Jul 2, 2020
Clair Brown is Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley. Clair has published research on many aspects of inequality and sustainability. Her book Buddhist Economics: An enlightened approach to the dismal science (Bloomsbury Press) provides an economic framework that integrates global sustainability, shared prosperity and care for the human spirit.
This holistic approach is based on actual national policies that reduce inequality, protect the environment, and support all people living a dignified, meaningful life. Her research team created the Sustainable, Share-Prosperity Index (SSPI) for 50 countries. Clair is a volunteer with 350 Bay Area Action, where she co-chairs the Legislative Committee to work on passing key climate justice bills in California.
Read about Clair in Eminent Economists II: Their Life and Work Philosophies (Cambridge).
You can listen to podcasts with Clair: https://buddhisteconomics.net/podcasts/
Book trailer (2 min): https://youtu.be/88RX5A2iezs
Professor in the Department of Economics at Berkeley and author of
Buddhist Economics: An Enlightened Approach to the Dismal
Science, Clair Brown, joins the show to discuss the role and
importance of economics in our lives.
Tune in to discover:
“Most people go into economics because they want to change the
way the world works. Most people really do care about…how well
people are living…inequality…the climate crisis, the health
emergency, and racial justice, but economists tend to think that
all of those things are interdependent in economic systems, and
that how the economy works can make a difference in all of those
areas,” says Brown, as she explains why she’s an economist.
To her, economics is about figuring out how to take the resources
we have and work with them to provide what people need in order to
have happy and meaningful lives.
She discusses her book, Buddhist Economics: An Enlightened
Approach to the Dismal Science, which addresses ways in which
to think about the worldview of how the economy functions and the
assumptions derived from this worldview.
For instance, are people selfish or altruistic? Independent from or
interdependent with one another and the planet? What differentiates
the rational from the irrational? Brown argues that the way an
economist answers these questions necessarily impacts the way they
think about the way the economy functions.
She provides insight on her view of the effects of the coronavirus, which include a reevaluation of what we find meaningful in our lives, a greater awareness of the climate change emergency (noticed through the significant improvements in air and water quality during the lockdown), and a realization that we really can implement change quickly.
Tune in for all the details and visit https://buddhisteconomics.net/
to learn more.
Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK