Our charity offers a traditional approach to the practice of Yoga, Meditation and Philosophy, promoting both inner peace and spiritual growth.
Our charity offers a traditional approach to the practice of Yoga, Meditation and Philosophy, promoting both inner peace and spiritual growth.
Our charity offers a traditional approach to the practice of Yoga, Meditation and Philosophy, promoting both inner peace and spiritual growth.
Our charity offers a traditional approach to the practice of Yoga, Meditation and Philosophy, promoting both inner peace and spiritual growth.
Our charity offers a traditional approach to the practice of Yoga, Meditation and Philosophy, promoting both inner peace and spiritual growth.
The “free market” is a term commonly used by academics and YouTubers alike when referring to a market devoid of government intervention. While the ab
sence of some “external entity” is a given for market freedom, alone it is not sufficient; indeed the possibility of markets in fossil fuels and anti-human weapons could still very much exist. Instead there is a more fundamental idea that better characterises the scope of a free market: the principle of ahimsa. This essay will elaborate on how markets would be conducted when this principle is placed at the centre.
Oneness
A white light shining through a prism gets differentiated into a colourful spectrum via the process of refraction. Each part of the spectrum appears different to another, but each is a particular expression of the same source of light. To refer to these various expressions we ascribe names to them such as yellow and orange; however there is no objective point at which yellow becomes orange, and so on… Indeed none of these colours can be said to exist in and of themselves – pure monochromatic light cannot be found anywhere in nature – rather they exist as part of a single undivided whole.
Similarly, we can apply this principle to the other levels of experience, namely the materials that serve us as resources. We commonly use words such as copper, silver and gold to describe the plethora of elements we encounter in our daily lives. However, just like the colours of the visible light spectrum, they do not exist in and of themselves but are manifestations of an undivided whole – except here differentiation is achieved through the process of weighing. Naturally, there is no such thing as pure gold or pure copper, we simply move from less or more refined expressions (more of one set of properties and less of another) in accordance with our requirements. Gold, then, just like the colour yellow, does not exist outside of consciousness.
Differentiation manifests through consciousness by a process of divisive thoughts, giving rise to colours, gold and all that can be objectified – including the individual self. Each individual experience is unique, but all exist as expressions of the same shared experience: a single undivided consciousness. All individuals are an expression of this single unified whole, interconnected at the deepest and most fundamental level.
You and I are one and the same.
Ahimsa
Ahimsa is the ancient attitude of “non-harming” that can be traced back to the cradle of civilisation. This deep and important principle encompasses all living things and has fundamental application to our economic and societal customs. Ahimsa starts with this observation that there is a common awareness which all living things are expressions of, and which we all participate in and share between us, as one. Thus it follows that we have a duty to not harm ourselves, others, and every other living that shares this world – either by our deeds, words or thoughts. To inflict harm on others is to inflict harm upon oneself, as to help others is to help oneself. This concept is not purely metaphysical but something we observe every day. Ignorance of ahimsa and our interconnectedness has promoted the infinite division and attachment seen throughout society today.
Production
We each possess a variety of skills and interests that allow us to produce and refine materials to enhance our well-being. Particular skills are required to grow nutritious vegetables, refine minerals to a high purity, and craft precision surgical instruments. The goods that derive from these processes form the very basis of market exchange; hence for free exchange to occur it is imperative that they adhere to the principle of ahimsa.
Take the act of planting a chrysanthemum in your garden at home. These flowers provide a late source of nectar for visiting bees and insects, all the while adding pleasing dynamic to your garden which can be harvested to make a healthy summertime tea. In such cases growing a flower is mutually beneficial and can be achieved without harming living creatures or the environment, thereby increasing collectiveharmony. Producing quality goods in a harmonious way is the primary and most important consideration of free exchange, more so than exchange itself! Yet this consideration is not always a given…
Much of the food we eat is grown on large food plantations on an industrial scale, typically involving the production of only one or two crops on a given plot of land. It is uncontroversial that this act of monoculture destroys biodiversity, harms wildlife and disrupts soil structure, leading to the use of fertiliser and pesticides that amplifies such destruction and pollute our water supplies. Sympathisers of fiat capitalism defend this system by claiming “prices” are kept low for consumers; of course, the only real goal being the “profits” of short-sighted farm owners.
