- Governance - Human Body - Prevailing Conceptions Discourse Human Nature Justice Oneness

Economic Theory: Competition, the Key to Prosperity?

Human nature has been misinterpreted. We are not selfish and competitive by nature, but rather, altruistic and cooperative. Human societies to some extent actually represent an anomaly in the competitive theory of the jungle. Humans demonstrate a detailed division of labour and exchange of goods and services, with or without a cooperative intention on the individual level, between genetically unrelated individuals, that amounts to an economy-wide scheme of cooperation for collective prosperity. Modern societies with large organizational structures for meat and vegetable production and distribution, banking services and widespread trust in economic stability, and the rule of law and order, do the same. Since earliest days of the species Homo sapien, we have seen dense networks of exchange relations and practices of sophisticated forms of food-sharing, cooperative hunting, and collective warfare in hunter gatherer societies. The world of the animal for example, exhibits little to no distinguishable division of labour. In the jungle, cooperation is limited to small groups, and when it is seen it is almost certainly among genetically closely related individuals (eg: a family in a pack of wolves). Even in non-human primates (chimpanzees etc.), cooperation is orders of magnitude less developed than it is among humans. One may argue that certain insects such as ants and bees, or even the naked mole rat demonstrate cooperation in colonies of 1000’s of individuals working together. However, cooperation of these types of organisms cannot be appreciated except in the context of their considerable genetic homology. Genuine, conscious, cooperation that is biologically altruistic or selfless (ie: lacking genetic incentive) is seen in human society because of our unique nature, distinct from the jungle.

The “Jungle” interpretation of human nature comes from looking at humanity’s past of war and crime and deducing that human nature is selfish and competitive. No serious sociologist would look at a child and deduce that human beings are 2 feet tall and irrational. Yet, that is precisely what has been done when we look at humanity’s war- and crime-ridden history and deduce that human nature is selfish and competitive. Over the course of the child’s maturation and development it will become evident that he is actually capable of being a 5’10” professor of physics, for example. To judge human nature based upon an immature stage in human development leads to misconceived notions of who we are and how we should behave. The problem arises from the mistake of taking descriptive observation and mistaking them for a prescription of how things should be. The is-ought fallacy. Based on the observation of selfish and competitive behaviour, sociologists have prescribed selfish and competitive standards for others to follow. Instead of describing humankind’s violent past and seeking to overcome and transcend these difficulties in the future, many social theorists normalize these characteristics and prescribe them as the mode of interaction in economics and political practice. The sad truth is that much of our social order is built with this view of human nature in mind, catering to the worst aspects of our potential. No wonder society and the global state of affairs are in such shambles. A distinctive effort is needed to rethink human nature and our relationship to the collective order. Nothing less than a spiritual revolution in the hearts and minds of people and a transformation of the values of society will redeem us from the course we have set for ourselves with bankrupt self-conceptions.

Current economic theory is modeled around a self-interested conception of human nature analogous to the competitiveness of animals fighting for survival and reproductive resources in a jungle. I believe human nature is fundamentally altruistic, analogous to the harmony of cells and tissues cooperating for total organismic prosperity. The best advantage of the part is pursued in the progress of the whole. Cooperation of the various parts leads to health, and selfishness of any cell leads to cancer. The human body and not the jungle is what I choose as my model for societal and economic organization.

Assumptions of the Jungle Interpretation of Human Nature:
1. Human beings are naturally self-interested
2. There is a finite amount of goods, services, and opportunities with an infinite amount of wants, drives, and competitors
3. Competition is both biologically necessary and mandated by the scarcity of resources
4. Survival of the fittest is not just a biological law, but a social one as well, equally applicable to the biological and social human condition

Assumptions of the Body Interpretation of Human Nature:
1. Human beings are naturally altruistic
2. Goods are produced in proportion to the sense of a duty, purpose, and enterprise animating human endeavours, individually and collectively
3. Needs are satisfied in a way that does justice to their severity and intensity, which balances the extremes of satisfaction and want society-wide
4. Creation of a just and prosperous world order is the fruit of all social evolution, just as the manifestation of the rational mind has been the fruit of biological evolution


