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It was about twelve years ago that Kamran Mofid and I first met. For some twenty-five years before that Shepheard-Walwyn had been building up what I now call our Ethical Economics list as a result of our collaboration.
The first title we published in 1976, Archbishop William Temple’s Christianity and Social Order, was somehow prophetic. Though not strictly an economics title, it explored the relevance of principles in guiding policy-making. As Britain’s former Prime Minister, Edward Heath, stated in his Foreword:
‘It brings home to every one of us the continuing importance of being able to rely on a body of principle by which our plans and our actions can be both motivated and judged.’
In 1983 we published our first truly economic title, The Power in the Land, which is a critique of the capitalist system from the perspective of the classical economists.
In 1994 we published The Corruption of Economics at the same time a Faber published The Death of Economics, in the preface of which the author wrote:
'Good economists know, from work carried out within their discipline, that the foundations of their subject are virtually non-existent. The challenge of constructing an alternative, scientific approach to the analysis of economic behaviour is one to which increasing attention is being paid. The obstacles facing academic economists are formidable for tenure and professional advancement still depend to a large extent on a willingness to comply with and to work within the tenets of orthodox theory.' (emphasis added)
This is exactly what Kamran experienced when he came to realise after teaching economics for twenty years that what he was teaching was wrong, morally and intellectually. He too, faced a moral dilemma: to comply or to change.
Let me quote you a passage from his Promoting the Common Good that we had published in 2005, which is so relevant to what economics and good economists are and should be all about:
‘From 1980 onwards, for the next twenty years, I taught economics in universities, enthusiastically demonstrating how economic theories provided answers to problems of all sorts. I got quite carried away by the beauty, the sophisticated elegance, of complicated mathematical models and theories. But gradually I started to have an empty feeling.
‘I began to ask fundamental questions of myself. Why did I never talk to my students about compassion, dignity, comradeship, solidarity, happiness, spirituality – about the meaning of life? We never debated the biggest questions. Who are we? Where have we come from? Where are we going to?
‘I told them to create wealth, but I did not tell them for what reason. I told them about scarcity and competition, but not about abundance and co-operation. I told them about free trade, but not about fair trade; about GNP – Gross National Product – but not about GNH – Gross National Happiness. I told them about profit maximisation and cost minimisation, about the highest returns to the shareholders, but not about social consciousness, accountability to the community, sustainability and respect for creation and the creator. I did not tell them that, without humanity, economics is a house of cards built on shifting sands.
‘These conflicts caused me much frustration and alienation, leading to heartache and despair. I needed to rediscover myself and real-life economics. After a proud twenty-year or so academic career, I became a student all over again. I would study theology, philosophy and ethics, disciplines nobody had taught me when I was a student of economics and I did not teach my own students when I became a teacher of economics.
‘It was at this difficult time that I came to understand that I needed to bring spirituality, compassion, ethics and morality back into economics itself, to make this dismal science once again relevant to and concerned with the common good.’
Thus, Kamran had the integrity to leave and decided to take a diploma in pastoral theology at Plater College, Oxford, in his quest and search for life’s bigger picture. While he was there, I happened to advertise one of our titles, The Natural Economy in The Tablet, using a remarkable statement from the book:
‘A true grasp of how the economy should be constituted shows it to be a thing of harmony and beauty, all its parts cooperating for the common good, and its inbuilt laws distributing benefits equitably.’
This must have struck a chord with Kamran, because he ordered a copy. Having read it, he ordered two or three more and then, some months, later came to see me and told me that, despite having taught economics for over twenty years, he was unaware that such a body of knowledge existed. Kamran had a manuscript with him which we published in 2002 as Globalisation for the Common Good. Commenting on the book, Ulrich Duchrow, Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Heidelberg, wrote:
‘It is rare that an economist discovers the social, ecological, ethical and religious dimension of his subject. Mainstream economics is characterised by reductionism. It continues to sharpen the saw by which society is cutting down the branch on which we are sitting. As an economist himself Kamran Mofid not only brilliantly and credibly criticises this dangerous situation, but gives clear guidelines for alternatives. His convincing theological and ethical arguments are thus translated into perspectives for a life-enhancing economy.’
and James Piscatori, Professor of Islam and International Relations, University of Oxford:
‘…a visionary and humane critique of globalisation that merits broad and urgent attention. As an economist, he writes with particular conviction of the need to leaven an interests- and profits-based science of economics with considerations of justice and the common good.’
