GE 13

Module 6
Creating Sustainable Wealth

ENTREPRENEURAL MIND

First Semester AY 2020-2021

Module 6: Creating Sustainable Wealth

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Module Development Team

Department: Professional Education

Writer: Dovilyn C. Zacarias

Editor: Rene C. Barola

Reviewers: Rene C. Barola

Linell A. Jacinto
Joaquin G. Atayza

Layout Artist: Dovilyn C. Zacarias

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INTRODUCTION

Module 6 will give you the significant knowledge about empowering

entrepreneurs and how to create a Sustainable Wealth. The purpose of this
module is to impart knowledge about entrepreneurs’ success and failures.
Let us start your journey knowing the topic further! Your utmost
enthusiasm and honesty in answering this activities will be very much
appreciated. Happy learning!

OBJECTIVES
 At the end of this module, you must be able to:
1. Identify the meaning of sustainable wealth and sustainability.
2. Discuss the difference between sustainable and wealth.
3. List down the developed spiritual qualities to ensure happiness as
human beings.

PRE-ASSESSMENT

Directions: Answer the following questions below

A. What are the things can be sustainable?
List down 5 systems wherein the term sustainable can be applied.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
B. If you hear the word “WEALTH’, what comes into your mind?

READ AND STUDY

 In this portion, a thorough explanation of the topic is a giver.
All you have to do is read and understand the content, and be
ready for a series of activities after.

SUSTAINABLE WEALTH
What is sustainable wealth? The two words are central to combining ecology
and economy. We need to look beyond standard definitions and ask new questions
about what we can co-create. Sustainability is a dynamic process that touches
everything we do. As we acknowledge the failure of traditional economics and accept
that the economy is also a dynamic and evolving complex system threatened by
unsustainability, we can integrate new concepts of wealth and new social purposes
into our business models and our individual lives. This paper raises questions about
both sustainability and wealth to stimulate further exploration of these concepts and
their application.

INTRODUCTION
What is sustainable wealth? It is useful to think outside of the box about these
two words. "Sustainable" is central to the purpose of the International Environment
Forum (IEF), which explores the science and values inherent in achieving
sustainability for the environment, our economy, and world society. "Wealth" is at the
center of the concerns of ebbf, the Baha'i-inspired forum for values in business. In
combining the two terms, we can explore how the ecology or our planet and the
economy at the center of our present society can be integrated more harmoniously.
What can science and business co-create to make the transition to a sustainable
society?

SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is a dynamic process that touches everything we do. The word
"sustain" means to keep up, to maintain, to cause to continue, all with reference to an
on-going action. "Sustainable" describes the characteristics of dynamic systems that
continue to function, to perform essential processes, and to maintain a dynamic
balance, and that can change to adapt to changing conditions. What kinds of things
can be sustainable? The term can be applied to almost any system, organism,
machine, technology, scientific theory, business, corporation, institution, community,
nation, government, economy, civilization, the human species, the planetary
biosphere, etc. Sustainability includes the element of time, but different things can be
sustainable over different time frames. For an individual human being, we can hope to
be sustainable over a maximum of 100 years, exceptionally 120. For a species
reproducing and evolving over time, sustainability can be measured in thousands to
millions of years. Our species Homo sapiens has been around for about 200,000
years. A civilization might survive and be sustainable for hundreds, maybe a thousand
years, but the future potential of humanity to build an ever-advancing civilization
could extend for up to 500,000 years. For our planet Earth, its sustainable future is
linked to that of our sun, which might in another billion years run out of fuel, turn
into a red giant, and obliterate the planets around it. As to the sustainability of the
universe, we cannot imagine whether there might be limits to its sustainability, since
it might even go from a big bang to a big crunch, producing another big bang, etc.
Clearly sustainability is a term that has a lot to tell us about our present civilization
and economic system.
WEALTH
As we acknowledge the failure of traditional economics with its concepts of
equilibrium, selfish actors and perfect markets, and accept that the economy is also a
dynamic and evolving complex system threatened by unsustainability, we can
integrate new concepts of wealth and new social purposes into our business models
and our individual lives. Conceptually we might consider what could be called a
"Maslow's pyramid" of kinds of wealth, starting at the base with material wealth, and
then adding layers of social, intellectual, and even spiritual wealth. It is important to
make a distinction between individual wealth, where the presence of excessive wealth,
or its lack among the poor, can have moral implications, and the collective wealth of
an economy, society or nation, which is essential for its prosperity and advancement.
While we devote great efforts to the creation of wealth, we have not succeeded in
halting the opposite processes of war, revolution, and violence that lead to the
destruction of wealth. History records almost endless cycles of the creation and
destruction of wealth. Breaking that vicious circle would open the door finally to an
ever-advancing civilization.
MATERIAL WEALTH
Our first thought of wealth is of material wealth, usually measured as money,
and the more you have, the more "successful" you are considered in today's society.
We are attracted to money, and envy those who have it, but we also have a negative
term for it: lucre. The press is full of stories and lists of the world's richest men and
women. This wealth is meant to be shown off with luxury goods. As one expression
goes: "If you have to ask the price, you can't afford it". The excessive consumption
associated with wealthy lifestyles is an important contribution to unsustainability. For
many people, their central purpose in life is to get rich. But does this lead to
happiness? Studies show that there is a plateau in wealth (measured as GDP per
capita) in relation to happiness. Once the level of wealth allows basic needs to be met
and provides a certain level of material security, happiness stops rising and may even
decline with further increases in income. Other things become more important.
Furthermore, in many cultures and spiritual traditions, individual wealth is
seen as morally suspect, with frequent warnings about riches and spirituality. For
example, Baha'u'llah wrote: "Know ye in truth that wealth is a mighty barrier between
the seeker and his desire, the lover and his beloved. The rich, but for a few, shall in no
wise attain the court of His presence nor enter the city of content and resignation."
(Bahá'u'lláh, 1932). A more recent expression of this is "to make the accumulation of
wealth the central purpose of one's life is unworthy of any human being. ...what will...
ensure true happiness both in this world and in the next is the development of
spiritual qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, generosity, justice, and
consideration for others, and the recognition that material means are to be expended
for the betterment of the world" (UHJ 2010).
Collectively, however, wealth is capital. It is an essential economic component
along with labor, a means of investment, empowering development and providing
savings for the future. We have created a whole set of powerful institutions, with the
multinational corporation at the apex, devoted to wealth. The corporate purpose is to
create wealth for the shareholders, and the central goal and measure of success is
making the maximum profit. Today, it is worth asking if this is sufficient as a
corporate purpose, or an invitation to abuse. Is profitability an end in itself, or only a
fundamental constraint for survival and a sign of efficiency? Is wealth a means or an
end? Does the end justify the means? Many today are saying that business should
also have a social purpose (Porter 2011; Sukhdev 2012). "It is the concentration of
wealth in the hands of the few that is in urgent need of attention. Indeed, the