- Consultation - Empowerment - Governance - Human Body - Prevailing Conceptions Discourse Justice

Discourse and Politics: Blood in the Arteries of Governance

Discourse on the following topics has brought these themes to the point of being reconceptualized. Certain foundational principles have emerged and crystallized from ongoing discourse. Principles we now believe in in a new way are:

1) Unity of all Humankind
2) Justice according to the Laws of God for all
3) Knowledge, as the central feature of social existence, the generation of which is prerogative and responsibility of all
4) Power, corrupted by partisanship today, must be revolutionized by the power of cooperation, love, unity, spirituality, selflessness, collective-mindedness, and humility.

The fundamental difference between the governance of the present and the governance of the future will be the values of the governors. Unity of the people will be: 1) an assumption about the nature of their collective trusteeship of the governed. Baha’u’llah writes, “The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust.” If the assumption is that all citizens are equal subjects under one government then disadvantages will not be allowed to amass disproportionately in one sector. 2) The self-conception of governance must change to recognizing itself as the greatest champion of justice for all people. Associated with this is 3) the requirement of promotion of language that reflects the selflessness of the speaking party and grounds any and all validity or claim to be heard in the public forum in the collective well-being. Thoughts will be entertained only that aim at the betterment of all people without regard for particularistic interests. And proposals will be entertained only that allocate resources in accordance with what serves the long-term, principled interests of all people. Baha’u’llah addressing the concourse of the rulers of the earth writes “Take ye counsel together, and let your concern be only for that which profiteth mankind and bettereth the condition thereof.”

How can there be different people, with different ways of life and social structures, but all with a binding unity? How are the diverse tissues of a body coordinated to achieve maximum efficiency and prosperity for all? In pursuit of collective unity and prosperity, rulers ought to regard the world as the human body which, though created whole and perfect, now has various social, economic and political imbalances  as a body that has been afflicted with illness and maladies. Selfish, particularistic, or corrupt politicians, of whom partisanship is a subset, are like untrained, uneducated, fake doctors who have pursued their own materialistic desires at the expense of the common weal.  And through the violent and competitive electoral and social system we have created if a well-trained and educated physician did intervene, his influence was limited and interrupted and the recovery remained limited to a small region of the body. Collectively, the unity and prosperity of the human race has not been realized.  “That which the Lord hath ordained as the sovereign remedy and mightiest instrument for the healing of all the world is the union of all its peoples in one universal Cause, one common Faith.”

This can in no way be achieved except through the power of a skilled, an all-powerful and inspired Physician. Any representation to the contrary is false. The testimony of all history is obvious. Mankind suffers, and selfishness reigns at the level of statesmanship, where selflessness should have flourished decades ago. We must have laws within our discourse against selfish ideology or intentions and we must promote a discourse that glorifies and appreciates educated, thoughtful, proposals that aim for the betterment of all people with no surreptitious corruption or financial motives. We must vote for and uplift those who have demonstrated a history of consistent selfless action, thoughtful planning for universal betterment, and unwavering discipline and justice in the face of tempting expedients. A stricter order of appreciation for the level of selflessness in the ideology of political leaders is necessary. Those with power must support a culture and enact laws that ensure values which promote those with selfless tendencies, and remove those with particularistic or corrupt inclinations.  “It behoveth every ruler to weigh his own being every day in the balance of equity and justice and then to judge between men and counsel them to do that which would direct their steps unto the path of wisdom and understanding. This is the cornerstone of statesmanship and the essence thereof.”

The publication of high thoughts is the dynamic power in the arteries of life; it is the very soul of the world.

