SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt
SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt
SUFFiciENcy EcONOMy ANd GRASSROOtS DEvElOPMENt
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The Meaning of Sufficiency Economy <br />
International Conference<br />
159<br />
Grassroots Development and Sufficiency Economy<br />
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It is generally agreed that today we find ourselves in the midst of a worldwide<br />
economic crisis. Some will argue that the breadth of this crisis includes not only<br />
private and public financial crises but that it is exacerbated by crises in government,<br />
the environment, and the depletion of natural resources.<br />
I believe that the root of these problems is much deeper and more basic.<br />
<br />
Neoclassical (orthodox) economics<br />
The neoclassical interpretation of economics has shaped the world as we know<br />
it. This model sees the economy as a play of production and consumption, supply<br />
and demand, and profit and loss. It defines value in terms of monetary wealth and<br />
development as technological and economic. There is no consideration of needs as<br />
compared to wants and no value in the development of human spirituality, culture, or<br />
happiness. There is no balance in this model: bigger is better, more is better,<br />
technology rules. The result is an economic model in which success is dependent on<br />
constant growth. It is a view of life that is so ingrained that no one even questions<br />
the logic of it. If we live in a finite system like our world, how can we believe that<br />
economics can be working properly only if there is constant growth? How can we<br />
believe that the value of a person is in how much they make and how much they<br />
accumulate? Youth and physical beauty are of more value than wisdom and physical<br />
and mental health. The length of life is more important than the quality of life and<br />
the individual is prized over the community.<br />
<br />
Development<br />
In this system, development has become a goal rather than a path. The culture<br />
systematically converts wants into needs – you can suddenly NEED a product that<br />
didn’t exist six months ago. The value of countries is measured by their position on<br />
the economic development path: developed nations, developing nations,<br />
underdeveloped nations.