Trine Brox and Elizabeth Williams-Oerberg, eds., Buddhism and Business : Merit, Material Wealth, and Morality in the Global Market Economy
Year: 2021
Type: book-review
Abstract: As Trine Brox and Elizabeth Williams-Oerberg, the editors of Buddhism and Business: Merit, Material Wealth, and Morality in the Global Market Economy, rightly note, economics and economic concerns have been part of Buddhism since its inception but are an area long neglected in the Buddhist studies scholarship.This edited volume is a welcome contribution to this burgeoning area.Although the title implies a primary engagement with business, the book instead unites around a common interest in "Buddhism and Buddhists in the global market economy" (1).As such, Buddhism and Business does not address "Buddhist economics," which attempts to apply Buddhist ethics to economic practices.Rather, it is an ethnographically derived analysis of how Buddhists and Buddhism already engage with contemporary economies and markets, aligning itself with the scholarship on Buddhist lived religion that challenges the ascetic and antimaterialistic images of Buddhism.While acknowledging the historical relationship between Buddhism and economies, the editors and contributors build from the conviction that the particulars of "second" or "late" modernity present unique forms of engagement and challenges due to the spread of neoliberal economic policies that focus on individuals and their self-improvement in relation to markets.Jane Caple's contribution orients readers toward two key ideas within Buddhist forms of economy, merit and dāna, that are particularly helpful for non-Buddhist experts.
DOI: 10.15119/00003741
Author: GILLSON, Gwendolyn
Language: English
Topic: Indian and Buddhist Studies
Subfield: Religious studies
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7207757698