The Kyoto Manifesto for Global Economics

Chapter 1 identifies the objective of ‘The Kyoto Manifesto for Global Economics’ and how the Chapters fit together into its overall critique. The book is the product of three Annual International Symposia in Kyoto from 2014 to 2016, together with a Review Symposium in 2017, with the objective of posing a challenge to global economics. It progressively builds a series of society-centered platforms on which a new approach to global economics can be developed, emphasizing people and their spirituality. Fundamentally, the structure of the book is anchored in spirituality and the power of musical expression—beyond words but exploring humanity’s wider harmony. The structure is influenced by Shinto and the sacred music of Stomu Yamash’ta which preceded each Symposium and conveys the relationship of humanity and spirituality to both the harmonies of the natural world and the harmony of humanity. This is a ‘polyphony’ or mirror of a musical structure which brings two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody together. This interweaving of physical and human elements is carried through the whole book, and presented in ‘musical’ form as a series of ‘Movements’ in an overall Symphony. Thus, form and content are mutual mirrors.

World society in the 21st Century is moving precariously close to its ‘tipping point’. Every indicator of progressive change—from human population and community to environmental impact is showing this. At heart is the dynamic of current global economic assumptions and practice. Chapter 2 exposes the urgency for change in the current global economic paradigm and proposes ways to make change happen—based on rediscovering and asserting the essential power of our humanity as the platform for future global economics.

The Aral Sea disappeared due to overuse of water to cultivate cotton, causing the largest-scale environmental catastrophe in the 20th century. Taking cotton as an example, this chapter aims at revisiting the interrelationship between human and nature, collapse of which is a great concern of our society. The modern economics have regarded nature just as an endowed “bundle of resources”, and this perspective may have contributed to the socio-economic prosperity in part at the unprecedented level in the human history while the accumulative negative impacts on the environment since the Industrial Revolution disrupt the Earth system in whole, leading to the new geological era, the Anthropocene in the Earth history. Then, cotton played a decisive role in the Industrial Revolution, and its industrialized production and associated market system drastically changed the relationship between human and nature, and thus denaturalized our economy. The changes of the Earth system, represented by climate change, imply that the natural condition the modern economic paradigm has assumed as “given” for more than two centuries may be no longer granted. In our Kyoto Manifesto context, a view of nature and human expressed by a Japanese painter in the 18th century in Kyoto, provide a way from where we relink with nature and adopt ourselves to the coming Anthropocene.

In this chapter, we discuss the limitations of traditional approaches in economics for resolving several issues arising in a globalized society. Although the concept of efficiency has been the core principle when analyzing economic phenomena in modern economics, it has been apparent that the concept of fairness and justice are far more important concerns for most of the people in the global society. Fairness and justice will be the major focus of scientific research in various fields such as philosophy, psychology, moral science, neuroscience, sociology, and so on. In this sense, the direction of economics will be centered around issues of humanity and spirituality.

This chapter offers a multilayered critique of modern economics, global capitalism, and economic expertise through the lens of postmodern/critical theoryCritical theory literatures. In so doing, the chapter appeals to a radical ethic of what we term the “economic imaginary”,Economic imaginary best understood as a speakable but generally unspoken range of “voice(s)” which modern economics and global capitalismGlobal capitalism do not seek to hear. To this end, the chapter focuses on the hermeneutical horizon of economic ethicsEconomic ethics (how we are to interpret and understand economic life) in a manner which accounts for moral power as a force in the world not as a concept about the world. Lastly, the chapter articulates the challenges to modern conceptions of what the chapters in this volume seek—an intertextual milieu of economics, community, humanity and the spiritualSpirit by means of dovetailing with a modern conception of harmonyHarmony. We leave the question of harmony at the doorstep of an unnamed and unspeakable “spirituality”Spirituality which is, for us, the very possibility of moral community.

Our Kyoto Manifesto is formulated through a series of discussions held in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan for over a millennium. Without being fostered by the cultural and historical settings of Kyoto, we could not come to our fruition as this book to challenge against the current global economics. In this chapter, by examining known and unknown Kyoto’s history, culture, life as well as geological setting and ecological conditions, three fundamentals of the potential of Kyoto for desirable changes for the future are identified as 1) surrounding scared mountains on three sides, products of which have shaped, 2) Kyoto’s plural culture influenced by the continental cultures transmitted via the Silk Road that has the potentials to promote inter-state and inter-cultural dialogue, 3) Unique roles of women in Kyoto may offer wisdom and prospects for the future.

