World Economic System Must be Based on Cooperation

World Economic System 

Must be Based on Cooperation

I am sure you all will agree with me on one thing. The world seems full of crisis and disasters. From racial standoffs in Europe and the US to sectarian uprisings in the Middle East, our planet is in a mess. The most disturbing thing to me is the rising inequality between rich and poor. The gap that separates rich and poor continues to widen, which indicates that existing economic systems in countries are incapable of restoring a just balance.

There is no doubt that economic development in many Asian countries has lifted tens of millions of people out of poverty. But, the gap between rich and poor in Asia is wider than ever. And the number of billionaires in Asia including China is growing faster than in any other region in the world. It is also true in many Western nations including the United States. 

I have just spent a few weeks in Thailand meeting some of my old friends. The evidence is truly shocking in this country. Do you know that 0.01% of the country's 67 million people hold nearly 50% of all the assets in the country. This figure is not from me, but this is according to the Thai government's National Economic Development Board. Just imagine, half the country's wealth in the hands of only 6,700 people. Also according to this Board, nearly a quarter of the people in Thailand are poor or "nearly poor."

I have a hard time to digest the fact that no region in the world has grown faster than Asia but, it remains home to two-thirds of the world's poor and an estimated 1.7 billion people still struggle and live on less than US$2 a day. 

So the wealth concentration among the rich and uneven distribution of the wealth have created some of the world's most unequal societies among developing and developed countries.

While the world produces more rich people, one of the most striking examples of injustice in the world today is the grave imbalance in economic and material conditions. A relatively small percentage of humankind has immense wealth, while the majority of the world’s population lives in dire poverty and misery. This imbalance exists both within nations and between nations. Moreover, the gap that separates rich and poor continues to widen, which indicates that existing economic systems are incapable of restoring a just balance.

Many governments and several organizations around the globe have tried to to fix this growing concern but all efforts have been in vain. I have witnessed during my travels to many developing countries that the assistance to the poor come mainly in the form of hand outs. This has created a culture of dependence on foreign aids or government handouts. 

But, there is a way out. There is a soloution. Baha’u’llah, the prophet Founder of the Baha’i Faith, more than 160 years ago said, A satisfactory solution to the world's present economic crisis lies in a profound change of heart and mind which only religion can produce.

Based on the teaching of the Bahai Faith, the Baha’i International Community offers two principles as guides for efforts in the realm of poverty eradication: Justice and Unity. These principles underlie a vision of development in which material progress serves as a vehicle for the moral and cultural advancement of humanity. Justice provides the means capable of harnessing human potential to eradicate poverty from our midst, through the implementation of laws, the adjustment of economic system and the redistribution of wealth and opportunity. Unity asserts that progress is systemic and relational, that efforts to eradicate poverty must be done in consultation with segments of every levels of the society.

Just imagine. Nearly three billion people in the world today live in extreme poverty, half of them living on less than $1 a day and are deprived of basic human needs, such as water, sanitation, clothing, health care and education. According to UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world.” Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.

Guess what. In the mean time, the ranks of the world’s billionaires continue to scale new heights–and stretch to new corners of the world .. a record of 1,645 billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $6.4 trillion, also a record, up from $5.4 trillion a year ago.

Abdul-Baha, the eldest son of Baha’u’llah and the appointed successor, said that the extremes of wealth and poverty should be reduced and this around 1911 when He was in Paris:

"A financier with colossal wealth should not exist whilst near him is a poor man in dire necessity. When we see poverty allowed to reach a condition of starvation it is a sure sign that somewhere we shall find tyranny. Men must bestir themselves in this matter, and no longer delay in altering conditions which bring the misery of grinding poverty to a very large number of the people. The rich must give of their abundance, they must soften their hearts and cultivate a compassionate intelligence, taking thought for those sad ones who are suffering from lack of the very necessities of life.

"There must be special laws made, dealing with these extremes of riches and of want. The members of the Government should consider the laws of God when they are framing plans for the ruling of the people. The general rights of mankind must be guarded and preserved.

"The government of the countries should conform to the Divine Law which gives equal justice to all. This is the only way in which the deplorable superfluity of great wealth and miserable, demoralizing, degrading poverty can be abolished. Not until this is done will the Law of God be obeyed."

This is it. The new economic system must be based on cooperation. Within the framework of an economic system based on cooperation, the Bahá'í teachings accept the idea of private ownership of property and the need for private economic initiative. Moreover, the economic principles taught by Bahá'u'lláh do not imply that all individuals should receive the same income. There are natural differences in human needs and capacities, and some categories of service to society merit greater recompense than others.

The Baha’i statement further says, “However, all degrees of income should be established within absolute limits. There must be, on the one hand, a minimum income level that meets the basic needs for human well-being and of which all are assured. If, for whatever reason (incapacity or other misfortune), individuals are unable to meet their essential needs, they would be assisted by community institutions. On the other hand, there should be an absolute maximum income level that would prevent extreme accumulations of wealth.

In short, the Bahá'í teachings envision that economic justice and prosperity will come about only when the essential connection between the spiritual and practical aspects of life is recognized.”