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Springing back in April with a Renewed Sense of Hope and Optimism
A selection of April poems, thoughts, reflection and hopes by my guest editor, my wife, Anne Mofid, which was originally published online on 22 March 2021.
Photo: World Meteorological Organization
‘Heaven is my father and earth is my mother,
and I, a small child, find myself placed intimately between them.
What fills the universe I regard as my body;
what directs the universe I regard as my nature.
All people are my brothers and sisters; all things are my companions.’- Zhang Zai (1020–1077)
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Neoliberalism, this false ideology, is devoid of courage, grace, kindness, compassion and empathy, whilst it champions individualism, selfishness, arrogance and greed. It fuels wars, bombs, missiles, death, destruction, environmental degradation and global warming, as well as extreme inequality and abject poverty,..., for the 99%, who bear the inherent costs of immoral capitalism, whilst ushering in a beautiful socialism with all its benefits for the 1%: This is the legacy of the neoliberal economists who have corrupted and distorted the legacy of the real Adam Smith
Adam Smith, the moral philosopher and then, the economist: 'The Father of ‘Three Primary Virtues- Prudence, justice and benevolence.’ They all constitute a sine qua non condition for the achievement of “human excellence” and are dependent on each other.' Without these virtues, the “invisible hand of the market” will become nothing but the visible hand of destruction. Exactly what has happened 250 years later, lest we forget.
Excerpts (in italics) above and photo via Shapero Rare Books
‘The philosopher Adam Smith wasn't the free-market fundamentalist many assume he was. It's time we started reading him properly.’-Amartya Sen in The Economist manifesto
…So, it is my sincere hope that in contrast to the dishonest neoliberal economists who in the 1970s and 80s corrupted the legacy of Adam Smith for the interests of Thatcher and Reagan, this time around, the honest, progressive economists will be able to give the world the gift of the real Adam Smith, a moral philosopher first and foremost, and then an economist, so that all may become free from the chains of immoral, neoliberal capitalists and capitalism! Carpe diem!
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Photo via The Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Let’s We Forget
We live in a time of great material abundance coupled with spiritual demise. In this "poverty of the spirit" despite unprecedented technological and economic advancement, we all face an epidemic of unhappiness, leading to an inner emptiness, with hugely tragic costs and consequences.
What is enough is the pertinent question of our time. To my mind, the beautiful, inspirational and wise words of Vincent Van Gogh, ‘I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?’ may go a long way in answering this timeless question.
Global Crises are Spiritual: A Time for Awakening