On the Baha’i View of Economics: Whose interests?

What is the Baha’i perspective on this statement? -gw

From the 1863 edition of Adam Smith’s magnum opus An Enquiry into the Causes and Wealth of Nations.

“It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, baker or brewer that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”

“There are practically no technical teachings on economics in the Cause, such as banking, the price system, and others. The Cause is not an economic system, nor its Founders be considered as having been technical economists. The contribution of the Faith to this subject is essentially indirect, as it consists of the application of spiritual principles to our present-day economic system. Bahá’u’lláh has given us a few basic principles which should guide future Bahá’í economists in establishing such institutions which will adjust the economic relationships of the world…

“Social inequality is the inevitable outcome of the natural inequality of man. Human beings are different in ability and should, therefore, be different in their social and economic standing. Extremes of wealth and poverty should, however, be abolished…

Photo and accompanying text: Uploaded on June 16, 2006 by Grim Reaper With A Lawnmower on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic