On Christmas morning, Russia has sent missiles to Ukraine. Even festivals are not immune from violence. The war machine is so deeply entrenched in the world economy that it is significantly privatised, with all the guns, planes and ships manufactured by highly profitable and greedy multinational corporations. It is in corporate interest to fuel anxiety in the world, and Donald Trump’s critique of Europe now means that even more money will have to be poured by European Nations to protect themselves. War is strangling not only people and nations, but also whole economies, with little concern for animals and nature. Against this rhetoric of anxiety, there is no comparable strategic investment in peacebuilding, even when we know that there are never any winners in wars.
Let us take as an example the field of business studies, which is my expertise. I do not know any university in the world which teaches a module on Peace through Business and Enterprise. The highly powerful and influential disciplines of economics, accounting and finance, never talk about peace or its critical importance to sustainable life on this planet, except when they discuss issues of ethics, which are usually side-lined and kept marginal from the mainstream. In fact, even the word peace is rarely in any business or finance textbook.
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We should ask why, and what is actually taught in the name of science in these very powerful disciplines. Is it conflict and war, but using different words and phrases like growth, market penetration, globalisation and monopoly to disguise the real motives? The absence of peace in business and economic science raises much deeper questions about motives, purpose, products and services. Business is often highly political and it is wrong to disguise this abuse of power and capture of democracy.
Over Christmas, I have been reading William Dalrymple’s ‘The Golden Road’ and one message is very loud and clear – India taught the science of peace to the world, through trade, exchange of wisdom, learning and meditation, and the power of holistic health and well-being through yoga and ayurveda. Instead of Empire, where Britain and other European countries used their power and muscle to conquer, exploit and expropriate, we chose trade and wisdom as vehicles for building peace and brotherhood. There is a vast difference in the motives, and the outcomes of this approach was very profound. Many countries in Asia chose to run their nations on the basis of Indian philosophy and had monks as sought-after advisors to royal families.
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India’s word for peace is Ahimsa, and this is not restricted to humans, but includes peace towards all living beings. It has given humanity the science of interdependence, and this is urgently needed in our war-torn world today. We need to transform global thinking, through research, education and public action, and expose the deep flaws in the economics of constant fighting. Wars will never create sustainable societies. They ought to be drowned by peace, and we must not rest until this message is loud and clear. And businesses, should not simply sit idle, amass fortunes and avoid paying taxes – entrepreneurs need to actively invest in research and education for a peaceful and sustainable society.
Professor Atul K. Shah [@atulkshah; YouTube/Atul K. Shah] teaches and writes about Indian wisdom on business, culture and community at various UK universities and is a renowned international author, speaker and broadcaster.