This chapter supplements the Manami Oka’s essay in Chapter 6. She explores how the Eastern intellectual trends developed historically while situating the role of Kyoto culture in a global context. Oka investigates how the city as a whole confronted and adapted to continental influence. Throughout its history, Kyoto has benefited from its natural surroundings. Much of its cultural development was born out of the wisdom that people gained through their adoration of nature. In sharing their natural resources, the people of Kyoto have tried to consider what they should and should not do.

Chapter 8 takes this book into the depth of our humanity—exploring harmony amongst the multiple (polyphonic) natural and human themes of our existence. The search is practical and inspired by ancient history, returning to the historic place before the Bronze Age when a very special stone, ‘sanukite’ was used in ceremonies and on special occasions because of its extraordinary two-minute resonance and acoustic range—including inaudible high frequency waves more than 500,000Hz which some believe have a healing effect. Based on very extensive wider music performance experience in both classical and contemporary worlds the author has developed a unique percussion instrument from this stone, and plays it in ceremonies that bring people and religions together in celebrations of peace—including prior to each of the International Kyoto Symposia from which this book was constructed. The Chapter shows how it is possible in a dialogue with the harmonies of the stone, to hear the vast timelessness of the world which surrounds us and thus to live in relation to it. Contrasted against today’s increasing dependence on the limited acoustic range of digital (sampled) music, the Chapter argues that, with the increasing universality of digital sound and the consequent loss of connection in consciousness to the harmonic breadth and depth of natural sound, there is a decline in multidimensional thinking and originality, an ongoing loss of cultural diversity in a globalized world. The main contribution of this Chapter is to take the reader through quite practical experience to the depths of what is humanity’s spirituality within our wondrous cosmic world, the most basic of platforms from which this book constructs the Kyoto Manifesto for Global Economics.

In this chapter, I will explain what the absolute zero and the absolute emptiness (vacuum/voidVoid) are in the fields of quantum physics and chemistry. At first one likely believes that there is nothing—no particles at all—in the vacuumVacuum state. Is it correct? The importance of this question even extends to other fields, including philosophy and religion. To answer this question, we must examine the history of modern physical sciences since the early 20th century. Here, I will discuss quantum physics and chemistry, especially solid-state quantum physics and chemistrySolid-state quantum physics and chemistry.

During the latest half century, the sciences, especially the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, have progressed drastically. In particular, the exploration of the beginning of the universe has brought about the concept of “this universe” and “other universes.” We once had a similar concept, “this world,” corresponding to the solar system, in Japan in the 1940s. People believed that there existed another universe, referred to as the netherworld or the great beyond. This belief can be re-interpreted in the context of the recent hypothetical understanding of the black hole, where the surfaces of the universes are faced and may be contacted. To revitalize the intuition of modern people with respect to the concept of multiple universes, it is important to reset the current consciousness and will of people, and to sharpen the sensitivity that mankind is innately endowed with as a consequence of the long process of evolution.

This chapter describes several encounters of the West with the East, represented by Zen Buddhism which flourished in Kyoto and Shintoism across Japan, as the onset of alternative pathways to escape from our impasse of the global socio-economy. Over history, some Western visionaries have found seeds in Japanese Buddhism and Shintoism to overcome the dualism of Western thought—spirit and matter, visible and invisible, rational and irrational, life and death—which have been imposed on the current civilization to its peril. There is a history of dialogues between the East and West not only in humanities and social sciences but also in natural sciences. These dialogues have been instructive but remain very necessary. In this regard, Kyoto must remain an important node in the East in order to foresee the next civilization, which is indispensable for our future survival.

‘Vernacular democracy’ is emerging in contemporary India with increasing participation of more diverse population in public activities. This new deepening of democracy is upheld by the affirmation of diversity based on the ethico-spiritual value of ontological equality.