- Empowerment Discourse Knowledge Oneness

A Culture of Learning

The choice to adopt assumptions with the intention of operationalizing them does indeed entail challenges – overcoming habits of mind, resisting corrosive social forces, understanding the dynamics of change, etc – however, the journey hardly stops there.  These assumptions need to be applied and tested within reality to assess the fruits they bear.  To this end, a culture of systematic learning must be fostered; one that is motivated by a human being’s two-fold purpose, one that draws insights from science and religion, one that approaches universal participation and regards all as protagonists in the generation and application of knowledge.

There are a number of principles that prove valuable towards creating a culture of learning – three here will be mentioned.  One is integrating study and action together.  When they are carried out concurrently, insights are tested against reality, questions arise through service, and understanding is enhanced in a coherent fashion.  Contrast this with the educational systems of society which heavily fragment theory and practice, to the point where whole fields, irreconcilable with each other, are created to encompass one fragment versus the other.  Operating within this mode of study and action, a posture of humility assumes extreme importance and value – that each individual contributes simply one perspective towards an evolving collective knowledge, which is tested through action, studied and refined by others, and does not belong to one or another person alone.  Rather, all are empowered to own the generation and application of knowledge.  Again, society denotes humility as passivity, weakness, inferiority, submission.  Far be this from the truth!  Rather, true humility comes from an understanding of the oneness of humankind – that we are all cells in the body of humanity, that we all can play a part in the great enterprise of rearing a world civilization, that no one individual is greater in station than another.  Finally, joining study and service with a humble condition compels individuals to not only encourage and accompany others on a path of learning, but also to find delight and happiness in the accomplishment of others.  For – again, drawing from oneness – the knowledge generated by another is collective and beneficial to all.  The service rendered by another is towards the whole community, and benefits all.  Assisting others in learning is just as valuable as learning itself, for all work together in a culture of learning.

Justice Oneness

Cardiovascular Justice – 2

How does the body’s cardiovascular system determine blood flow in a way that transcends the limitations of unfettered individualism, which places value on the organ at the expense of the organism, on the one hand; and suffocating collectivism, which confuses justice with equality and ignores the diversity and hierarchy inherent in natural order, on the other hand? It is by assuming the perspective and vision of the whole body; it is through considering the welfare of the organism in its entirety – this, obviously, being the most effective way to ensure the vitality of each and all of the members and parts; it is through justice.

To examine human cardiovascular physiology is to behold a system of beauty, of harmony, of artistry, developed carefully over countless ages of physical evolution. It is characterized by cooperation, reciprocity, and interconnectedness, and governed by the principles of oneness and justice. It is a system of dynamic balance. Because the organism is in flux, constantly changing, and with myriad functions, powers, and activities, justice demands that blood is distributed with dynamism according to need. Consider two common states of the body – “fight or flight”. These are states of sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system dominance. Depending on the state, the distribution of blood needs to be adjusted. There are also certain organs that require a constant flow of blood regardless of the physiological state of the body. The organism achieves this dynamic equilibrium through numerous factors, both central and local.

Central factors are more obvious. The central nervous system, through the release of vasoactive chemicals as well as through direct neuronal innervation, can actively dilate and constrict certain large blood vessels, shunting blood towards or away from organ systems in anticipation of exercise or digestion, for instance. The local level schemes are more subtle. One method is termed active hyperemia, when blood vessels locally dilate in response to the build-up of metabolic byproducts. Additionally, reactive hyperemia – increased blood flow to places that have experienced an occlusion – demonstrate that some degree of need-based distribution occurs on the local level, and that local factors are given latitude in decision-making in order to be responsive. To establish a constant blood flow is called auto-regulation. At a local level, in some organs such as the kidneys and brain, the cells lining the walls of arteries detect the pressure being exerting, and constrict and dilate accordingly. And at a central level, the heart can alter its volume and pressure to respond to the needs of these organs. Some organs benefit more by local determinants, and some by central. And, likewise, certain states demand the use of certain types of factors over others.

