Utopian concepts are a natural part of our world. In the eternal struggle to improve life on earth, dreamers and con men alike have peddled visions of bountiful convergence among the earth's nations, each person sharing with and caring for one another.
Social scientist Riane Eisler offers just such a vision in her book The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics. Eisler examines traditional economic theories, declaring them ‘dominant’ for their insistence on putting profit before people. Eisler suggest a new economic theory, one that values caring and care-giving as a main resource. The less than subtle implication is that the dominant theories are the result of masculine thinking, and in order to save our planet, we need to give serious thought to the more feminine caring economy.
Throughout The Real Wealth of Nations, Eisler shows examples of large-scale destruction wrought by current economic systems, adding a few references to companies and nations nurturing their workers and populations. It all sounds pretty good, until you wake up and realize that such a system is against our primordial programming.
While I applaud Eisler for giving thought to a new economic system in Real Wealth of Nations, caring economics is an under-developed concept. Eisler spends a great deal of time condemning dominant economics, but has no comprehensive plan on how her new economy can become reality. Like so many utopian authors before her, Eisler leaves the details for us to figure out.
Humanity is competitive and selfish by design. We are wired for survival and we understand on an instinctual level that our survival sometimes depends upon the destruction of other life and taking things by force. Let’s be honest — we are the only animal that kills our own for consumptive gain. History is filled with periods of rabid mass destruction which have been engaged for the sole purpose of consumptive gain. Eisler writes that achieving her ideal of an economic system that values caring and care giving will take some time. Hmmm… well, yeah, probably eons, if ever.
Article comments
1 - Nick J
Hi Larry, nice piece and good read. But too many books on wealth making stuff are out there. Most of them are not really original at all. These authors seem to lack a more global view anyway. One great book on the subject is this: China and the new world order: how entrepreneurship, globalization and borderless business are reshaping China and the world, written by a Chinese journalist named George Zhibin Gu. It is really eye-opening on current global business, economic and political affairs.
2 - Gomer Phelps
Hey Larry : I don't know why your so sure that peoples lousy driving proves were hard-wired for selfishness and inhumanity. I think much of this so called "evolutionary" hard-wiring is more like barbwiring and something that is promoted by the ruling classes to help them sleep better at night.
3 - Larry A. Sakin
Gomer,
For me, it isn't so much that it's 'lousy driving' as it is the competetive nature of some drivers. The rules don't apply to them, and they tend to be extremely impatient and woefully unaware of the rest of the drivers on the road. I think this is less the result of something promoted by the ruling classes and more the result of pure selfishness which seems to be the rule of the day. Until we can get past the American obsession with self, its unlikely the changes Eisler suggests will have much effect.