In this book, “creative economy” is defined as the economy that promotes the market and social values of creative activities and improves the well-being of the people. The value of creative activities is closely related with the well-being of the people because creative activities that improve well-being gain high market value. In this chapter, we discuss about the essences of creativity, and derive some implications for the optimal economic and social system for a creative economy.

In a society, trust is a crucial factor for efficient cooperation and transactions.Without trust, cooperation is impossible and to prevent cheating the cost of transactions becomes too high. In this sense, it is important to examine the mechanisms of trust formation in a society. In this paper, we further develop the work of Zak and Knack by considering the relationship between trust, happiness, and inequality. The results of the empirical analysis by using cross country data show that higher levels of trust in society increase positive happiness, such as feelings of attainment, and decrease negative happiness, such as feelings of anxiety or anger.

The organizational theory approach to creativity examines the types of structures and cultures that heighten creativity. It is a mistake to assume that traditional hierarchical organizations have nothing to offer in terms of promoting creativity. These organizations obstruct creativity when bureaucratic and conservative administrators create an atmosphere in which creativity is not valued, but they can be highly effective if they affirm valuable creative activities while maintaining the discipline of the organization, thereby improving the overall efficiency of decision making. In this chapter, we discuss about the dynamics of knowledge creation in an organization by using the mathematical model.

Globalization brings about benefits and wonders; it has allowed us to solve single-value problems, but it can increase the potential risks of “systemic problemsSystemic problems,” leading to system-wide disruptions. Our efforts to solve problems often cause further problems, beyond our expectations. What can we do to protect against such emerging systemic problems? We now need a Copernican revolutionCopernican revolution for paradigm shifts in our cognition. We should apply the same “systemic forces” that generate the “systemic problems” in the first place. We can fight like with like in trying to cope.

The greatest power of social transformation lies in our shared humanity. However, to capture this power requires bringing others, even from across widely different cultural worlds, into our very self—to truly listen, suspend the noise of our own inner dialogue of consciousness that otherwise gets in the way. This is the spiritual power of ‘silence’. Chapter 17 demonstrates the power that lies within our immediate social world if we truly listen. It is here that we can bridge ‘diversity’ and employ this community-focused cultural center to ‘connect with’ and ‘empower’ others’ diverse cultural worlds and meanings. The strategy to expand the power of this dynamic of change, even out into the global community, is then indicated through the concept of ‘global localism’—building action at the local level and then finding ways of linking more broadly from this base. Lessons are developed from broad exploration of the power of ‘silence’ in and across societies, and in learning from history.

Chapter 18 further develops the ideas presented in Chapter 17 by focusing on the social dynamics of ‘community’—where, through truly listening and relating, we can tap the resource of our humanity and build this into the reference point for economic action. At heart is the quote used at the start of the book, “We used to live in a Society. Now, we live in an Economy.” The objective of ‘The Kyoto Manifesto’ is to re-assert society rather than economy as our frame for action and meanings, so this Chapter explores the key qualities of ‘community’, and then demonstrates through practical case studies the wider change dynamic of ‘global localism’.

This Chapter reflects human sociality against that of our primate forebears. Based on both extensive personal field research of gorillas, particularly in the Congo and Gabon, and analysis of the progression of understanding in the literature, the author takes us to the edge of primate-human evolution and shows us the difference. The argument demonstrates that society is not unique to humans, but whilst human sociality is deeply rooted in the common social features of the great apes, new social factors emerged, in particular as our humanoid ancestors moved into risky ecological niches outside tropical rain forests and needed to develop new communicative and shared productive capabilities. These included the development of language, food sharing, cooperative breeding, strong identity and community, and emotional traits such as empathy and sympathy. The Chapter concludes with an analysis of the consequence now for human sociality to survive the future.

