Economic ethics study of its nature and issues with special reference to Buddhism
Synopsis "Economic ethics study of its nature and issues with special reference to Buddhism"
BUDDHIST ECONOMICS1. DEFINITIONS OF ECONOMICS: The subject of economics, as it is understood today is complexity, defies any attempt atgiving a precise, adequate definition. Originally, economics simply meant the management ofhousehold resources. The earliest of the modern definitions were usually in terms of wealth.For example, Adam Smith called his famous work "An inquiry into the nature and causes ofwealth of nation." J.S.Mill considered economics as the "practical science of production anddistribution of wealth." Nowadays definitions lay more emphasis on the problems ofexchange and price determination. Some even define it in terms of welfare, thus representingeconomics as a means of studying how through increased production the standard of living ofpeople could be improved. Alfred Marshall sees it not only as a study of wealth but also as astudy of man. Some of the latest definitions are based on the theory of scarcity and choice, which gives economics yet another dimension.1What becomes more clear from above mentioned numerous definitions, is that economics is acomplex, yet composite subject, to a large extent concerned with activities and to a lesserextent with motives of man adopted by him in the process of securing all kinds of things withwhich he aims to satisfy his various wants. These definitions make it clear that economicsalso explains the causes upon which the material well-being of humankind depends, thecauses that influence and control the production of goods and their distribution, etc.2Economics is the basis of our daily lives, even if we do not always realize it. Where it is anexplanation of how people work hard, or people vote, or customers buy, or movementssubsidize, economists have examined evidence and produced theories that can be checkedagainst practice.3Furthermore, economics is the study of the production distribution, selling and use of goodsand services. Moreover, it is the study of financial structures to show how a product orservice is cost and what returns it produces.
