Buddhist Economics: Theoretical Foundation and Framework
Pin Huang Chou
This paper proposes a framework and an analysis for buddhist economics. Buddhist economics differs from its mainstream counterpart in their very assumption on desires. While both agree that desires can never be fully satisfied, the latter still aims at maximizing satisfaction for desires. The buddhism, in sharp contrast, views desires as being rooted in ignorance, which should be minimized or even eliminated. As such, buddhist economics holds almost totally opposite views on many economic concepts, ranging from the basic assumption of rationality to the objective of individuals, to even production, competition, and employment, among others.