What is an economic system meant to solve for? What would spiritually rooted economic frameworks (for production, commerce, consumption, etc.) look like? What are the guiding principles on which it would be based? How does learning within and beyond the Bahá’í community advance our understanding of the roles of the three protagonists–the individual, the community and institutions–in an economy that serves the needs of humanity in the process of advancing civilization? In what ways does this learning help us redefine concepts of power and justice? For example, how might it be helpful to think of power in terms of collective action, or sacrificial effort? Or to think in terms of contributive justice? Although the Bahá’í teachings do not prescribe an economic system for the future, it is clear that the current system is lamentably defective and will need to evolve in order to better serve the needs of humanity. New patterns of economic life will emerge through processes of learning in action, in which spiritual principle is applied to meet the needs of communities and populations. This seminar aims to reflect on the experience and thought of the cooperative movement and broader endeavors to reshape economic institutions, systems, relationships and processes, and to correlate these with insights from the teachings of the Faith and the experiences of the Bahá’í community.