Thus was born the Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative, and it is welcome news that on Monday 11th November the Treasury in London hosted a meeting attended by professors, students, officials and commentators to discuss how the teaching of economics might be overhauled, something Kamran had recognised all those years ago.
A note of thanks and gratitude to Anthony Werner from Kamran Mofid
It is with great gratitude that I note your remarks above. It goes without saying that I owe a great deal to you for publishing my books. You know, there are now many who are saying and writing things very similar to what I had said many years ago. However, as you know many of my peers and others at that time accused me of having gone mad. They told me, if I carry on like this, talking about ethics, morality, philosophy, theology, spirituality, love, sympathy, empathy, trust, sustainability, dignity, service, volunteerism, reverence for Mother Earth and the common good, I had better consider leaving the economics profession and perhaps become a priest or social worker, or joining the Salvation Army. They told me that I was a lecturer in economics and as such should behave like one! On reflection, I am so happy I did not!
In the process I discovered Shepheard-Walwyn and got to know you, becoming friends for good. You published the Globalisation for the Common Good, when others did not have the needed courage, conviction and commitment to do so. I thank you for who you are and what you do. I thank you for your moral, spiritual and academic support.
See more:
Ethical Economics » Shepheard-Walwyn Book Publishers
Kamran Mofid, Globalisation for the Common Good, Shepherad-Walwyn (Publishers), London, 2002
Marcus Braybrooke & Kamran Mofid, Promoting the Common Good, Shepherad-Walwyn (Publishers), London, 2005
University economics teaching to be overhauled
KAMRAN MOFID’s GUEST BLOG: Here on The Guest Blog you’ll find commentary, analysis, insight and at times provocation from some of the world’s influential and spiritual thought leaders as they weigh in on critical questions about the state of the world, the emerging societal issues, the dominant economic logic, globalisation, money, markets, sustainability, environment, media, the youth, the purpose of business and economic life, the crucial role of leadership, and the challenges facing economic, business and management education, and more.
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A reflection on the timeless remarks made by Senator Robert F. Kennedy on
economic growth at the University of Kansas, March 18, 1968
Photo: k-state.edu
In 1968, with the war in Vietnam at its height and the US psyche in consequent turmoil, senator and presidential hopeful Robert F Kennedy in a moving speech mounted a coruscating attack on one of the sacred cows of economics: The target of the senator's ire was Gross National Product (GNP), the dominant indicator of US economic well-being, then and now.
The Senator noted that:
"It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armoured cars for police who fight riots in our streets."
"It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programmes which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.”
"Yet... it measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country.”
"It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."
“…We will find neither national purpose nor personal satisfaction in a mere continuation of economic progress, in an endless amassing of worldly goods. We cannot measure national spirit by the Dow Jones Average, nor national achievement by the Gross National Product. For the Gross National Product includes air pollution, and ambulances to clear our highways from carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and jails for the people who break them. The Gross National Product includes the destruction of the redwoods and the death of Lake Superior. It grows with the production of napalm and missiles and nuclear warheads…. It includes… the broadcasting of television programs which glorify violence to sell goods to our children.”
“And if the Gross National Product includes all this, there is much that it does not comprehend. It does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It is indifferent to the decency of our factories and the safety of our streets alike. It does not include the beauty of our poetry, or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials… the Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile….”
And this is how he concluded his speech:
“George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Some people see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say, why not?"
