Author Clair Brown will read from Buddhist Economics: An Enlightened Approach to the Dismal Science, followed by a conversation with Kate Levinson, author of Emotional Currency.
UC Economist Clair Brown has developed a holistic model of economics based on the notion that quality of life should be measured by more than average national income. She advocates an approach to organizing the economy that embraces, rather than skirts, questions of values, sustainability, and equity using the tenets of Buddhism as a guide. Focusing on our two biggest worldwide challenges, climate change and income inequality, she explains how both of these issues are profoundly influenced by economics and how we can restructure the economy to create a better world. Buddhist economics leads us to think mindfully as we go about our daily activities, and offers a way to appreciate how our actions affect the welfare of those around us, including concerns about global wars, inequality, and environmental threats. Co-presented with Black Mountain Circle, Point Reyes Books and Mesa Refuge.
About Clair Brown: Professor of economics and the director of the Center for Work, Technology, and Society at the University of California, Berkeley, Clair is also a practicing Buddhist. She wrote a portion of Buddhist Economics while a resident at the Mesa Refuge writer’s retreat in Point Reyes Station, CA.
