Value: Individual vs. Community

[Joshua]

The economy is a topic of great debate lately. Much of the focus is about investment losses, job losses, the struggles those losses create, and the desire for the broken system to work again. Solutions to the economic problems include government intervention, reestablishing a true free market system, or a refinement of the current system. It is my contention that most of the arguments fail to acknowledge that the system itself is broken and will remain broken as long as the system is designed for individual progress instead of a collective, unified progress.

Here is an equation: BUDGET >= COST <= VALUE

Budget is the maximum you are able to spend on any particular item. The Cost is the real price or cost of ownership of the item. Value is what you perceive the item to be worth based on a random combination of factors that is unique to you. To purchase an item, the Cost must be at or below what you can spend as well as equal to or less than the perceived value. The greater the difference between the value and cost, in theory, increases the likelihood of the item being bought. Now let us consider purchasing a vehicle.

Before I go shopping, I determine what I am willing to spend and what the most I could ever spend is. Next, I get a general idea of what features and capabilities (Value) I need or want. The assumption is that I could reasonably get those features at a cost that is within my budget. When I did a quick survey of some friends, here were some items that created value. Reliability, fuel economy, design, and vehicle class (such as truck, 4-door sedan, etc.). The idea is that the right combination of those features would create a higher value. Now when I go shopping, I look at models where my perception of value is the greatest. Finally, I see if the cost of ownership is within my budget and if so, which ultimately is the best deal (cost vs. value).

Notice all aspects of the purchase of this vehicle had not considered the community, only the individual. Fuel economy could have community benefits; however, all those polled considered fuel economy in terms of the actual cost of using fuel, not in terms of conservation and environment. Consider all aspects of our economy, from the individual through the business and government. Who is it designed for? Is it designed for the welfare of an entire people? Is it designed to be an example of unity? Should the businesses even care about the system since the government should? I believe the entire system is driven by the individualistic philosophy. Many feel government is the solution. It could if it did not represent and was run by people who believe in the individualistic philosophy. A government in a democracy is at best, a direct reflection of the values of the society it represents.

The next thought of most logical thinkers would be then to reform the system so that the system looks out for the entire community as a whole. How well has that worked so far? We see the systems of Communism and see failure. What then? To me, there is no immediate solution. What is needed is an entire overhaul of the foundation of the economic systems (and all other aspects of human life.) The individual is the foundation. With current thought, which has not evolved much given overall human progression, is that the economic systems is a way to individual wealth which in turn would create community wealth by de facto. This can be more true with socialistic taxation measures that attempt to distribute the resources. Remember, government is the result of the community need.

I know in my own life, I fit the individual pursuit quite well. I invest where I can with the goal of creating my own individual wealth. I have no idea what to even do with the money once I make it, I am just preprogrammed to know that I can have more options in my individual life if I make that money. I honestly have never understood how this free market system actually started. We today measure things like net worth and gross domestic product. What actually increases is not the wealth but the perceived worth of all goods. Imagine this scenario.

There are 3 people, each with $10. Each person wants to purchase one silver coin, valued at $10. The only silver coin vendor in the entire world is willing to sell the coins at $10. The value and cost of the transation is $30. Quite simply, the supply met the demand. Now, imagine the $10 each person had was the only dollars that existed. The twist is one of the people wanted an extra coin. There are multiple courses of action that can be taken. If we take the model of the current free market system, we would say the person cannot afford the extra coin. There is no other money available. If there was, we could make a credit for $10 that can be repaid later. There is no other money available so no credit can exist. The person who wants 2 coins should just have to settle for 1. This person could try to barter so that the 2 coins are worth $10. However, the 2 people that were willing to pay $10 for the silver coin valued the coins at $10. There is no reason for the vendor to sell 2 coins at $5 each when $10 is the price. With a community approach, it might be safe to think that the average perceived value of each coin is $7.50. Each person then tells the vendor they will only pay $7.50 for the silver coins priced at $10. The vendor may eventually realize no coin will be sold as there are only $30 that exist in the world. Now, 4 coins were sold for a total of $30 and each person has what they wanted because they worked together. You are probably saying, this is preposterous and unimaginable, possibly too unrealistic. Interesting, yes.

