What is Deep Conscious Capitalism?

"Mindfulness must be engaged. Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise what is the use of seeing.? " - Thich Naht Hahn, Peace is Every Step

Buddha said, since all things are created in mind, all things can be changed in the mind. Maybe there is a way to deconstruct this modern mythical dragon of capitalism, once we are no longer afraid to look at it closely. Maybe we can all be part of a multipurpose solution rather than part of an ever growing boomeritis of poverty, war, injustice, pollution, institutional and social-mental dysfunctions of all kinds.

Here is a great blog on Social Entrepreneurism and Conscious Capitalism .

I have coined the term ‘deep conscious capitalism’ to distinguish it from ‘conscious capitalism’. The latter is about taking individual responsibility in making conscious choices about what to buy, whom to buy from, where to invest, how best to conserve energy, cut consumption, recycle waste, donate money, volunteer and take care of our health and our personal habitat. Deep conscious capitalism is about taking collective responsibility and engaging collective mind to look deep within our collective unconscious, mental perception and conditionings to find a shared solution to a universal problem. It is time for us to collectively tune into our hearts, listen to our inner knowing, guidance, and wisdom to examine our dominant modes of perception based on duality, reductionism, linearity, and solidified concepts that are not grounded in real life. As Dalai Lama said recently, “To meet the challenge of our times, human beings will have to develop a greater sense of universal responsibility. Each of us must learn to work not just for his or her own self, family or nation, but also for the benefit of all mankind. Universal responsibility is the real key to human survival. It is the best foundation for world peace, the equitable use of natural resources and, through concern for future generations, the proper care of the environment." Also see Gandhi & Buddhist Economics

Good News from DAVOS: Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates called for a new form of "creative capitalism" and pledged $306 million in grants to develop farming in poor countries, leading the charge for corporate responsibility at a major meeting of business chiefs. "If we are serious about ending extreme hunger and poverty around the world, we must be serious about transforming agriculture for small farmers, most of whom are women," Gates said. [Source: CNN].

I was inspired to email Bill Gates in late 1998-99 that his surplus wealth has the potential to bring enormous well-being IF directed towards empowering social entrepreneurs, and grassroot efforts by small groups and individual innovators, women and minorities across the globe. And that investment in 'building lives', 'basic infrastucture', local self-sufficiency, local skills, healthy community relations must accompany his emphasis on 'saving lives' in order to be effective in the long-run. A change of heart and expansion of consciousness is the best way to correct poor-rich imbalances. Great power always come with great responsibility. If that responsibility is not met, civilizations perish. 

Here's a Combat-Free Lessons from a Wombat!

Is Conscious Business enough, how "conscious" is conscious? Is it sufficient, superficial or authentic? See comment here.

60 million Americans on $7 a day : NY Times

The Times article notes that the bottom fifth of all taxpayers average reported income was only $5,743 each. Because the IRS includes a single individual or a married couple in its definition of a “taxpayer” the poorest 26 million taxpayers account for the equivalent nearly 48 million adults and about 12 million dependent children. According to the Times analysis, this means the poorest 60 million Americans have reported incomes of less than $7 a day! It is often noted that 3 billion of the world’s poorest people live on less than $2 a day. In the US, where the cost of living is far higher, $7 a day is only enough to guarantee a life of destitution. The fact that 60 million people live in such dire poverty—and tens of millions more could face the same fate if they lost their jobs or confronted some other financial catastrophe—is a damning indictment of American capitalism and the free market model it touts around the world.

Sources: NY Times Report
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/dec2006/ineq-d12.shtml
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/16760690.htm (McClatchy Report)

The Human Rights Record in the U.S. in 2006

China's report on Human Rights Violations in America

by China's State Council
The U.S. Justice Department reported on Sept. 10, 2006 that there were 5.2 million violent crimes in the United States in 2005, the highest rate in 15 years. The United States has the largest number of privately owned guns in the world.

The United States has the world's largest number of prisoners. According to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Nov. 30, 2006, by the end of 2005, nearly 2.2 million inmates were held in state and federal prisons or country and municipal jails. The adult U.S. correctional population, including those on probation or parole, reached a high of more than Seven million men and women for the first time. About three percent of the U.S. adult population, or one in every 32 adults, were in the nation's prisons and jails or on probation or parole. A report, issued by the U.S. Department of Justice on Sept. 7, 2006, said that more than half of the inmates in U.S. prisons suffered from mental problems.

The Americans in poverty constitute the “Third World” of U.S. society. A report released by the U.S. Census Bureau on August. 29,2006 said there were 37 million people living in poverty in 2005, accounting for 12.6 percent of total U.S. population. The report also said there were 7.7 million families in poverty and one out of eight Americans was living in poverty in 2005. The poverty rates of Cleveland and Detroit were as high as 32.4 percent and 31.4 percent respectively and nearly one out of three was living under the poverty line.

There are 600,000 or so homeless people nationwide, including 16,000 homeless in Washington D.C. and 3,800 in New York City, and 88,345 in LA area.

The United States lags behind most countries in legal protection for labor and family-friendly policies in the workplace. The Voice of America reported on Feb. 4,2007 that a study of 173 countries with high, middle and low income jointly conducted by Harvard University and McGill University found the United States is one of the only five countries that do not guarantee some form of paid maternity leave, the other four countries being Lesotho, Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea

Unequal Access

According to U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 data, in the United States more than half ethnic minority males dropped school before high school graduation, 67.5 percent Hispanics and 53 percent blacks got no further education after graduating from high school. White Americans were more likely to hold a graduate or professional degree. At least 30 percent white adults held a bachelor's degree, compared with 17 percent black adults and 12 percent Hispanic adults.

According to a report released by the Human Rights Watch on Dec. 1, 2006, the number of black inmates was 6.6 times that of whites and the number of Latino inmates was 2.5 times that of white inmates. Statistics showed that about one out of 12 black men were in jail or prison, compared with one in 100 white men. Researchers pointed to poverty, a lack of opportunities, racism in the criminal justice system for the black-white prison gap 12.9 million children under 18 lived below the poverty line by the end of 2005 and 8.3 million children uninsured.

Psychological Stress and Health

Each year in the U.S., thousands of teenagers commit suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15-to-24-year-olds. Over sixty-percent of teens who kill themselves use guns.No doubt, China has its own share of problems with human right violation.

Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide.^{1 -} Canadian Mental Health Asso

Financial and Job Stress

The leading cause of stress poll by LifeCare cites 1) finance, and 2) job and careers as primary causes of employee stress. The poll was open to employees of LifeCare's 1,500 client companies nationwide via its web site, http://www.lifecare.com/, during the month of April, 2005.

The human costs of outsourcing, offshoring and downsizing manufacturing, high-tech and high skill jobs from developed to developing countries are being increasingly felt everywhere. Having one or two dominant world currency for international trade and Third-world debt may not be a good idea after all!

And what all the above economic, social, mental health dysfunctions got to do with enlightened capitalism or changing the macro system from inside out??? Hmm…may be a whole lot and more.