He said, “Usually, spirituality or compassion or human affection in the business world looks less relevant. But if you look at the events of the 20th century – why did the Socialist theories come? They saw that there was too much inequality… and exploitation. They were thinking about profit. But a way of getting profit or using profit in a more equal way. So this idea of Socialism happened.”
Obviously, good intentions often go wrong. “Up to now, those Socialist societies – the idea of distribution came from regulation or some external means, not by voluntary basis. So the result is… some kind of corruption and… no further progress.”
Corruption and inequality hurt us, The Dalai Lama believes, since we are all part of society and we are interdependent.
“So, this (inequitable monetary) gap, is not only morally wrong… not just a moral issue, but a practical issue,” he clarified. “These billionaires, they are a part of the human society. And also, moreover, they have more responsibility. So, therefore, they have to think about how to reduce this (gap), without damaging their ability to make a profit.”
The Tibetan Buddhist preceptor sees nothing wrong with making money, but a person only needs so much money before it becomes a surplus. “Billionaires have the same size of stomach, same size of body,” he noted. “So therefore, your money… there’s a limit for oneself isn’t it?”
Socialism must come from people’s desire to do good and to bring equality to the world otherwise government enforced regulations will be empty laws with unclear intentions.
The Dalai Lama emphasized, “Moral ethics does not come from a belief in God or belief in the next reincarnation. But simply, the whole society is our home… the basis of our future… how much contribution can I make for the betterment of society?”
This is a question that is only beginning to be answered.
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