Caring and Moderation

One small step towards a transcendental economics is for one to start caring about things beyond oneself.

There are certainly a lot of problems in the world to care about: destruction of wild nature; poverty; war; injustice, etc. I like the concept of World Problematique since it gets at the overwhelming complexity involved.

To paraphrase Einstein (among others), one cannot fix a mistake with the mindset that made the mistake. I propose (though this is hardly original) that materialism is a mistake top to bottom. There is neither any matter, nor is there good to be found in pursuing the accumulation of stuff.

The answer to the World Problematique is found in Idealism - both in its philosophical sense, and in its moral sense.

The chief among these moral ideals is to consider the consequences of our actions, not only for ourselves, but for all Creation.

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Another small step is to moderate the flow of goods and services consumed in one's lifestyle. There are two fields for this moderating process: one's expectations and one's actions. This is something that goes beyond reform. It is not enough to buy a more fuel-efficient car, one must learn to get around without a car.

If you see giving up the idea of owning a car as radical, then start with something easier: Perhaps you can question the ownership of a second car.