tremendous wealth generated by transnational corporations could be an integral part
of the solution to tackle poverty, through strict regulation to ensure good global
citizenship, adherence to human rights norms and the distribution of wealth for the
benefit of the larger society." (Bahá'í International Community, 2008)
More generally, what should be the end purpose of the economy, if not to
generate material wealth? "The ultimate function of economic systems should be to
equip the peoples and institutions of the world with the means to achieve the real
purpose of development: that is, the cultivation of the limitless potentialities latent in
human consciousness." (Bahá'í International Community, 1998). Clearly the creation
of wealth should only be a means to the higher development of civilization both
individually and collectively. However, to achieve this end of empowering the
development of each human being, that wealth needs to be accessible to everyone. The
distribution of wealth is also important, and it is presently going in the wrong
direction, with more and more wealth concentrated in fewer hands at the top, and
even many in the middle classes falling into poverty. Such extremes of wealth and
poverty are socially destabilizing (Turchin 2010).
At the other extreme, the absence of wealth leads to grinding poverty, with
perhaps a third of the world population unable to meet basic needs, to feed or educate
children, and sometimes homeless.
Some examples of unsustainable wealth today are the wealth associated with
fossil fuels, which must be left in the ground to save the planet from runaway global
warming; the enormous wealth in financial markets made up of financial derivatives
out of proportion to the real economy; the overwhelming levels of public and private
debt which can never be reimbursed when the growth rate stays below the interest
rate; and the wealth concentrated in the biggest multinationals in monopoly positions
or "too big to fail", but which like the dinosaurs may not be able to adapt to a rapidly
changing world.
In this context, the book by Eric Beinhocker, "The Origin of Wealth" (2006)
provides a well-reasoned critique of traditional economics. He draws on the latest work
on complex systems theory to rethink the economy in a systems perspective.
Traditional equilibrium economics needs to be replaced by complexity economics with
agents using market mechanisms and government leadership to co-evolve fit order. In
such non-zero-sum systems, there is an incentive to cooperate in a culture of learning
and adaptive management. The result is the evolution of systems with low entropy
based on a high information/knowledge content. He thus concludes that knowledge is
the true wealth.
Applying this concept to business, he shows that a successful business has the
right social architecture, including the behavior of people, the structures and
processes in which they operate, and the culture that emerges. Most important is the
micro level and the rules and norms of individual behavior. Trust is essential to build
social cohesion. He identifies the norms that favor economic development. At the
individual level, these are a strong work ethic, individual accountability, and a belief
that you are the protagonist of your own life, with benefits from a moral life in this
world, being realistic about the present situation but optimistic about the future. The
norms for cooperative behavior include a belief that life is not a zero-sum game and
that cooperation has benefits, that generosity and fairness have value, and that free-
riding and cheating are sanctioned. Norms also need to favor innovation by valuing
rational scientific explanations of the world, tolerating heresy and experimentation,
supporting competition and celebrating achievement. It is important to have an ethic
of investing for tomorrow, saving for future generations, sacrificing short-term
pleasures for long-term gain, and enjoying high levels of cooperation (Beinhocker
2006). Still, Beinhocker stays within the framework of material wealth and material
and social benefits, when a broader systems framework can highlight other
dimensions generating human well-being (Dahl 1996).
SOCIAL WEALTH
Any reflection on what is important for individuals, communities and whole
societies will identify a number of dimensions of what can be called social wealth (Dahl
2013a, b). For the individual, these include the family, with all that it brings in close
relationships, solidarity, education, and the sustainable replacement of the human
species; the community where one lives and works, so essential to humans as a social
species; the many other dimensions of social relationships, now being extended
through social networking; and the results for the individual, such as a sense of
dignity and belonging to a group.
Another dimension of social wealth is incorporated collectively in the
institutions of governance, the laws and the system of justice at the core of social
organization; and the many other ways we code for and organize our community and
society. We have a whole set of structures devoted to creating and managing wealth in
itself, including business entities, corporations, the structures of the economic system,
markets, the financial system and banks. Beinhocker highlighted some of the social
wealth in norms mentioned above that can make this dimension work better.
INTELLECTUAL WEALTH
Beinhocker identified knowledge as true wealth, something that has been
evident long before in various spiritual and philosophical traditions. This intellectual
wealth includes knowledge in general (including traditional and indigenous
knowledge), the sciences and technologies, arts and crafts, and even that other great
knowledge system represented by religion and the great spiritual traditions. This
wealth has suffered from an economic paradigm based on the allocation of scarce
