Economy of water: a spiritual basis for an alternative economy.

Seong-Won, Park

When an economic crisis hit some Asian countries a couple of years ago, the Asian value of a community-centred economy was seriously criticized as no longer effective in the context of neo-liberal economic globalization. Such concepts as "community" and "all" are disturbing ones for neo-liberalism, which is based on four creeds: absolute individual freedom, private property, limits to the power of the nation-state, and disregard for social justice. "Building Communities of Peace for All" runs completely counter to the direction in which neo-liberal global capitalism wants to drive the world economy.

Is the Asian value of community-centred economy really useless? Will free-market ideology be beneficial to all? Will limitless economic growth without justice bring peace to all? The current world economy demonstrates that neo-liberal economic globalization does not work in that way. It gives too much benefit to only a few while the majority are excluded and deprived. The community is broken down, and diverse cultures of the world are homogenized into one imposed culture. Peace cannot be possible when there is serious injustice in the world economic system. In the face of this unacceptable drive by neo-liberal economic globalization, with what kind of alternative vision of the global economy can the Asian culture provide the world? A certain reflection on Asian wisdom in rethinking the economy should be undertaken in order to seek an alternative model.

Fire and water

A couple of years ago, I had the privilege of talking with some Korean intellectuals--economists, philosophers, journalists and theologians--on the signs of the times. Our conversation focused on neo-liberal economic globalization, from the perspective of the Ki (energy) philosophy.

According to this philosophy, the volatile financial market-driven economy today is like the burning of fire. The world market is heated by a fire called neo-liberal free-market capitalism. Not only the market but also geo-politics, geo-economics, culture, technology, art and values have been or are enveloped in neo-liberal flames. People's minds and hearts are burning in the search for limitless wealth. As fire burns up everything regardless of value, human spirituality is also burnt up. Consequently all life values, such as community, solidarity, service to others, sharing, living together, helping one another and even the very soul of human beings, are transformed into ashes.

Our conversation continued to search for the ways in which the fire-energy dominant spirit could be cooled down for the situation to be normalized. The consensus reached was that an alternative solution could be found in the image or spirit of water. Water can cool down fire. And it not only cools it, but it also provides life. Religion or faith was pointed to as representing the function of water in our society today.

The value of water in Taoism

Water is the theme of chapter 8 in the Tao-te Ching by Laotze (604?-531? BCE). The text is beautiful and inspiring. Let me quote it here:

 The highest value (goodness) is like water.
 The value in water (goodness) benefits ALL Things,
 And yet it does not compete.
 It stays in places that others disdain,
 And therefore is close to the Tao (Way)
 The value (goodness) in a dwelling is location.
 The value (goodness) in a mind is depth.
 The value (goodness) in relations is benevolence.
 The value (goodness) in words is sincerity.
 The value (goodness) in leadership is order.
 The value (goodness) in work is competence.
 The value (goodness) in efforts is timeliness.
 Since, indeed, they do not compete,
 There is no resentment.

Water and creation

Water in Taoism is not simply a metaphor indicating the highest value. Water takes part in the process of the creation and preservation of life. In Taoism, there is a saying, "The Beginning gives birth to water". The full text goes on,

 The Beginning gives birth to water. The born water also
 collaborates with the Beginning, who gave birth to water; that way,
 heaven is formed. The new-born heaven also collaborates with the
 Beginning, who gave birth to heaven; then, the earth is formed.
 The heaven and the earth collaborated with each other to form the
 Shin Myung or the deity. The Shin and the Myung collaborated so Yin
 and Yang are formed. Yin and Yang collaborated and formed the four
 seasons. Spring and Summer, Autumn and Winter collaborated with
 each other; then, the Cold and the Hot are formed. Cold and Hot
 collaborated with each other, so Humidity and Dryness are formed.
 Humidity and Dryness collaborated with each other to form a Year.
 With this, the creation of the cosmos is completed.