The system in place has established that money is infinite. As long as we can perceive the value as increasing, then the amount of money that exists has to also increase at least as much. I have also established that value is largely a function of the individual, not the collective. This means that for as long as we value the increase of wealth and net worth to be greater than our communities, basically more money will have to be printed. Today, the US government is able to and allowed to print money whenever it pleases. This is why the debt accumulated is often times ignored. The perception is that money is infinite and value can be increased at whim. To back this up, all numbers tracked by the government, representative of the values of the people, keep track of gross domestic product growth, value of homes as decreasing or increasing, etc. To me, this is large-scale daydreaming. What we have is individual greed has created a collective system based solely on imagination and fancy. We make up money to support individual value. I still haven't figured out what happens to physical money during a recession when perceived values of all goods decreases. I know those pieces of paper do not disappear.

Anyway, I went on a very long tangent. I will get back on track. Now, how do we create a system that is not based on greed, imagination, can take care of everyone equally, and still allows for innovation? I have no clue. What I do have a clue about is that the individual needs to change. I need to change what I value. How do we do that?

As a Baha'i, there are very direct things we are taught by God through Baha'u'llah that we ourselves can change. Let me share some quotes from the Kitab-i-Aqdas.

“Hold ye fast unto refinement under all conditions, that your eyes may be preserved from beholding what is repugnant both to your own selves and to the dwellers of Paradise. Should anyone depart therefrom, his deed shall at that moment be rendered vain; yet should he have good reason, God will excuse him. He, in truth, is the Gracious, the Most Bountiful.”

“Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you. Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body. Thus counselleth you the Pen of Revelation, if ye be of them that believe.”

“O people of the world! Follow not the promptings of the self, for it summoneth insistently to wickedness and lust; follow, rather, Him Who is the Possessor of all created things, Who biddeth you to show forth piety, and manifest the fear of God. He, verily, is independent of all His creatures. Take heed not to stir up mischief in the land after it hath been set in order. Whoso acteth in this way is not of Us, and We are quit of him.”

“The treasures ye have laid up have drawn you far away from your ultimate objective. This ill beseemeth you, could
ye but understand it.”

“Adorn your heads with the garlands of trustworthiness and fidelity, your hearts with the attire of the fear of God, your tongues with absolute truthfulness, your bodies with the vesture of courtesy. These are in truth seemly adornings unto the temple of man, if ye be of them that reflect.”

“Liberty must, in the end, lead to sedition, whose flames none can quench. Thus warneth you He Who is the Reckoner, the All-Knowing. Know ye that the embodiment of liberty and its symbol is the animal. That which beseemeth man is submission unto such restraints as will protect him from his own ignorance, and guard him against the harm of the mischief-maker. Liberty causeth man to overstep the bounds of propriety, and to infringe on the dignity of his station. It debaseth him to the level of extreme depravity and wickedness.”

“Wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves; fear God, and be not of the prideful. Ye are all created out of water, and unto dust shall ye return. Reflect upon the end that awaiteth you, and walk not in the ways of the oppressor.”

“It is incumbent upon each one of you to engage in some occupation—such as a craft, a trade or the like. We have exalted your engagement in such work to the rank of worship of the one true God. Reflect, O people, on the grace and blessings of your Lord, and yield Him thanks at eventide and dawn. Waste not your hours in idleness and sloth, but occupy yourselves with what will profit you and others.”

The World Order as revealed by Baha'u'llah included those above statements as well as many many more. The Suriy-i-Muluk also includes many exhortations to the leaders of the world in how to be proper stewards of leadership. I will close with a couple reflections based on the above quotes.

If work is equal to worship of God if it profits us and others, why can't consumption be considered in the same light? If we are fingers of one hand, does that mean the actions of an individual always have a consequence for the entire hand? If we are all created from the same water and end in the same dust, are we supposed to be equal at every point in between? What does liberty have to do with animalistic behavior? If the goal is peace and unity, could the treasures we have created (imagined) for ourselves be a cause of discord? Does truthfulness also include acknowledging what is imagined and what is real? What do all of these questions have to deal with refinement?

