If you look up the definition of economics, you’ll find some form of this:
“the study of the production and distribution of goods and services to satisfy humans’ infinite wants and needs with scarce resources.” (source)
So embedded in our economic system is the idea that resources and goods are scarce. Think about that for a moment. The foundation of our entire economic system and our attitudes, beliefs and behaviors about money are reactions to scarcity. Writer and thinker Charles Eisenstein believes that our sense of scarcity is artificial. Here are some provocative thoughts from his online course Living in the Gift (which I recommend):
In various ways, narcissism, aggression, violence, racism, fascism, bigotry, misogyny, and of course all kinds of addictions all arise from conditions of scarcity.
[W]e are often offered substitutes for what we really need. Because the substitutes don’t really meet the need, the appetite for the substitutes is endless [Douglas: compare to Francis Weller]. So greed is actually a form of addiction. It is no more a moral failing than alcoholism is. Because really what is an addiction? An addiction is the futile attempt to meet a need using something that fundamentally does not meet the need… money is of course one of the most powerfully addictive substances in the world. And I’m not saying that if you want money you are addicted. Money allows us to meet very real needs in our society.
If greed and addiction come from various forms of scarcity, then the healing of greed and addiction does not come through withholding and denying ourselves, but rather nourishing and supporting ourselves. Our salvation then lies not in making do with less, but in a way letting in more – more of what we really want and need, and less of the cheap substitutes.
What would make you feel rich? What would you have to have, that wouldn’t leave you wanting more?
You might also find that you are complicit in enforcing [artificial] scarcity internally in your own life. You might find yourself buying into values and priorities that you take for granted, that have been tantamount to reality itself, that you have always taken for granted but now you’re ready to question them. For example maybe it is scarcity of intimacy – are you really letting that in? Are you really letting in what is available or are you really shutting that from a habit of self-protection that may no longer be necessary? So again, is it really that we live in a society in which intimacy is not available? Yes, that is true but it also may be a learned habit that even when it is available we may not be that open to it. And that goes for many for the unmet needs that are part of the scarcity of our society.
The word “abundance”
In a consumer culture, we have an obsession for abundance. Writer and speaker Lynne Twist says that that desire for “abundance” comes from Three Toxic Myths about money:
There is not enough (and I am not enough). We all have an unconscious belief that there is not enough to go around and someone is going to be left out. Get yours first so you don't get left out. It is at the root of otherness.
More is better. This mindset comes from a belief in scarcity. It is endless.
That's the way it is.
Can you see our drive for abundance is really a cloak for our fear of scarcity, of not having enough, that we ourselves are not enough? This desire for abundance, from a Buddhist perspective, is a state of craving. Whether it is a higher salary, bigger house in a nicer neighborhood, or vacations in colonized places, is a deeply embedded sense of greed, taking more than we need because we don’t feel like we are enough. We have been taught that if we “fulfill our dreams,” our souls will then be satiated when exactly the opposite is true. Fulfilling our dreams simply feeds the hungry ghosts of our egos, creating still more dreams to fulfill, still more craving.
In contrast, Twist uses the word “sufficiency,” which to her invokes an experience of satisfaction and well-being. Sufficiency is that moment when we have enough. According to Twist:
“Scarcity speaks in terms of never having enough, emptiness, fear, mistrust, envy, greed, hoarding, competition, fragmentation, separateness, judgment, striving, entitlement, control, busy, survival, outer riches. In the conversation for scarcity, we judge, compare, and criticize; we label winners and losers. Sufficiency speaks in terms of gratitude, fulfillment, love, trust, respect, acceptance, partnership, responsibility, resilience, and inner reaches. In the conversation for sufficiency, we acknowledge what is, appreciate its value and envision how to make a difference with it. We recognize, affirm and embrace.” - Lynne Twist
ASSIGNMENT: Find another student for a “walk and talk.” You may do this over the phone or in person. Suggestion: go out into nature! You’ll be doing for the remaining weeks.
Suggested Discussion Questions #1:
What of your attitudes, beliefs and behaviors are reactions to scarcity? Have you fallen into the trap that “there is not enough” (and I am not enough) and “more is better?”
How do you react to the words “abundance” and “sufficiency?” Does sufficiency feel like … not-enough?
A key Buddhist idea is within the fulfillment of your desire is a seed of suffering. Do this before your 1-1 walk and talk: make a list of your ego’s fantasies, both in consumerism and workism. Nicer clothes, or doing a TED talk, or becoming CEO of your company. What would happen if you achieved them? Do you imagine yourself happy? There’s something else you’ll want after that, yes? Just like you want something more after the fulfillment of previous desires, right? The key is realizing the twin pillars of capitalism, consumerism and workism, create infinite desires. Accomplishment, possession, and the displays of both are secondary satisfactions. Habitual and increasing desires for them are addictions.
The desire for “abundance” are tied to scarcity and the desire for more. And that’s the key insight from Buddha’s Four Noble Truths: the desire for abundance is suffering. If you come to the understanding that your life is already abundant, that you don’t need more, that your current sufficiency is already abundant, you have inner peace now. In other words, enough is peace.
Happiness can not be found
through great effort and willpower,
but is already present,
in open relaxation and letting go.— Lama Gendun Rinpoche
Suggested Discussion Questions #2
What do you want more of?
What do you think you don’t have but actually do, if you opened your eyes to it?
DEEPER: In our culture, we are taught the world can be improved. That if suffering exists, something is wrong. It is a mistake that can be avoided.
Zen teacher Frank Ostaski believes that our avoidance of suffering is the root problem. “When we believe that suffering is a mistake, it’s no wonder we do everything in our power to steer clear of it. As a result, we have become masters of distraction. To a great extent, this is our primary human practice. A large portion of our days are attempts to protect ourselves from discomfort: surfing the Internet, watching TV, working long hours, drinking, eating. Our approach naturally leads to epidemics of alcoholism and drug abuse; compulsive overeating, gambling, and shopping; and an insecure attachment to our technological devices. We have become a society riddled with unhealthy addictions.”
I would include work and thinking to Ostaski’s list. Thinking, as a way to avoid feelings, is primary addiction in Western society.
Suggested Discussion Questions #3
Charles believes that addiction is really a futile attempt to meet a need using something that fundamentally does not meet the need. Make a list of your secondary satisfactions. In what ways are you addictively substituting your secondary satisfactions for your primary satisfactions? How can you nourish and support yourself by getting more of your primary satisfaction instead?
We have an obsession for abundance in a capitalist society. Not just products or services, but also “experiences.” Entertainment. Activity. Even our spirituality is about “abundance.” Discuss Lynne’s idea that abundance is simply a cloak for the fear of not having or being enough, a denial of your existing sufficiency. Where does the ravenous desire for abundance show up in your life keep you from your primary satisfaction you wrote about in week 1? What does the idea of sufficiency say to you?
Discuss any of these prompts. Afterwards feel free to post any thoughts you have. I’ll be eager to hear them.