Philosophy 186 10-4-11 1.

The function of work under the Buddhist point of view is to give a chance to utilize and develop ones faculties, to overcome his ego-centeredness by working with other in a common task and to bring forth the goods and services needed for becoming existence. The implications of social and economic Buddhist perspectives are that people need to work together more with others and less individual work as it is in western societies. As for as economics , employers need to focus more on the employee and less on the product, meaning that the labor that people provide should be purposeful and meaningful and not mind numbingly boring and monotonous. 2. The connection between simplicity and non-violence is that by finding the simplest ways to survive and using fewer resources, there will be more resources to go around for more people. When competition is triggered by over consumptions of limited resources, people tend to fight causing violence and wars over resources. Buddhist value simplicity because it leads to less pressure, a more peaceful life and non-violence. Since capitalism requires a high degree of consumption, I strongly believe that capitalism does not promote needless complexity. 3. Capitalist use people as a means to a better life. Product and the consumption of product are more important than people because people are mere assets in a capitalistic society. The Buddhists believe that the development of people and their well being is important in an economy. They believe in liberation through their creative work. They also believe people are very important part of a social and economic society and place more value on the people rather than the product. I believe that Buddhist role for women is sexist. Why must we assume that it s the woman that has to stay at home to watch over the kids? Women are very much capable of jobs just as much as men are.

4. Material wealth to the modern economist is of utmost importance. Consumption of product is how the modern economy runs. Modern economics utilizes a complex system to valuate items and strive to attain these items to its max. On the hand, Buddhist economics strive to use simplistic systems of production and try to achieve a maximum end with the least amount of means. The materials Buddhist consume are a necessary part of life and try to find a balance of needs where not too much is wanted or needed. Capitalist use natural resources without thinking about future use. They do not distinguish between renewable and non-renewable resources. They use whatever is cheapest and use it to the fullest. Buddhist tries to use renewable resources first and only use non-renewable resources when absolutely necessary. Buddhist believe that they owe it to every living creature especially trees to help with their survival. They try to take care of nature first. I m all for saving the environment, so I would have to agree with the Buddhist perspective and its priority to preserve the earth. 5. The capitalist economic system is not compatible with the Buddhist perspective because the Buddhist perspective is more conservative and capitalist is more aggressive. Buddhist perspective is really unique and it s very hard to compare with other systems. Perhaps the closest I can think of would be communism although the two perspectives differentiate in their own right.