This paper engages the question of economic hospitalityHospitality, of a radical welcoming of all that is other than ourselves into an economy, a home in which we dwell. The sense of welcoming here, adapted in a simplified way from Emmanuel Levinas[aut]Levinas, Emmanuel, is grounded in a pre-ontological, pre-existential, pre-ethical, pre-social and pre-linguistic absolute regard for the “Other,” persons or otherwise. The essay is best understood as a critical exercise in something like a radical and hermeneutic displacement of the most common philosophical and moral protocols of modern economics. Those protocols have to do with the priority of an assumed self, armed with “self-interests” and the power to transform life in the name of those interests in a competitive and strategic world. Otherness, in this scheme, is thus rendered instrumental. Everything other than the self is either possessed in the name of the self or ignored; and, more extremely, is valued only in terms of what’s in it for the self. That which has nothing “for me” is not welcome. I sense that this posture is at the core of our contemporary economic problems, and I believe that we will make little progress in dealing with those problems unless and until we embrace an alternative axiology to the one described above. I offer one idea—a radical and unwilled hospitality—to help us move into a better place, a place of living well and doing well. That sort of hospitality is a necessary moral-ontological precursor to communities of solidarity and social harmony. I offer this as a thought experiment, hospitality as one idea among many others which make up an “economic imaginary” of how we might live more justly, more peacefully, as economic beings. Thought experiments are among the more potent practical acts available to us—democracy, human rights and freedoms, the abolition of slavery and on and on could not have tilled the practical soil without the ideas of those who first announced them. Bold ideas, ideas that the powers-that-be have always deemed silly and impractical, do in fact make different modes of life possible. Those modes begin with a willingness to entertain a very simple request—“try thinking about it this way.”

Chapter 21 completes the trilogy of Chapters 17 and 18—reaching from the individual, to community, and now, to global society as a whole. The Chapter explores the hidden ‘grammar’ of the economy and technology which have the (unseen) power to structure ‘expression’ in social relations, meaning and action. Based on this analysis and confronting these hidden global frames for meaning, the Chapter seeks to demonstrate ways, sourced in the ‘local’, to build harmony at a wide social level and thus retune the disharmony caused by the current economic ‘neo-liberal’ paradigm. For it is only through building harmony across apparently disharmonious cultures and meanings that humanity as a whole can acquire its ultimate strength and resilience. As a metaphor, sympathetic vibration of each human source stimulates its surroundings to vibrate on the same wave-length. At its highest level of cohesion, mutual empowerment and inspiration, humanity reaches its sacredness, hence the sub-title of this book, “The Platform of Community, Humanity and Spirituality”.

Nagaoka’s analysis of Islamic Economics provides the reader with the opportunity to contrast a religion-based economic system against a major comparator, Buddhist Economics (Chapter 23), and contemporary (Western-led) Global Economics. The idea of ‘Islamic Economics’ is new, from conceptual roots in 1941, and with massive expansion of the Islamic Banking System from 2002 to 2012. Key features of Islamic Economics are revealed, such as the forbidding of “riba”, unequal exchange, ie: interest free finance—with benefits to be repaid at the end of the venture; and demand for “zakat”, return of a percentage of income (normally 2.5%) to God, via the Mosques and good works. Benefits of zakat will be enjoyed in the afterlife, not now. This is a system therefore that promotes self-centered and profit oriented economic action, is not an anti-capitalist movement, but, as the author argues, still needs some renovation to fit into the “wisdom” of modern capitalism and its practices.

Buddhist and western economic paradigms are not necessarily conflicting. They propose different measures and paths to help humanity be happier. Buddhists encourage minimising self-centred needs as the origin of economic relationships, but instead, opening up one’s heart to the needs and conditions of others.

This chapter theoretically discussed the sustainability of micro-producers. Economic mechanisms work to reduce the number of micro-producers, which are relatively inefficient in comparison to large firms. This economic force puts diversity in society at risk, which can then harm the culture of the region. It is necessary to explore the essential importance of diversity before taking policy actions. Differences in geography, climate, history, and environment have brought about the uniqueness of the culture of each region. Each people in a region has continued their creative activities based on their own culture, and this in turn generated a diversity of products. Thus, policies for improving the efficiencies of micro-producers, such as provision of microfinance, coordination of networks and associations, and human capital development in the field of business activities will contribute to the sustainability of diversified culture in the world.

