The Eightfold path of Dhammic Socialism
1. Right Livelihood: Abstaining from profiting through dishonesty, corruption, harm or bloodshed.
For a free society to keep itself libertarian, egalitarian, nonviolent, and honest, it would involve maintaining high levels of transparency and accountability. Naturally, this would include seeking sources of revenue which do not include corruption, exploitation, or harm such as usury, monopolization, third world exploitation, arms dealership/war profiteering, etc.; and holding accountable those that do. Social cohesion is facilitated by the voluntarily democratic association and consensus of its individuals.
2. Education and Prosperity: Democratic access to food and drink, shelter, clothing, medicine and all information media.
As Dhammic Mutualists, we contend that every living being has a natural right to the satisfaction of needs according to ability. Necessities should be openly accessible by all people, and to keep these necessities self-sustaining, recipients are encouraged to give something in return according to their ability, such as labor, trade, support, or some equivalents thereof, etc. regardless of their gender, class, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
3. Equanimity: Encouraging tolerance, forbearance, and loving-kindness towards all beings - human and animal.
This is the compassionate awareness that recognizes and respects the rights of all beings, however different those rights may be. Facilitating the universal rights of all involves the amelioration or abolition of class distinctions and social inequalities and injustices based on race, gender, religion, sexual preference, species, etc. Thus this awareness strikes at the root of any kind of divisive hatred or injustice. We are all in this together.
4. Egalitarianism: Facilitating the empowerment of each individual and allowing them to possess a means of production either individually or collectively.
This is achievable through the development of dual powers or alternative social institutions within existing society until such institutions eventually replace prior ones. Eventually, a to a vast network of federations or markets of free local, yet interdependent, markets will develop. This gradualism of interdependent networks is essential in ending the natural exploitation of multinational corporations and military-industrial complexes. This involves building and supporting decentralized, grassroots, community-based economies. Essentially, it is the co-existing of many different markets and federations within a interdependent, decentralized network. In a sense, this is the organization and development of a new society within old network, or framework, of the previous one.
Within a mututalist (or truly libertarian, noncapitalistic) market, each person might possess a means of production either individually or collectively. People may be self-employed (such as artisans, farmers, independent contractors, etc.), or part of specific producers or consumers cooperatives, a large workers' democratically controlled syndicate or enterprise, etc. Also, mutual banks and credit unions would be democratically controlled which would lend to producers at a minimal interest rate, and trade would represent equivalent amounts of labor (or equivalents thereof) in a truly free market.
Therefore, in the mutualist approach, no one would sell their labor to others but would instead work in democratic cooperatives, networks, syndicates, enterprises, etc; or even for themselves. Benjamin Tucker once stated that, if any kind of wage labor was to exist, the removal of statist privileges (such as banking market entry barriers, legal tender laws, and enforcement of land ownership not based on occupancy and use) would result in the workers' natural wage being their "full product". That is, no individual will profit from the labor of another because everyone is paid equally for equal hours worked and no one will have an ultimate authority over another.
5. Freedom: Assisting in the liberation of all beings from dukkha.
We all experience the stresses and sufferings (or “dukkha”) of life at times to various degrees. Dukkha is a Sanskrit term, variously translated as (dis)stress, anguish, unsatisfactoriness, suffering, tension, despair, etc. In Buddhism, it is one of the three marks or seals of existence (along with impermanence and non-self) and is the First Noble Truth.
We are ultimately social beings, and one’s own suffering can affect many others in varying degrees. Therefore it would benefit us all to work together to help one another in overcoming these, such as in improving our living situations to maintain a higher standard of living. This is supporting local markets, Such as buying locally and supporting local markets, thus growing the local economy. Multinational corporations and capitalist economics - in seeking to maximum profit, “outsource” wage labor to foreign, often times much poorer, source which is usually conveniently controlled by a strong dictatorial or military regime. Alternatively, or they pay to bring illegal aliens to the work-site so that they can pay them less for longer hours at the expense of local workers’ and their unions.
6. Integrity: Acceptance of the six-colored Buddhist flag and Dhammacakra as international Buddhist symbols.
The Dhammacakra is the Wheel of Natural Law, set in motion by the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. The Buddhist flag is a modern creation which was jointly designed by Mr. J.R. de Silva and Colonel Henry S. Olcott to mark the revival of Buddhism in Ceylon in 1880. It was accepted as the International Buddhist Flag by the 1952 World Buddhist Congress.
7. Felicity: Applying the use of Gross-National Happiness (GNH) alongside traditional economic indicators to measure the quality of life and non-economic well-being. This is an important step in maintaining a higher standard of living.
Everybody knows that Gross National Product (GNP) only measures the sum total of material production and exchange in any country. The term Gross National Happiness (GNH) was coined by Bhutan's King Jigme Singye Wangchuck (who has also played a major role in bringing democracy to Bhutan) in 1972. GNH is a quantitative measurement of the quality of life and of non-economic well-being and happiness. GNH value is proposed to be an index function of the total average per capita of the following measures:
1. Economic Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of economic metrics such as consumer debt, average income to consumer price index ratio and income distribution.
2. Environmental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of environmental metrics such as pollution, noise and traffic.
3. Physical Wellness: Indicated via statistical measurement of physical health metrics such as severe illnesses, weight, etc.
4. Mental Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of mental health metrics such as usage of antidepressants and rise or decline of psychotherapy patients.
5. Workplace Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of labor metrics such as jobless claims, job change, workplace complaints and lawsuits.
6. Social Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of social metrics such as discrimination, safety, divorce rates, complaints of domestic conflicts and family lawsuits, public lawsuits, crime rates.
7. Political Wellness: Indicated via direct survey and statistical measurement of political metrics such as the quality of local democracy, individual freedom, and foreign conflicts.
8. Peace: A commitment to avoid imposing our beliefs through coercion, manipulation or force and to utilize every opportunity for open dialogue and cooperation.
NOBLE TWELVE FOLD SOCIAL PATH
The key word accompanying every factor of the path is "right" or "correct" (samma). Correctness is not to be defined in dogmatic terms. Nothing is correct but by the grace of Dhamma, that is, when it is in harmony with natural law and appropriate to the causes, purpose, time, society, individuals involved, and oneself. Thus, the meaning of "right" or "correct" depends on the causes and conditions of each case. We must be mindful, sensitive, open-minded, flexible, creative, and insightful to keep track of and respond to the diverse changing circumstances.
The nobility of our path is also crucial. We, of course, do not mean "noble" (ariya) in the ordinary hierarchical or classist way. Literally, the Pali word means "to go (ya) away from one's enemies (ari)." Traditionally, "enemies" refers to the kilesa. Above, we have made it clear that kilesa social structures are the enemies of all beings. Further, the path is noble in that only noble, skillful means are used. For example, we avoid violence. Let us give careful thought to "noble means."
Right Religion
Right Education
Right Leadership
Right Organization & Government
Right Communication
Right Culture
Right Sexuality & Family
Right Economics
Right Ecology
Right Play
Right Monitoring
Right Sangha & Solidarity
STRUCTURES OF SELFISHNESS
Greed (lobha): Capitalism & Consumerism
Anger (kodha):Militarism & Injustice
Hatred (dosa): Racism, Classism, & Exclusivism
Lust (raga): Prostitution In Entertainment, Tourism, & Business
Delusion (moha): Education & The Media
Competition: Capitalism, Sports, & A Way Of Life
Fear (bhaya): Medicine & Religion
Sexism: All Kinds Of Kilesa.
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