I believe once the average person is able to grasp the answers to those questions as well as understand what is written by God throughout our history, we may have a chance at developing an economic system that truly has the interests of all mankind as the focus.

[Katja]

Great, very thought provoking!
If work is equal to worship of God if it profits us and others, why can't consumption be considered in the same light?
My thoughts are that consumption is necessary. The type of consumption the world could do without is "needful things". Those things that you suddenly desire when you're feeling down and get a barrage of TV ads; magazine and newspaper ads telling you that if you bought a product you would be as gleefully happy as the models pictured. 5 minutes ago you had no clue what it was and now your life is incomplete without it...+ suddenly everyone you know seems to have one. The type of consumption based on the "needful" designer clothes and gadgets appealing to peoples misery has to go...imagine ethical, marketing in which you can't falsely advertise!

Ms X lives in a secular society where it's not fashionable to talk of the spiritual but you can talk about what you own. X bases her self-esteem and self worth on trying to make people envy her and derives a sense of identity and a reputation based on her possessions...A similar person without money is envious; miserable he/she realises they have access to credit - for the duration of their splurge they're happy, until it dawns they still have a massive bill to pay off. Or in extreme cases mortgages and bailiffs knocking on the door.

That's not to say that people who have the means don't have the ability to be detached; resist greed and be spiritual. I think materialism is rooted in unhappiness. ("Man is,in reality, a spiritual being, and only when he lives in the spirit is he truly happy.") Not that collecting your favourite DVD's or buying a gamestation equal materialism, I'm thinking of extreme cases where a person will base their entire identity on the things he possesses or their bank balance. Yet consuming more than we need makes us more unhappy. Which I think goes with the quote you provided:

"The treasures ye have laid up have drawn you far away from your ultimate objective. This ill beseemeth you, couldye but understand it.”

Afterall, how will these "treasures" help us in the Worlds of God yet to come. Our purpose is to strive to live a righteous life. The discussion about the economy and "outing" the practices of unethical bankers and politicians is an opportunity for people to shake off this yoke of consumerism/ pressure to have to own more than a peer. This should give everyone more energy for spiritual matters and for considering how to implement an entirely new economic system ...though I don't think we'll be seeing anyone talk about not profittering, well not yet anyway.

"These energies with which the Day Star of Divine bounty and Source of heavenly guidance hath endowed the reality of man lie, however, latent within him, even as the flame is hidden within the candle and the rays of light are potentially present in the lamp. The radiance of these energies may be obscured by worldly desires even as the light of the sun can be concealed beneath the dust and dross which cover the mirror. Neither the candle nor the lamp can be lighted through their own unaided efforts, nor can it ever be possible for the mirror to free itself from its dross. It is clear and evident that until a fire is kindled the lamp will never be ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out from the face of the mirror it can never represent the image of the sun nor reflect its light and glory.


If we are fingers of one hand, does that mean the actions of an individual always have a consequence for the entire hand? I think so.

If we are all created from the same water and end in the same dust, are we supposed to be equal at every point in between? I don't think so...in terms of wealth extreme wealth and extreme poverty are the problem. There's a very good article on this at: http://info.bahai.org/article-1-3-2-15.html. I pasted two quotes here but definitely recommend the site in full.

O YE RICH ONES ON EARTH!
The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease.3

And:

O CHILDREN OF DUST!
Tell the rich of the midnight sighing of the poor, lest heedlessness lead them into the path of destruction, and deprive them of the Tree of Wealth.

It's not really possible to be equal in the wealth league but abject poverty and grotesque wealth have to be balanced out. I think this is why charity is so important in religion. Wealth has the potential to make living on earth easier but it doesn't make anything easier in the afterlife. I grew up as a Roman Catholic and remember that many of the teachings of Jesus also centred on pointing out that a man who lived in poverty but depended solely on God would progress further in the afterlife than a wealthy man who thought no further than this life. "The First Shall Come Last, the Last Shall Come First"

I've written a ton! And I haven't even considered all your questions yet. Thanks for making me think, it's just past midnight so got to sign off =)