Currently, the ‘Harmony of Humanity’, the quest of Chapter 21, is deeply disturbed, most evocatively, by the 2016 Presidential Election in the United States of Donald Trump, a signal of deep concern spreading across the experience of globalization from its negative consequences. Chapter 25 starts with an exploration of the ‘meaning’ of the “Trump Phenomenon” which basically represents an emerging broad-ranging desire to erect boundaries against globalization, and to return to past securities. The most fundamental problem with the ‘return to the past’ in Trump’s philosophies however, is that it is no longer realistic. Productive enterprise, in particular, has moved on, so employment rich industries of the past simply do not compete any more, and the assumption of unlimited resources requiring no need for conservation and care, is demonstrably wrong. This Chapter starts with this analysis and parallel resistance to globalization elsewhere, but moves on to explore what we can expect in terms of our immediate technology-driven and robotic-inspired future. One key finding is that world society is likely to have to make major adjustments to a future of non-work which some describe as a society of ‘unemployment’ rather than ‘employment’. It is not just jobs which are at stake, but the whole social and meaning fabric which is associated. The Chapter finishes with an assessment of new experiments on the role of ‘universal basic income’ in the society of our future.

Chapters in the Conclusions Suite overview the evolving argument of the book, represented in the previous ‘Movements’ of the argument’s Symphonic form. Chapter 26 presents the opening argument of the ‘Overture’ which developed the objective of the book and necessary inputs to achieve it. Emphasis is placed on the dangers of the ‘frame’ imposed on current society by global economics by which humanity’s values are commanded along with ways of communicating, building community and experiencing our spirituality. Eastern values and the relationship of humanity to cosmic phenomena (as represented in quantum physics), ‘sunspot’ (extrinsic factor) equilibria in economics, the role of human trust and emotion, alternative (Buddhist and Islamic) premises for economics, are brought together into a progressive search through different levels of society for the ‘Manifesto’ conclusions.

Chapters in the Conclusions Suite overview the evolving argument of the book, represented in the previous ‘Movements’ of the argument’s Symphonic form. Chapter 27, representing the First Movement in the book’s Symphony, draws together the premise of the Kyoto Manifesto, that in the 21st Century, society is rapidly approaching a ‘tipping point’ beyond which recovery could be impossible. Basic is the observation that is increasingly being described as that the earth has entered a new age, the ‘Anthropocene’, where human activity is now altering the overall physical dynamics of the planet at an alarming exponential rate. The underlying dynamic for this impact is born out of global economics. Endangered are our food supplies, our social structures and welfare. At heart is massive and increasing inequality, highly centralized profit-oriented ownership. The global economy not only invades but disempowers alternate action, yet the philosophies of ‘neo-liberalism’ (‘let the market rule’) and growth continue unabated. Ultimately, infinite growth in a finite system is an impossibility. Cracks in the fabric of globalization are starting to emerge.

Chapters in the Conclusions Suite overview the evolving argument of the book, represented in the previous ‘Movements’ of the argument’s Symphonic form. Chapter 28’s summary of the Second Movement takes the reader to the depths of our humanity, and its relationship to our world and wider cosmos, as a core platform for exploring human power embedded in our spirituality. That this is the “Kyoto” Manifesto is deeply significant, for Kyoto—the place—is foundation of Japan’s “spiritual heart”, whilst demonstrating in the modern age the human craft and creativity that has evolved over more than a millennium and is represented in many generations of family production. These lessons from Kyoto can instruct our action now. Each of the International Symposia from which the Manifesto was constructed were preceded by an “On-Zen” performance within joint Shinto/Buddhist temple ritual by Stomu Yamash’ta—of sacred music using, as percussion instrument, the unique and sacred ‘sanukite’ stone. This stone was employed in ancient pre-Bronze Age ritual and music because of its extraordinarily large frequency range and vibrant sound. As performances to bring people together in peace, the sanukite stone performances allow us to hear, in Stomu’s words, “the grandeur of memorial vibrancy”, a connection between the energy of nature generated from the Void and the harmony of our humanity. This force and connection is then explored in the Second Movement of the book and validated from the latest advances in cosmic physics and relations to the long-term teachings of Buddhism. In both physics and Buddhism, the ‘Void’ or ‘emptiness’ is the state of impermanence and change but at the same time the heart of energy which generates everything in the real world. Chapter 28 then goes on to demonstrate the implication of these phenomena for social arrangements, specifically in ‘vernacular democracy’ in rural India—a world where equality and diversity can stand together.