“So I come here to Kansas to ask for your help. In the difficult five months ahead, before the convention in Chicago, I ask for your help and for your assistance. If you believe that the United States can do better. If you believe that we should change our course of action. If you believe that the United States stands for something here internally as well as elsewhere around the globe, I ask for your help and your assistance and your hand over the period of the next five months.”
“And when we win in November, and when we win in November, and we begin a new period of time for the United States of America - I want the next generation of Americans to look back upon this period and say as they said of Plato: "Joy was in those days, but to live." Thank you very much.”
I can only wonder what the US and the world would have looked like today if Senator Kennedy, his brother President Kennedy, Dr. Luther King, and others like them were not assassinated. God grant them all eternal rest; they were, in the old idiom, great wise men, who if required, may still be peacemakers in heaven.
Read the full speech:
Robert F. Kennedy Speeches - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Watch the GNP-related remarks:
Robert F. Kennedy challenges Gross Domestic Product - YouTube
** Given so much justified criticism of modern economics with its many shortcomings, it is gratifying to note that there is going to be an overhaul of the teaching of economics at universities. May this be a fitting tribute to the memory of Senator Kennedy’s speech at the University of Kansas, in March 18, 1968.
See more:
University economics teaching to be overhauled
Economic Growth: The Index of Misery
The Case for Degrowth: It is urgent, necessary, and greatly needed for our survival
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Are universities teaching the right kind of economics? Are they inspiring students with the right kind of values and skills?
These are amongst some of the questions academics in the economics discipline have been grappling with for quite some time
Economics teaching needs to be more relevant and rooted in reality, not theory. Photo:Jason Winter/Shutterstock
'University economics teaching to be overhauled.'*
This was the caption of a report in the Guardian (Monday 11 November 2013) on the outcome of a meeting of economists hosted by the Treasury in London. The move follows criticism over a 'limited and outdated' curriculum and the failure to include how financial markets can undermine stability.
This is welcome news for those of us who have been pointing out the inadequacy of the economics syllabus at universities. Well before the financial crash of September 2008, I wrote the following:
‘The recent global crises have lead to questions about whether the kind of economics that is taught in universities was responsible for the crisis itself, or indeed for its widespread failure to predict the timing and magnitude of the events that unfolded in 2008. There are many reasons for such failure. However, whatever the reasons might be, I strongly believe that now is the time for us all to begin to debate this issue further and more deeply. Soul-searching and self-criticism should not be seen as a source of weakness, but as a source of strength, humility and the search for wisdom.
‘It is clear that some serious reflection is in order. Not to stand back and question what has happened and why, would be to compound failure with failure: failure of vision with failure of responsibility. If nothing else these current crises of finance, social injustice and environmental devastation present us with a unique opportunity to address the shortcomings of our profession with total honesty and humility while returning the “dismal science” to its true position: a subject of beauty, wisdom and virtue.
‘It seems clear to me that the time has come for economics to change direction and to find a path which does not deviate from true human values. The obviously contrived nature of neo-classical economics has begun to attract many calls for change.”
Even earlier, I had written the following:
‘From 1980 onwards, for the next twenty years, I taught economics in universities, enthusiastically demonstrating how economic theories provided answers to problems of all sorts. I got quite carried away by the beauty, the sophisticated elegance, of complicated mathematical models and theories. But gradually I started to have an empty feeling.
‘I began to ask fundamental questions of myself. Why did I never talk to my students about compassion, dignity, comradeship, solidarity, happiness, spirituality – about the meaning of life? We never debated the biggest questions. Who are we? Where have we come from? Where are we going to?
‘I told them to create wealth, but I did not tell them for what reason. I told them about scarcity and competition, but not about abundance and co-operation. I told them about free trade, but not about fair trade; about GNP – Gross National Product – but not about GNH – Gross National Happiness. I told them about profit maximisation and cost minimisation, about the highest returns to the shareholders, but not about social consciousness, accountability to the community, sustainability and respect for creation and the creator. I did not tell them that, without humanity, economics is a house of cards built on shifting sands.’
