Global Economic System as a Product of Greedy Mind

Abstract

Unlike ordinary spiritually underdeveloped people whose behaviour is guided by lower needs and neurotic needs which are material and external, the inner-guided people are guided by inner needs which Maslow called ‘higher needs’. These are also widely known as ‘spiritual needs’. The self-actualizers gratify their higher needs by non-material means. According to Maslow, they are motivated by higher needs such as love, belongingness, self-esteem and self-actualization. They are, therefore, not guided by external material values such as wealth, power, prestige, status and reputation but by spiritual or human values hidden within every human being, such as love, truth, peace, righteousness and non-violence. They may or may not possess material capital but they possess what Zohar and Marshall (2004) call ‘Spiritual Capital’. They are satisfied with what they have and need material wealth only to gratify their survival needs and do not seek economic growth. If they seek it, it is for the well-being of the poor. Inner-guided people appear to emerge from many sources, three of which are described below:

• 1. Self-Actualizers: Maslow (1987) identified se If-actualizers as those who have already gratified survival needs and are currently gratifying their higher needs by higher means (non-material means). They are not interested in getting involved in spending their personal resources on materialistic wealth-generating activities any more. They are different from people in the consumer society and live a simple life.

• 2. Downshifters: Hamilton and Denniss (2005) identified downshifters as those who have voluntarily abandoned the modern consumer lifestyle and adopted a simple life. They had gratified all survival needs, but continued economic pursuits as overconsumers. Later, realizing the mistake made, they return to ‘the level of enough’ and start to live a simple life.

• 3. Spiritualizers: They have already gratified their survival needs and are spiritually inspired by the teachings of religions, modern spiritual teachers or transpersonal psychotherapists and live a simple ‘spiritual’ life. They have learned the fact that they can never gain true happiness by material means and therefore have no interest in generating too much material wealth. They dedicate their life for selfless service and spiritual or religious activities.