From the Sept/Oct issue of World Watch. “Hungry for More: Re-engaging Religious Teahings on Consumption,” by Gary Gardner:

“Consider, for example, the power of ‘Buddhist economics’ to turn western notions of consumption on their heads. From its starting position – the purpose of an economy –the Buddhist approach is distinctive. As explained in E.F. Schumacher’s classic, Small Is Beautiful, whereas market economies are designed to produce the highest possible levels of production and consumption, Buddhist economics supports a different aim: to achieve enlightenment. This spiritual goal, in turn, requires freedom from desire, the source of all suffering, according to the Buddha. This is a tall order in societies of mass consumption, where advertisers conflate needs and desires and where acquisitiveness is a cultural norm.
…

Indeed, from the perspective of Buddhist economics, having and consuming makes sense only as a means to a well-rounded sense of well-being, in which material needs are met in moderation, and in which cultural, psychological, and spiritual needs are also addressed. Consumption as an end – chasing the most prestigious house or the latest cell phone – is irrational. …

The consumption ethic of Buddhist economics appears to have taken strong root in Sri Lanka in a village-based development movement known as Sarvodaya Shramadana, now present in more than half of the country’s 24,000 villages. Consumption in the Sarvodayan experience is shaped by the Sarvodayan vision of development, which is summarized in a list of 10 major human needs:

· A clean and beautiful environment
· A clean and adequate supply of water
· Basic clothing
· A balanced diet
· A simple house to live in
· Basic health care
· Simple communications facilities
· Basic energy requirements
· Well-rounded education
· Cultural and spiritual sustenance”