These conflicts caused me much frustration and alienation, leading to heartache and despair. I needed to rediscover myself and real-life economics. After a proud twenty-year or so academic career, I became a student all over again. I would study theology, philosophy and ethics, disciplines nobody had taught me when I was a student of economics and I did not teach my own students when I became a teacher of economics.
It was at this difficult time that I came to understand that I needed to bring spirituality, compassion, ethics and morality back into economics itself, to make this dismal science once again relevant to and concerned with the common good.”…
There you have it. Lest we forget: There were economists, who were ahead of their time, who rejected the dominant model of rational choice, the miracle of the efficiency of the market economy and market fundamentalism. They wanted to reconnect the study of economics to the real world; to make its findings more accessible to the public and to place economic analysis within a framework that embraces humanity as a whole. These economists who were open to other traditions and disciplines, were trying to encourage a pluralist approach to the study of economics, looking at economic history, sociology, and anthropology, philosophy, ethics and spirituality for example.
However, it is better late than never. Hopefully now with this new initiative we can reverse the wrongs of new economics and the neo-liberal economists and give to students what they deserve: Economics as if they matter. For further reading, information and original sources for excerpts quoted above see:
*University economics teaching to be overhauled | Business | The Guardian
In Praise of the Economic Students at the Sorbonne: The Class of 2000
Towards an Education Worth Believing In
Small is Beautiful: The Wisdom of E.F. Schumacher
Economics and Economists Engulfed By Crises: What Do We Tell the Students?
“Why Love, Trust, Respect and Gratitude Trumps Economics: Together for the Common Good”:
Kamran Mofid, Globalisation for the Common Good, Shepherad-Walwyn (Publishers), London, 2002
Marcus Braybrooke & Kamran Mofid, Promoting the Common Good, Shepherad-Walwyn (Publishers), London, 2005
Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI): A Brief Introduction and Summary
Guided by the principles of hard work, commitment, volunteerism and service; with a great passion for dialogue of cultures, civilisations, religions, ideas and visions, at an international conference in Oxford in 2002 the Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI) and the GCGI Annual International Conference Series were founded.
We recognise that our socio-economic problems are closely linked to our spiritual problems and vice versa. Moreover, socio-economic justice, peace and harmony will come about only when the essential connection between the spiritual and practical aspects of life is valued. Necessary for this journey is to discover, promote and live for the common good. The principle of the common good reminds us that we are all really responsible for each other – we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers –and must work for social conditions which ensure that every person and every group in society is able to meet their needs and realize their potential. It follows that every group in society must take into account the rights and aspirations of other groups, and the well-being of the whole human family.
One of the greatest challenges of our time is to apply the ideas of the global common good to practical problems and forge common solutions. Translating the contentions of philosophers, spiritual and religious scholars and leaders into agreement between policymakers and nations is the task of statesmen and citizens, a challenge to which Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative (GCGI) adheres. The purpose is not simply talking about the common good, or simply to have a dialogue, but the purpose is to take actions, to make the common good and dialogue to work for all of us, benefiting us all.
What the GCGI seeks to offer- through its scholarly and research programme, as well as its outreach and dialogue projects- is a vision that positions the quest for economic and social justice, peace and ecological sustainability within the framework of a spiritual consciousness and a practice of open-heartedness, generosity and caring for others. All are thus encouraged by this vision and consciousness to serve the common good.
The GCGI has from the very beginning invited us to move beyond the struggle and confusion of a preoccupied economic and materialistic life to a meaningful and purposeful life of hope and joy, gratitude, compassion, and service for the good of all.
Perhaps our greatest accomplishment has been our ability to bring Globalisation for the Common Good into the common vocabulary and awareness of a greater population along with initiating the necessary discussion as to its meaning and potential in our personal and collective lives.
In short, at Globalisation for the Common Good Initiative we are grateful to be contributing to that vision of a better world, given the goals and objectives that we have been championing since 2002. For that we are most grateful to all our friends and supporters that have made this possible.