Chapters in the Conclusions Suite overview the evolving argument of the book, represented in the previous ‘Movements’ of the argument’s Symphonic form. Central to the very concept of the Void is creativity. The core dynamic of the universe is creation of the new, destruction of the old to be replaced by new creation. Chapter 29 brings together the arguments of the book’s Third Movement which builds on the previous Movements to explore creativity. As it argues, emotion is central to creation, immediately taking the reader from spirituality and the cosmos to the inner world of the person. Further on creativity, a central quest of the book is to identify the optimal social and economic system for producing a fabric of a creative economy. This goes way beyond just creative activities such as painting and dance, presented in separate domains and to separate audiences. Instead, a creative fabric implies building creativity into everything from education to urban and organizational design. Even at the center now of institutionalized creative activity, scientific research, ‘openness’ and therefore ‘trust’ work, not closed boundaries. Again, back to the power of emotion and intersubjective understanding—the source of ‘community’ as demonstrated earlier. The same applies in organization design of ‘open systems’. Here lies a fundamental premise of escape from the limiting controls of neo-classical economics, our path to a survivable future.

Chapters in the Conclusions Suite overview the evolving argument of the book, represented in the previous ‘Movements’ of the argument’s Symphonic form. Having now established the fundamental piers on which we can build a new Global Economics Platform, Chapter 30, drawing together the lessons of the Fourth Movement, now builds that platform. The central reference point is the depth of our spirituality, which in turn, is anchored at its deepest level in the cosmic Void and our non-material genesis within a material world. Connected is our creativity in an open world, not closed into self-interested separation. A caution is added that whilst scientific explanation is immensely valuable it is not enough, as it limits human experience in validity to what is legitimated in scientific explanation, thus excluding the irrational, non-recurrent, non-constant phenomena which make up this human experience. Chapter 30 is a rich analysis which defies further summary as it trawls back through the whole book for the way forward. Contrast of lessons learnt is made in the Fourth Movement against economics based in alternate belief systems, Buddhist and Islamic, as well as against a ‘hospitality’ model derived from Western philosophic principles and the practical case of the Mondragon Movement originating out of southern France, and micro-producing communities elsewhere.

Chapters in the Conclusions Suite overview the evolving argument of the book, represented in the previous ‘Movements’ of the argument’s Symphonic form. Chapter 31 finally explores the action strategy which derives from the overall inputs and arguments of the book. Fundamental is the assertion of our humanity to make the difference, promoting ‘the other way around’ in society’s relationship to its economic frame for action and meaning. Strategies particularly emphasize regarding economic growth as means not end, and instead to assert the goal of viable stasis; development of mindfulness across all industries and corporations as well as in government priorities—where people and community are valued rather than treated as cost-factors; where wider social benefit is prioritized; where environmental impact is minimized; and, where core business feeds substantive needs rather than fashion. Furthermore, community and equity are fostered across broad territory. The Chapter points towards the lessons of ‘fractals’ and ‘complexity theory’ to demonstrate the entry point power of small interventions in complex systems.

This, the final Chapter in the book is the ‘Encore’, a depiction of the Manifesto itself. It moves from basic underlying principles to applications. Basic change strategies employ interacting principles of ‘fractals’—the nesting of the same configuration of values and vision within ever widening levels of aggregation—from CEO to cleaner, to government; the ‘swarming’ of small disturbing influences in transforming complex systems as a whole—with guidance from a principle of the dialectic: the new thesis derives out of antithesis to the past thesis not from elsewhere, so focus for initial interventions should be on the most disturbing antitheses to neo-classical economics and action. To this is added the expansionary power of ‘global localism’—focus on transformation at local level with mechanisms designed to expand impact to other communities and domains; the ‘Creativity Imperative’—building an overall societal fabric which encourages creativity at all levels; inclusion of core values of the Kyoto Manifesto, trust, emotion, altruism and so on, within future economic calculation as is beginning to happen in ‘Behavioral Economics’. Whilst now largely extrinsic equilibria outside the economic mainstream, it is this assertion of our humanity within economic equilibria that offers the potential to take humanity from its present role as extrinsic ‘sunspot’ activity into forming a humanity base for the economics of our sustainable future. The Manifesto concludes with an outline of specific actions which follow.