Without going into too much detail, this analogy provides us with a number of understandings. An economic system governed by justice will entail a high degree of complexity and intricacy. It cannot be created through finding some balance between two deleterious extremes, but rather by transcending the dichotomy through adopting new assumptions, new principles, and new approaches. It is a dynamic equilibrium that must always consider the whole of humanity, and understand unity in diversity.

What are other insights gained from this analogy?


Cardiovascular Justice – 1

Once again, principles applied in our social reality can be informed by the analogy of the human body.  Justice, on one level, should govern decision-making processes.  One example of collective decisions is the distribution of resources – the economic system.  What is the human body’s macro-economic system?  The distribution of blood, one of the body’s most valuable possessions, is highly complex and awe-inspiring.  One thing that is apparent, when studying cardiovascular physiology, is that this system is governed by justice.

The 20th century was ideologically dominated by two schools of thought at opposite ends of a spectrum; and the economic systems of the world tended towards one or the other end of the spectrum (with none being purely one or the other).  One is characterized as unfettered individualism, in which people are self-interested actors competing for the accumulation of resources based on their own abilities.  The other is characterized as suffocating collectivism, in which a state machinery distributes resources according to some centrally planned equal proportion.  If we apply either of these models to the human body, we would witness disastrous results.

In a Laissez-faire model, organs compete for blood flow, maximally dilating their arteries in an attempt to secure as much blood possible; to their justification, each rightfully believes that it is an integral part of the whole organism and needs blood to survive, and thus it is in the best interest of the body that it labors to acquire blood.  There are multiple organs that have great capacity for taking cardiac output – the digestive organs and the skeletal muscles, in particular.  Each can take, say, 70% of the heart’s output.  Imagine if every organ competed according to its ability; no other organs would get any blood.  It becomes quickly evident that each organ competing towards its own self-interest would kill the body.

In a communistic model, centrally controlled factors distribute resources according to some type of equal proportion, such as weight, volume, activity, etc.  Again, death would quickly ensue.  If each organ got blood flow equalized for its weight, for instance, then organs such as the muscles and skin, which together take over half the body’s weight, would receive too much blood; while the brain and kidneys, equaling a small percentage of weight, would whither away.

How does the body determine blood flow?


Source of Human Rights

With the understanding that justice requires the spiritual dimensions of human existence to be taken into account in discourse in order to stay relevant to humanity’s real needs, let us turn to the issue of human rights.

What are the reasons for human rights and justice? Why do human beings deserve protection?

Human rights are founded upon the spiritual nature of a human being – that an individual is a spiritual being with the latent capacity to reflect spiritual attributes. One of the purposes of life is to manifest these capacities; and thus, human beings must be free and protected to spiritually develop, to gain knowledge of self, to investigate reality, and to contribute to the advancement of civilization.

Beyond the purpose of an individual’s existence, human rights, on a collective level, are derived from an understanding of the oneness of humankind – that the body of humanity is one. Just as every cell is under the care of the entire organism, each human being is born as a trust of the whole. This oneness intrinsically provides the foundational basis of all conceptions of justice, human rights, and freedom.

For instance, human rights include the imperative to preserve cultural diversity – at least those cultural expressions that are not contrary or harmful to others. This imperative is driven by peace and unity. If peaceful order is to emerge, then complex cultural interactions must flourish. And if unity – and not uniformity – is to characterize humanity’s condition, then diversity must be protected and fostered. Other examples include right of health care, employment, food, shelter, etc. Every individual has the right to live with a certain degree of well-being, both to protect their purpose of manifesting spiritual qualities and contributing to society, and because the well-being of one is the well-being of all. Thus, the operation of justice through societal institutions should ensure the prevention of extremes of wealth and poverty and the preservation of human honor through a dignified livelihood – this, without detracting from individual freedoms of private property and economic initiative.

Justice Oneness

Justice in the Context of Oneness

Justice is the ruling principle of social organization, and the advancement of civilization depends upon its universal application.  Conceptions of justice have been explored for centuries, and today, are highly numerous and variable.  In our current crisis of civilization, confusion and contention is the norm regarding such central ideas as justice, power, and knowledge.  As is the case with history, freedom, and social relationships, justice – a core element of our conceptual framework – is re-conceptualized in the context of the principle of the oneness of humankind.