Similar issues can also be found in the realm of animal farming. Abandonment of ahimsa in favour of material accumulation has led to animals being raised in confined spaces along with the inception of slaughterhouses intended to kill as cheaply as possible. While intensely farmed animals are of course directly exploited by these conditions, such practices also encourage the spread of disease that leads to increased antibiotic use – decreasing the effectiveness of human medicines.
Indeed further comparisons can be made to the owner-worker dichotomy promoted in every corner of the globe. Many workers are faced with miserable conditions for the benefit of the “shareholders” who exploit them just like the dairy cows and battery hens. Such systems are a subtle form of slavery that prey on the desperation of those in less fortunate situations. If markets were free, those involved in the production of goods would have ownership in their own work, preventing market imbalances where the fruits of one’s labour is tipped in favour of others.
Swapping goods produced under the above conditions is not representative of free exchange – regardless of how the actual exchange is conducted. By growing vegetables on small scales at home or in the community and adhering to a vegetarian diet, many of these issues can be minimised or eliminated entirely. Having diverse crops among natural flora promotes biodiversity and maintains a complex soil structure. Wildlife would not be destroyed by pesticides and large plantation equipment. Communal gardens where all are free to pick the fruits and vegetables would also resolve issues in the labour market. But how would such goods be shared among us?
Zero Flux
Exchange enables us to share the things we make and grow with one another as if we each possessed the entire set of collective skills. Just like the production of goods, exchange is something mutually beneficial if we adhere to the principle of ahimsa, as such it requires fair and open facilitation for the well-being of all. The duty to promote free exchange falls upon the market maker who displays two-way quotations to enable continuous flow of goods across their table. To prevent hoarding and to ensure all are free to participate without restriction, market makers are to display their quotations within the public domain where they are open to public scrutiny. Nevertheless, such practices have once again been distorted by fiat capitalism…
As we visit the marketplace, we often observe the marking-up of goods that flow through the hands of marketeers. For example, a marketeer might offer 1oz of copper coin for 5oz tomatoes, and then 5oz tomatoes for 2oz of copper coin, leaving 1oz of coin to be pocketed for personal consumption. While accumulating coin per se is not malpractice, it is only one side of the equation. What is seldom seen is an attempt to decumulate these coins, say by offering 2oz of copper coin for 5oz tomatoes, then 5oz tomatoes for 1oz of coin.
While the latter may seem like a bizarre activity to those accustomed to today’s system of commerce, it can easily be reconciled when the goal of the market maker is shifted to facilitating exchange. Any goods that move onto their table from an exchange should eventually move off via counter-exchange. Market makers control the degree quantities that move on and off their table by manipulating their quotations, preventing too much of any one good being accumulated. Bids and offers thus revolve around the market maker’s table as consequence of this balancing act.
Exchange should be a voluntary activity between two individuals; that it remains free from inequality and exploitation is essential to the prosperity of those who participate (i.e. everyone). Using exchange to accumulate goods for one’s own consumption results in a market imbalance where the fruits of one’s labour is again tipped in favour of others. However, under a system of free exchange, participants could quickly identify such an imbalance and sanction the market maker accordingly. True market makers decumulate excess goods that move onto their table via counter-exchange to balance the market process. The term for this balancing process is the principle of zero flux.
To recapitulate, we have now established two prerequisites of free exchange. The primary and most important principle is the collective harmony of production which forms the basis of exchange. The secondary principle is the market maker who facilitates exchange under zero flux so that goods can be shared freely between us. Both factors promote collective wellbeing; however, restrictions still remain on the speed and distance goods can be exchanged over space-time. How does one reliably swap a surplus of strawberries in June 2023 for strawberries in June 2024? How does one exchange copper in Budapest for strawberries in London?
Bills of Exchange
Suppose a market maker offers a surplus of Strawberries in June 2023 in exchange for strawberries in June 2024. Such an offer might be acceptable for someone who is expecting strawberries in June 2024 but wants them in June 2023. If taken, both amounts of strawberries become linked over space-time[1]. At the point of harvest, one grower will enjoy the surplus strawberries they produce in the future, the other, in the past. To represent this connection a bill of exchange is drawn upon each party.
The initial agreement to exchange strawberries is the first exchange, which remains incomplete until final settlement (so-called second exchange). It is between these two exchanges that the notion of currency is born. From the point of first exchange a bill represents future goods that the bearer can then use to interact with other maker makers, and then market makers to others, and so on… forming a limitless [endorsement] chain of exchange until final settlement, after which the bill becomes obsolete and is removed from circulation. Critically, each time someone uses a bill as payment it becomes endorsed, meaning the user vouches for the quality of the bill and so accepts personal liability in cases of default. Endorsement therefore creates exceptional market equality and protection from fraud as great care must be taken, not only when receiving a bill of exchange as payment but also when using one.
