It is undeniable that economics plays a fundamental role in our lives, both individually and socially. Yet, many find the subject complex and difficult to approach, tending to avoid it. In this dialogue, economist Lawrence J. Lau and Buddhist philosopher and Soka Gakkai International President Daisaku Ikeda address the topic of economic development in modern society from a historical perspective, examining what lessons can be learned from the East Asian currency crises in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2007-2009. Covering various subjects, the authors help readers understand the challenges globalization has imposed on economies, the importance of government regulation in markets, and the delicate issue of balancing a country's economic growth with the well-being of its entire population.
These conversations, where economic aspects are not separated from people's daily lives, thus become small economics lessons. Thanks to simple and accessible language, one can begin to unravel the mystery of economics, a discipline that concerns the framework of the world we inhabit, and whose knowledge is often precluded from us by technical complexities and specialist terminology.
"Economics," said economist John Kenneth Galbraith, "must serve human happiness" and "the fundamental force driving the economy is people."
Daisaku Ikeda is president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI) and leader of the Buddhist movement based on the teachings of Nichiren Daishonin. An activist, philosopher, educator, and poet, Ikeda has dedicated over seventy years to spreading Buddhist humanism worldwide and building the foundations for a culture of peace. SGI, which has members in 192 countries and territories, encourages individuals to develop their inner potential and contribute as global citizens to overcome the collective challenges facing humanity.
He is the founder of Soka University, with campuses in Japan and the United States, and many other institutions dedicated to researching solutions to the many crises of the contemporary era.
In 1983, he was awarded the United Nations Peace Award.
Lawrence J. Lau was Professor of Economics at Stanford University from 1976 to 2004, then became the sixth Vice-Chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, holding that position for seven years. He is the author of numerous publications including The Chinese Economy in the Twenty-first Century: An Econometric Approach.
The challenge for policy is to balance economic growth with improving people's quality of life and ensuring that this effort is stable and sustainable. Soka Gakkai's second president, Josei Toda, often told us that individual happiness should never be sacrificed at the altar of social prosperity, but that the two aspects must advance hand in hand. I believe there is a growing urgency for economic activity to focus not only on efficiency but also on the collective interest.
Daisaku Ikeda
To overcome the current crisis, developed economies must focus on restarting the real economy, pursuing a path of sustainable growth and not inventing further financial tricks. We must not lose sight of the fact that the role of the financial sector is to support other sectors of the economy and that ultimately the financial sector must be directly based on the performance of the real economy.
Lawrence J. Lau
