A Dignity Economy
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A Dignity Economy Creating an Economy that Serves Human Dignity and Preserves Our Planet Evelin Lindner MD, PhDs (Dr psychol, Dr med) [email protected] [email protected] 2012 Dignity Press vi A Dignity Economy Copyright © 2012 by Evelin Lindner. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- sa/3.0/. Please note: This license allows free use of the material with the restrictions that the author has to be mentioned as the originator and that works making use of it have to stay open under the same license. Published by World Dignity University Press, an imprint of Dignity Press 16 Northview Court Lake Oswego, OR 97035 USA www.dignitypress.org Visit the book’s website: www.dignitypress.org/dignity-economy Art direction and cover design by Uli Spalthoff. Cover photo (Farmer land rights protest in Jakarta, Indonesia) by Jonathan McIntosh (www.rebelliouspixels.com). Back cover photo ©Evelin Frerk 2011 (www.evelinfrerk.de). Printed on paper from environmentally managed forestry. See www.lightningsource.com/chainofcustody for certifications. ISBN 978-1-937570-03-3 This book is also available as eBook: eISBN 978-1-937570-04-0 Other Publications by Evelin Lindner Making Enemies: Humiliation and International Conflict (2006) Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, Greenwood Emotion and Conflict: How Human Rights Can Dignify Emotion and Help Us Wage Good Conflict (2009) Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, Greenwood Gender, Humiliation, and Global Security: Dignifying Relationships from Love, Sex, and Parenthood to World Affairs (2010) Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Security International, ABC-CLIO More publications on www.humiliationstudies.org/whoweare/evelin02.php viii A Dignity Economy Dedicated to my father, who, through his example, gave me the courage to stand up rather than stand by in the face of indignity. CONTENTS Foreword by the Directors of Dignity Press............................................................ ix Foreword by Linda Hartling ................................................................................... ix Foreword by Ulrich Spalthoff................................................................................. xi Preface ....................................................................................................................xiii Introduction .......................................................................................................... xxv Part I: Where Do We Stand? Where Might We Go? ............................................ 33 Chapter 1: While Critical Voices Get Louder, a Sense of Helplessness Prevails ...... 3 Chapter 2: Let Us Work Together to Dig Up the Facts! ......................................... 16 Chapter 3: Where Might We Go? Toward a Dignity Transition ............................. 31 Part II: Dignity or Humiliation? That Is the Question! ........................................ 55 Chapter 4: When Scarcity and Environmental Degradation Become Systemic ....... 57 Chapter 5: When Mistrust Becomes Ubiquitous .................................................... 68 Chapter 6: When Abuse Becomes a Means of “Getting Things Done” .................. 76 Chapter 7: When Fear Becomes Overwhelming and Debilitating .......................... 84 Chapter 8: When False Choices Crowd Out Important Choices ............................. 91 Chapter 9: When Our Souls Are Injured by the Homo Economicus Model .......... 105 Part III: What Should We Do? Let Us Unite As a Human Family!.................... 121 Chapter 10: We Need a Panoply of New Strategies for Dignism!......................... 123 Chapter 11: We Need to Humanize Globalization with Egalization!.................... 145 Chapter 12: We Need Many More Voices and a Clear Direction! ........................ 175 Acknowledgments ................................................................................................. 217 Appendix I: Quotes ............................................................................................... 223 Appendix II: Selected Publications ...................................................................... 227 Index ...................................................................................................................... 233 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 243 Notes ...................................................................................................................... 286 vi A Dignity Economy FOREWORD BY THE DIRECTORS OF DIGNITY PRESS Foreword by Linda Hartling I have had the honor and privilege of collaborating with Evelin Lindner for more than a decade. We met through Donald C. Klein, a pioneer in the field of community psychology who was one of the first psychologists to launch an in depth discussion of the dynamics of humiliation. In 1995, I had just completed my dissertation developing the first scale to assess the internal experience of humiliation; while, in another part of the world, Evelin was formulating her research exploring the connection between humiliation and violent conflict. During those years, each of us knew we were virtually lone researchers in a new field of study. After Don’s introduction in 1998, we celebrated that we were no longer alone. From the beginning, I realized that Evelin Lindner was on her way to becoming the world’s leading scholar on the experience of humiliation and human dignity. Her decision to live as a global social scientist has given her the broad-based knowledge, experience, and perspective that make this book possible. Transcending the limits of working in a conventional academic setting, Evelin sees the world as her university. She dedicates herself to synthesizing and integrating knowledge gained from engaging a richly diverse community of scholars, researchers, and practitioners. Her life as a citizen of the world has allowed her to question economic systems that deprive and deplete humankind of vital social and natural resources, threatening our existence on this planet. One of the most remarkable aspects of Evelin Lindner’s research over the years is its complete freedom from corporate and other profit-driven influences. In a world that worships the accumulation of wealth, Evelin is a living example of how “money should serve, not lead one’s efforts.” Practicing this principle has allowed her to sustain a level of independent thinking and writing that is essentially unheard of in science today. This book is a tribute to her stunning creative ability to walk the talk of her work, both intellectually and economically. Her whole life is a portal into what can be accomplished without giving in, giving up, or selling out. Evelin Lindner demonstrates her commitment to intellectual integrity by choosing Dignity Press as the publisher of A Dignity Economy. Other publishers, influenced by today’s profit-maximization motive, might undermine the fundamental message of her work. The author’s incomparable commitment to integrity, combined with her spirit of humility, makes this publication a one-of-a-kind intellectual treasure. This book will enrich the x A Dignity Economy lives of readers seeking new economic thinking that can lead us to a sustainable future that dignifies the lives of all people. Linda Hartling Director Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies November 7, 2011, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A Acknowledgments xi Foreword by Ulrich Spalthoff Evelin Lindner and I first met in 2003 at the airport in Paris, queuing up for the security check before flying to Tel Aviv. She told me about her life and invited me into her life project, called Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies. I was impressed by her passion and zest for action. In addition to organizing a network and two annual conferences on Humiliation Studies, she has published extensively, including three books. Her first book, Making Enemies: Humiliation and International Conflict, presented a ground-breaking analysis of international conflicts and how these often result from humiliating practices. This book received an award as “Outstanding Academic Title” by the journal Choice for 2007. In her second book Emotion and Conflict: How Human Rights Can Dignify Emotion and Help Us Wage Good Conflict she extended the discussion to personal emotions and conflicts. In her third book, Gender, Humiliation, and Global Security: Dignifying Relationships from Love, Sex, and Parenthood to World Affairs, she emphasized the important role of gender when analysing humiliating systems. That book again was highly recommended by the journal Choice. With this new book she extends the analysis of humiliating systems to the realm of economics. I know from our conversations that she has observed for some time how Western-style capitalist economic systems contribute to humiliating practices that pervade personal lifestyles and political decision- making. How timely it is that she is able to present her analysis just now, when the malfunction of our financial system becomes so obvious to people on all continents. But Evelin Lindner’s personality does not allow her to simply present an analysis. She goes beyond traditional academic research. She is also an activist wanting to make an impact. Starting with a description of the disastrous and highly alarming situation, she then looks for solutions on a global scale. Hope never dies, as Alexander Pope