of the last century, Europe was as polluted as India and China currently are. Look at the Ganges today, and look at the condition of the Thames in the 1950s. Not much difference.” They say, “Look at the Delhi sky today and look at the London sky in the 50s. Not much difference. But Europe progressed more materially, and more material growth was the answer to pollution.” That’s their line of reasoning. So, they say, “If you want to overcome the problems facing the Earth today, the solution is not less consumption but more consumption, because today the Thames is quite clean, and Europe is quite green, and the air quality in Europe is just fine. And how did this come about? This came about by more growth, more consumption.”
So, their logic is, let there be more technology and that will lead to a solution to our problems. What they forget is the difference between a local optimum and a global optimum. Europe is clean today, yes, but at what cost to the rest of the world? It’s almost like saying that a five-star hotel has a pretty pleasant ambiance—yes, obviously, but at what cost to the overall environment? It is clean and comfortable, but what is it doing to the environment in general? So, that kind of logic is misplaced. Further, let’s not forget that in global terms, Europe is just around thirty, thirty-five crore people, less than UP and Bihar combined. Europe can indulge in material extravaganza. If the rest of the world starts following the standards of America or Canada or Europe or Japan, then we will have an unremitting scale of disaster.
The mind of an economist has to stop thinking in language terms of consumption now. If you are an aspiring economist, that’s my advice to you. Unfortunately, too many economists are still very, very old school; all they talk about is demand and supply, production and consumption. Consumption is not the way ahead. Economics and spirituality have to now converge. You cannot keep measuring human wellness by human consumption anymore; not possible. You have to train yourself to think in different terms. Your internal model of human wellness has to be very different now; it has to be an internal model.
What does an internal model mean? You will ask how peaceful the person really is. And remember, now you cannot ask if the fellow has the basic means of survival because, as we said, the developed world already has those means, and within a few decades all of the developing world, too, will have all of those means. So, that question has become very irrelevant.
Does the fellow have food to eat? Does the fellow have clothes to wear? Does the fellow have basic security, physical security? Those things will become irrelevant soon. Then you will have to train yourself as an economist to ask, does the fellow really understand life? Does the fellow really know love? Does the fellow have it in him to remain stable in the face of psychological turbulence? These are things that will now determine and define your wellness. So, be ready for the new world of wellness.
Full article link: https://acharyaprashant.org/en/articles/external-growth-is-passe-we-now-need-internal-growth-1_8f8581b
