Similar to the Saturday “Ponder This” post, I will be
posting a recent and/or favorite TED Talk on here for you to watch and think
about (just click the link above to watch). Today’s by Paul Piff is about how wealth has the potential to make
people mean, less generous, less altruistic, et cetera. I don’t necessarily
think this is always the case, as a mindful approach to one’s wealth has the
potential to do good things with those resources. However, mindfulness often
falls to the wayside when it comes to wealth because people usually are not
thinking critically about it (which only highlights the necessity to develop
critical thinking skills and cultivate mindfulness in all realms of living).
The theory of economics is
highly rational—something that the entire field assumes every human being is
under any and all circumstances when making economic decisions—yet we are often
irrational and overly emotional when it comes to money. Why is this? What does
this say about our choice to develop a capitalistic economy? Could there be a
better way forward as we move into the 21st century? Will the
further globalization of the economy continue to make this problem worse? How
will it affect developing nations who are now being seduced into the allure of
consumption?
There are no easy answers, but
I am sure it will be a topic to which we return in the future. Please leave
your own thoughts and questions to share with others.
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