The foundation of understanding justice is to regard humanity as a single body, and oneself as a cell of that body.  All the talents and capacities latent and manifest within each individual member belongs to the whole; and, likewise, each problem afflicting an individual or group wounds the whole.  It is unjust to be concerned for the welfare of one group while ignoring – or worse, at the expense of – another group; conditions are never particular, but always global.  Through regarding all of humanity as one and considering the well-being of the whole, unity can be achieved.  Otherwise, how can unity exist?

The purpose of justice, therefore, is the appearance of unity.  Justice is the surest means by which oneness of humankind, which is a latent truth, can be made manifest.  For it ensures that progress for a segment of humanity is not achieved at the expense of systemic advancement; that limited resources are not diverted to projects at the periphery of humanity’s real needs; that the values, ideas, and knowledge of all are consulted upon, and not just one group.  Justice cements the interests of the individual with that of the entire body of humankind – a very practical manifestation of oneness.

- Human Body Human Nature Oneness

The Human Body and the Body Politic

We are in disagreement with self-interested conceptions of human nature and competitive social models. These tend to derive from a materialistic reduction of reality. Humankind’s future does not rest in their espousal, regardless of how popular they may seem at present. Systems known to humankind each comprise a possible candidate on which to model social organization. The human body and not the jungle is a more constructive analogy for the organization of our society. The human body analogy equips us to envision a social order that is harmonious, united, and prosperous. Cooperation of the various parts leads to health, and selfishness of any cell or tissue produces disease states. Through the instrumentality of reciprocity and cooperation each member of the body politic contributes and receives mutual comfort and welfare. One member’s affliction or distress will produce affliction and distress in all members and the whole. The body politic experiences happiness and sadness as a single entity. Can my finger but not myself be in pain? Can acute injury to the eye spare the functions of the broader nervous system? The agency of the sympathetic nervous system, like the inter-human sense of sympathetic emotion, leads to interconnectedness in all matters of pain and pleasure, disease and health, disaster and prosperity. Can the part be distressed but the whole at ease? It is our foundational conviction that society should be organized according to principles of reciprocity, cooperation and interconnectedness. Through the arteries of humankind will then flow the spirit that empowers us to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.

Human Nature Oneness

Oneness as an Ontological Truth

The analogy of the human body to the body of humanity provides important insights to the nature of human society and the relationship between the individual and the collective, as well as into the principle of oneness itself. Yet, the concept of oneness embodies a deeper truth. Ultimately, oneness is a defining characteristic of the entire phenomenal world. Reality is one. Every part of the universe is connected with all other parts; every reality is an essential requisite of other realities; and cooperation and reciprocity – so characteristic of the functioning of the human body, as well as characteristics that the body of humanity desperately needs as it transitions to maturity – are manifestations of the interconnectedness that governs the entire universe.

The intrinsic oneness that characterizes humanity is derived from the underlying oneness of reality itself. It is true of physical phenomena, it is true of the human body, it is true of humanity (though it needs to be expressed in more fuller degrees), all because it is true of reality. This latent oneness of humankind will become manifest when cooperation, mutual aid, and reciprocity characterize all the relationships within our social body.

Thoughts? Please share below.

- Human Body Human Nature Oneness

The body of humanity

The human body is the one analogy that points toward a convincing model for the organization of a planetary society. There is no other model that mirrors its complexity or prosperity upon which we can rely. Human society is not a mass of individually differentiated cells but of associations of tissues and organs, systems and will, intelligence and common purpose. The modes of operation that characterize man’s biological nature illustrate fundamental principles of social and civilizational existence. Chiefly, unity in diversity is championed by the existence of each and every human frame. Paradoxically, it is the wholeness and complexity of the human body–and the perfect integration of its component elements–that permits the full realization of the distinctive potentialities inherent in each cell.