59. IBP: Clair Brown on Buddhist Economics

Our year long-series on practice continues and we stray further into the world of politics and economics with this episode’s guest. Economics is a form of human practice of course, and not a solid, eternal fixed inevitability. Like politics, it’s a topic often resisted by spiritual and religious folks. Yet, in a democracy, we would all do well to educate ourselves further on this topic that is so deeply woven into our every day lives and even our sens of ourselves in the world, so why not combine a conversation on Buddhism and economics to elucidate alternatives to a world beyond Neo-liberalism? Does Buddhism have something worth adding this kind of conversation?

That’s just what we have done in this episode with Clair Brown, who is an economist at U.C. Berkley. In this episode we discuss Buddhist Economics, the name of her book on the topic. Clair has been active in seeking to construct and teach alternatives to the free market, neo-liberal economic model we are still living under and Buddhism, along with the work of E.F. Schumacher, plays a role.

Using real world evidence and data, she has been developing policies towards an economics more suited to our 21st century plight and a reduction of suffering globally.

Clair has a dedicated website on the topic with a reading group section for those interested in working with her book. buddhisteconomics.net/