In Taoism, the creation of the cosmos is not simply a creation of physical reality or things. In Taoism, the thing is not fixed, but a process of movement. All things are born or formed through a process of movement of collaboration. The ultimate goal of creation is "time". But this "time" is not a physical time but the time of life. It is a concept of arrival and departure of something that comes into existence. According to Taoism, the creator of time is water. In fact, the heaven and the earth, the Shin Myung, Yin and Yang, four seasons, Cold and Hot, and Humidity and Dryness; all these are different forms of water.

Creation in Taoism is not a one-way creation. There is mutuality of life, not only for the life-sustaining process, but also in the process of creation of life. All the things that exist on earth mutually help and cooperate with one another in the process of creation and sustaining life.

Most of this concept is also revealed in the creation story in Genesis. "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters" (Gen. 1:1). The beginning in both texts is not meant to be within a chronological time concept, but a concept of origin or basis. In Genesis, water is not the first base in the creation, but appears as a very important element in the universe. Water keeps playing an important role in the process of creation, at least in its first part.

Amazingly the concept "goodness" is also used in the creation story. Having created something, God saw it was good. "Good" here also means beautiful. The inter-relatedness between "goodness" and "beauty" can also be found in the creation story.

The mutuality of life and the inter-relationship between all the members of the cosmos are also manifested in the creation story. According to the Genesis story, God created elements one after the other, but all the creatures are in fact inter-related and the life of each is mutually supported by the others. This is the Sangsaeng (mutuality of life, or conviviality) concept, which is also manifested in the African concept of Ubuntu, a concept of total mutuality and inter-relatedness of all creatures and even involving the Creator. In this respect, it is very similar to the Taoist concept of creation.

The nature of water

A chapter called "Water and the Earth" in the book entitled Kwan Ja gives more explanation on the nature of water:

The earth is the root of all things. The earth is the root and the womb from where life of all is generated. Beauty and ugliness, good and not good, stupidity and wisdom are also generated from it. Water is the blood of the earth and the Ki (energy) of the earth. It is like the blood channels in our body ... Water is soft and clean. It washes everything that is dirty and therefore it is merciful. When we look at water, it looks deep blue. However, if we put water on our palm, it is colour-free and transparent. This is water's nature of transparency and neutrality. When you measure water with a gourd bowl, you don't need any device to balance it. When it fills the gourd bowl, it overflows. This is the virtue of water. When the bottom is unbalanced, water doesn't cease flowing. But when the unbalanced is balanced, the water then stops flowing. This is the justice of water. Human beings are all the time intending to move up. However, water flows all the time towards the lowest part of space. This is the humility or kenosis of water. Equilibrium is the basis of all measurements. (And the nature of water is equilibrium.) The colour-free aspect of water is the basis of all colours. The taste-free aspect of water is the basis and neutrality of all tastes. Water is the life-sustaining element. Water never gives up filling the empty space and never stops flowing to the lowest space when it is vacant. It stays in all things. It stays in the rocks as well as in the metals. Water revitalizes life. Therefore we call water "god of water".

Virtues of water

From these characteristics and the nature of water, we can extract the following principles which might give us a spiritual basis for an alternative economic vision to the neo-liberal model of economy.

Beneficial to all: The first virtue of water that the Wisdom affirms is that the value in water (goodness) benefits ALL Things. It benefits all without exception. There is no election or selection and there is no exclusion. Water goes everywhere. Today's neo-liberal economic globalization benefits only a few. The majority of people are excluded from the benefits of the current dominant economic system.

Non-competition: "And yet it does not compete". "Since, indeed, they do not compete". "No competition" is an important nature of water. Of course when it becomes a flood, it smashes everything. But waters themselves never compete with each other. When it faces a rock, it never crosses the rock. It turns around the rock and flows smoothly towards the space it wants to go to. Competition is in fact mutually destructive. Mutuality and cooperation are much more constructive than competition.

Continual flow: The very nature of water is to "keep flowing", at least when there is a need to flow. Water never stops flowing. When it does, it becomes polluted. It is, therefore, crucially important to let water flow. Running is the very nature of water. The Latin word for "to run" in English is curro. The word "currency" came from this word. The currency or money should keep flowing or running without staying somewhere. It should continue to flow, not be accumulated in the hands of a few, but reach every corner and all people in society. This way, life is being circulated. My life is not possible unless life of others flows into my life. This is mutuality of life (Sangsaeng).

