How should economics involve human rights?
Culture, Politics, Economics
Economics of Complex Societies
There are certain items that persons need. They are: food, clothing and shelter. How is each item transferred to each person? Is this matter something cultural, economic, or political? There is always the economic question. This is the question of how a person receives the necessary wealth needed to live and to live comfortably. There is no dispute about the fact that persons need to survive. The allocation of wealth may only be explained as a combination of factors, such as those factors that are cultural, political, and economic. Why do we have three different words?
Because life is not simply about wealth. Persons also crave status and dignity. And they will quarrel and compete for these things. So this is how it is, and some means must be found to allocate available wealth. In many societies when one person gets more, others get less. In order to manage this competitiveness and avoid conflict, what happens in complex or advanced societies is that they institute the practice of *social class*. In this stage, when social equality does not exist, economics is directly reflected in social class. One class receives more, while the other class gets less. The upper class does not receive the same allotment that the lower class receives. Neither do they do the same work. The lower class provides agricultural products while the upper class provides -for example -art. In addition to art, a priesthood provides religion, a necessary communication with the gods. Or provides the warriors. This is how societies existed for thousands of years.
In Europe, between 1500 and 1800, the transfer was made moving to a system were production of wealth becomes the primary pillar. The country that generates the most wealth is the winner. This will climax in what Karl Polyani called "the great transformation." Now it is a market society. But the crucial matter is this: does this system in which wealth rather than class is primary also consider the welfare of each individual person? Does the new system consider the “rights” of every individual? The ultimate “humanistic” question is: does each individual person have the right to live? Of course they do. And that is the "human" consideration. Do people matter?
This, I believe, is the great question for capitalistic societies. There are societies that feature economics and that are called capitalist. The societies may be characterized as capitalistic societies, in which primary factor in national life is economics. But without human rights the system goes berserk.
Economics has to be characterized by fairness and humanity. Otherwise, it cannot exist. And if there is a lack of fairness that condemns us. We shall have to live in oblivion or enter a dystopia.
Economic complexity keeps increasing, but don’t worry. The scientists have got this.
https:/ /youtu.be/EVEjdGQSzc8