Congrès Marx International V - Section Économie – Paris-Sorbonne et Nanterre – 3/6 octobre 2007
Aparigraha, A New Economic Paradigm for a Culture of Peace
Eszter Szabo
Global Coalition for Peace
Human beings are inter-dependant. We depend on a constant exchange with our environment every second in order to survive—the air we breathe, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the love we seek to give and to receive, are all fundamental exchanges we make with the world around us. For some of these exchanges to happen we do not have to think twice or decide on how to go about it as they happen automatically and even involuntarily like it is with breathing. For others however we need to engage in some sort of exchange with both Nature and other human beings. Economics is the term we use to describe this organized system of exchange of the goods and services we produce for our need to stay alive, and to live well. Therefore, economy touches all aspects of our lives. Today, however, many features of the economic system destroy the very means to live - in damaging our land, water, and air -, and bring misery and hurt to people, instead of happiness and security.
Therefore, we need a way to relate to each other economically that is non-violent and life affirming, We can each influence our immediate environment in powerful ways by the way we spend our money, produce goods and services, and treat people we buy from, sell to, and work with. This ancient concept of individual responsibility is characteristic to all spiritual systems, including the philosophy of yoga, which is our point of departure to address the problems of current economics. We are proposing a total shift in the approach to the present economic practice, which is aimed to abolish economic slavery and replace it with a life affirming and liberating system. Its name is Aparigraha, A New Economic Paradigm for a Culture of Peace. Aparigraha means non-greed in Sanskrit.
This Paradigm affirms that economics should have to do with supplying the legitimate basic needs of people as Food, Shelter, Clothing, Health and Education as the five basic areas of concern. In reality we have strayed far from this basic purpose. The economics of today is full of what Marx called almost 150 years ago “product fetishism”, which today we might interpret as the compelling attraction to the production and consumption of unnecessary goods. The result is a waste of resources in some areas of the world and by certain classes while on the other hand an inability for others to meet their basic needs. Agriculture and various industries supply for our need of food, shelter and clothing while our personal and societal health and system of education contribute to a great extent to who we are and who we may become on both the individual and the societal levels.
Capitalist and communist systems alike, both past and present, have guided human relations and interactions without taking into consideration elements that are fundamental for the well being of the people. As a result the majority have experienced continued suffering and poverty. What we want to offer is a new vision, a new paradigm that is inclusive of all members of a global society and that will cover all aspects of the individual; body, mind and spirit. We believe that this paradigm offers a way in which humanity will be able to co-create a harmonious and peaceful planet. Spiritual teachings in general, and among them yoga in particular – yoga means union - aim to help in such transformation. They state that a society that aspires to live in peace and prosperity must be based on certain principles that are in harmony with what we call the Natural or Universal Laws or Principles.
Therefore, Aparigraha Paradigm, which aims to lead to both individual and societal harmony and peace suggests applying the following 3 principles and 5 tenets, the expression of our Love in the area of economics; the 3 Principles are: 1) Abundance as opposed to the notion of scarcity, on which our current system is based, 2) Cooperation as opposed to competition, which is the driving force in the current system, and 3) Right Motivation or Dharma and Selfless Service as opposed to an external incentive system, and the 5 Tenets are: 1) Non- greed, non-acquisitiveness (Aparigraha) as opposed to greediness, 2) Non-violence (Ahimsa) as opposed to violence: economic slavery; exploitation and degradation of humans, animals and the environment, 3) Self-restraint, non-indulgence (Brahmacharya) as opposed to over consumption, 4) Right Livelihood or honest and simple living and the production and consumption of useful goods and services as opposed to profit maximization, and 5) Stewardship of the Planet as opposed to exteriorizing the costs of environmental damage. If these principles and tenets are fulfilled in our economic relations, we created what we may call Fair Trade, which may lead to individual and societal peace and harmony, the opposite of greed and violence resulting from the current free market system.
Years of collaborative research and meetings yielded a four-volume compilation of alternative strains of economic theory and practices, which are available as Supplementary Material on our web site However our work is more than research as this paradigm is a theoretical formulation of practices which members of the Aparigraha group have been involved in for the last ten years in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. We are founders and members of sister organizations and projects such as a biodynamic and organic Spiritual Food Mail Order Service nationwide, a Spiritual Food Community Supported Agriculture group locally, a self-serve community store, and the Women’s Self-Reliance Program, currently operating in Guatemala. In this last program by now over 90 women and their families learnt a form of intensive gardening and use a form of micro-enterprise, which has encouraged and facilitated the formation of a cooperative where these women members can receive 0% loans to start their own businesses, with a commitment to support each other’s businesses. Another application of the AEP principles is found in Cooperative Games, which we distribute in an effort to teach both children and adults cooperative strategies and modes of relating.