The same connection can equally occur in the spatial dimension where one might offer strawberries in Budapest for copper in London, which incidentally could be agreed over any timescale. Hence June 2024 strawberries could pass through an unlimited number of hands and through an unlimited number of localities before final settlement. Indeed, bills of exchange represent free exchange by linking each interaction into a veritable web of exchange over space-time – unifying them into a single undivided whole. Without such a tool, these interactions would be open to exploitation as seen in today’s anonymised markets with limited liability. However, bills drawn on goods not born from market quotation, or from quotations where the goods’ production does not satisfy the principle of ahimsa, lack the necessary qualities of free exchange.
Summary
To summarise, free exchange crystallises over three critical levels that must each be present. Firstly, goods are to be produced in a harmonious and mutually beneficial way to form the basis of exchange. Secondly, the market makers’ hands that these goods flow through are to operate under the principle of zero flux to maintain market balance. Finally, bills of exchange should be drawn on each exchange to allow unhindered movement over space-time, unifying the set of collective exchanges into a single undivided whole. Without any one of these pre-requisites, exploitation and inequality are allowed to endure and exchange ceases to be free.
Bibliography
[1] Note that goods involved in a space-time swap may exist where there is not yet a market for them. For example, despite having a bill that matures into strawberries in 2024, there may not yet be offers for them, giving the holder of the bill a sort of quasi-savings. These quantities form the basis of new markets as settlement draws nearer.
23.3.24
‘How goes the world, sir, now?’
Recent world events may have left you despairing about the state of humanity. News and other media allow us to witness and keep up to date with developments on a minute by minute basis. The upside to this is that we are kept ‘informed’, though sometimes it might feel better not to know! (and keep in mind the subjectivity and bias of most news sources), but on the other hand, social media quickly latch on to events and they can become distorted in no time.
It seems everyone using social media has, indeed is required to have, an opinion on pretty much everything. Reactive behaviour proliferates; online spats, abuse and trolling abound and a nasty, negative mess ensues.
Recent events have significantly reinforced polarised opinions and reactions are often dictated by political allegiances, dogma and crude tribalism. Defensiveness and paranoia are rulers in this world, as are Pavlovian and knee-jerk reactions which reflect a deeply engrained negative mindset. This is a closed world in which creative solutions are starved of oxygen and openness has no place.
How judgemental this sounds!
‘There’s no such thing as good or bad, but thinking makes it so..’
Shakespeare’s words remind us that judging and labelling are activities of the mind and the ego. The latter loves to comment and judge because it makes it feel better about itself and gives it something to do. The danger is that we end up being ‘too much in the mind’ and these attachments spiral out of control.
In his third book’ A New Earth’ Eckhart Tolle does not hold back in his assessment of the state of the world:
‘The collective manifestations of the insanity that lies at the heart of the human condition constitute the greater part of human history. It is to a large extent a history of madness. If the history of humanity were the clinical case history of a single human being, the diagnosis would have to be : chronic paranoid delusions, a pathological propensity to commit murder and acts of extreme violence and cruelty against his perceived ‘enemies’ – his own unconsciousness projected outward. Criminally insane, with a few brief lucid intervals.’
And in the earlier ‘Power of Now’, he is characteristically enlightening about this self-created pain and its origin – fear :
‘Fear seems to have many causes. Fear of loss, fear of failure, fear of being hurt, and so on, but ultimately all fear is the ego’s fear of annihilation. To the ego, death is always just around the corner. In this mind-identified state, fear of death affects every aspect of your life. For example, even such a seemingly trivial and “normal” thing as the compulsive need to be right in an argument and make the other person wrong – defending the mental position with which you have identified – is due to the fear of death. If you identify with a mental position, then if you are wrong, your mind-based sense of self is seriously threatened with annihilation. So you as the ego cannot afford to be wrong. To be wrong is to die. Wars have been fought over this, and countless relationships have broken down.’
The good news is that Eckhart does go on to postulate an end to this madness through a raising of human consciousness, which he claims is beginning to emerge. He stresses though that this has to begin with the individual and that transformation will not be manifest if :
‘people attempt to change external reality – create a new earth – without prior change in their inner reality, their state of consciousness. They make plans without taking into account the blueprint for dysfunction that every human being carries within ; the ego.”