resources, because unlike material goods, knowledge and information increase in
quantity and value the more they are shared. This is the inverse of what intellectual
property regimes attempt to do, restricting access to knowledge to those who can pay
for it.
This intellectual wealth also includes not only its content, but the way such
information is communicated and stored. Information unused is only potential wealth.
It must be transmitted, read and implemented to fulfill its purpose and become
wealth. It would be true to say that the accumulation and application of knowledge is
the real wealth of a civilization.
SPIRITUAL WEALTH
Is this then the ultimate wealth, or is there something more? The old expression
about material wealth "You can't take it with you" when you die, raises an interesting
question. Maybe real wealth for the individual is what you can take with you. Most
spiritual traditions accept the continuation of the individual in some form after death,
but even those who believe in an afterlife do not know what it is like apart from some
metaphorical expressions (heaven, hell, nirvana, etc).
Our best supposition is that it is not material, and not constrained by time or
space. We apparently retain knowledge of what we have achieved (or not), and our
impact on others. The emphasis in all spiritual traditions is on the spiritual qualities
acquired in this life. This includes our love for others and others' love for us (expressed
in their prayers for us), as well as our love for the absolute perfection, unknown and
unknowable, both our love for God and receiving His love, as it is often described. This
intangible expression of wealth may be the true fruit of an individual life and
collectively of civilization.
APPLICATIONS
A broader and more sustainable concept of wealth underlined by spiritual
principles can lead to practical applications even when participating in today's
economic system. First of all is the acknowledgement that wealth is not inherently bad
or to be avoided, but a means to an end. "Wealth is praiseworthy in the highest degree,
if it is acquired by an individual's own efforts..., in commerce, agriculture, art and
industry, and if it be expended for philanthropic purposes. Above all, if a judicious and
resourceful individual should initiate measures which would universally enrich the
masses of the people, there could be no undertaking greater than this.... Wealth is
most commendable, provided the entire population is wealthy." ('Abdu'l-Bahá, 1957, p.
24-25)
In the context of the broader definition of wealth, and of higher human
purposes, it is necessary to question many current business practices. The acquisition
and use of wealth are means to achieve higher ends, and should be judged by ethical
principles. For example: "Many would readily acknowledge that the acquisition of
wealth should be governed by the requirements of justice, which, as a principle, can
be expressed to varying degrees, on different levels. An employer and employee, for
example, are bound by the laws and conventions that regulate their work, and each is
expected to carry out his or her responsibilities with honesty and integrity. At another
level, however, if the deeper implications of justice are to be realized, the other two
preconditions to the legitimate acquisition of wealth mentioned above must be taken
into account, and prevailing norms reassessed in their light. Here, the relationship
between minimum wage and the cost of living merits careful evaluation--this,
especially in light of the contribution workers make to a company's success and their
entitlement... to a fair share of the profits. The wide margin, often unjustifiable,
between the production costs of certain goods and the price at which they are sold
likewise requires attention, as does the question of the generation of wealth through
measures that "enrich the generality of the people". What such reflection and inquiry
will no doubt make abundantly clear is that certain approaches to obtaining wealth --
so many of which involve the exploitation of others, the monopolization and
manipulation of markets, and the production of goods that promote violence and
immorality -- are unworthy and unacceptable." (UHJ 2010). In this light, much of the
wealth generated by current business activity could be considered morally
unsustainable.
In conclusion, the following quote sums up the wealth that can truly lead
individuals to build a sustainable society: "Man's merit lieth in service and virtue and
not in the pageantry of wealth and riches." (Baha'u'llah, 1978, p. 138)
"The pathway to sustainability will be one of empowerment, collaboration and
continual processes of questioning, learning and action in all regions of the world....
As the sweeping tides of consumerism, unfettered consumption, extreme poverty and
marginalization recede, they will reveal the human capacities for justice, reciprocity
and happiness." (Bahá'í International Community, 2010)

Activity 1.
Directions: Answer the question.
1. Discuss some important things about sustainability.

Activity 2.
1. What are Maslow’s pyramid of kinds of wealth?
2. In 2 or 3 sentences, give your short description of each kind of wealth.

Activity 3.
1. In your own perception/understanding, what would be the possible role of
wealth to human beings.
 POST-ASSESSMENT

Directions: Fill in some words to complete the sentence.

1. Sustainable describes the characteristics of dynamic systems that
continue to function, ____________, ____________, and that ____________.
2. Our first thought of wealth is of material wealth, usually measured as
money, ________________________________________.
3. This intellectual wealth includes knowledge in general (including
traditional and indigenous knowledge), _______________________________.