In fact, money moves actively today, maybe more so than ever before, but the problem is that it moves abnormally. It is important to let water flow, and flow normally.

Flow to the lowest space: "It stays in places that others disdain." Water never flows from the low level to the high. It always flows from the high level down to the low level. Water permeates into every corner of space, even into the very hidden spaces at the lowest level. In such a way, water provides a substantial element of life. When water flows down to the low level, the high level empties itself in order to fill the lower level. In this way, the life at the top is also possible, when there is life, in the lower part. One of the most obvious illustrations of this action of water can be found in the phenomenon of water circulation in the tree. Water goes down to the roots and the sap rises in the tree from the root to all stems and leaves. Water circulation between the earth and the sky follows the same mechanism. By ascending from the earth to the sky and descending to the earth again in rain, water controls the heat and provides life to all. Water circulates life between the earth and the sky.

Taoist wisdom says, "and it therefore is close to the Tao". The fundamental nature of Tao is to be with the lowest. This nature is also demonstrated in the kenosis of God who took the form of a slave and was born in human likeness and became obedient to the point of death--even death on a cross (Phil. 2:7-8). Jesus lowered himself to the lowest situation in order to save the life of all, and God then highly exalted him.

Starting from below: "The value (goodness) in a dwelling is location." Basically water stays in the bottom. Water never stays up when the bottom is empty of water. It starts to fill the bottom first. The bottom and the basis are the first place where water makes an investment. Water does not go up like fire, which goes up all the time. Filling the base and the fundamentals is the priority task for water. It does not rise up artificially, but when the time comes, water goes up to come down again in order to be available to the needy. This is a totally opposite mechanism of the "trickle-down" logic of the neo-liberal market economy.

Stability and inclusiveness: "The value (goodness) in a mind is depth." The deeper the water is, the more it is stable. When there is enough saving of water, the stability is greater. The lack of depth in water means vulnerability. This is why the economy of the poorest countries is always unstable. Extended debt never gives any opportunity for an already vulnerable economy to be stable. Saving is an important element for economic stability.

Benevolence: "The value (goodness) in relations is benevolence." Water is benevolent in that it gives itself. Water never keeps water for itself. Water exists for giving to others. Its raison d'etre is for others. "Giving" is the very nature of economy. If economy cannot give what is necessary for those in need, it is no longer economy.

Transparency and confidence: "The value (goodness) in words is sincerity." Water is honest and transparent. Water is not biased and has no preference. As it is explained in the "Water and the Earth" chapter of the book Kwan Ja, water is colour-free and taste-free. Transparency and neutrality are its fundamental nature. Transparency and neutrality are also fundamentally important in economy. Once economy is manipulated for political or ideological purposes, it cannot function as it is expected to function. On US hard currency we read, "In God we trust." However, the dollar is now being seriously manipulated for the imperial goal.

Timeliness: "The value (goodness) in efforts is timeliness." Water moves according to time. It never moves when it is not the time for moving. Timeliness of water is an important nature. Water should be there when water is needed. If it arrives late, what water can give is diminished or useless. Salary should be paid on time. Food should be available on time. Otherwise those who need food starve. Debt cancellation should be done on time. Otherwise the indebted country goes into bankruptcy. Economic panic comes when the fund is not available on time. Timeliness is important in economic life.

Justice and equilibrium: "The value (goodness) in leadership is order." Water governs the situation perfectly with justice. Water transforms the chaos into cosmos and disorder into order. Water never lets injustice be perpetual. The justice of water is done by its equilibrium function. Sweating is a good illustration of this. Whatever the form the bottom may have, water makes it equal. Water brings down what is high and lifts up what is low. When the bottom is unbalanced, water does not cease to flow. But when the unbalanced is balanced, water then stops flowing. This is how water governs the situation with full fairness. Justice is the very nature of water. This reminds us of the Magnificat which sings, "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly" (Luke 1:52); water economy should fill the hungry stomach with good things by emptying the over-full stomach of the rich.

Adjustability: Water changes its shape according to where it is. If it is accommodated in a round bowl, its shape becomes round in order to adjust to the bowl. If it is in a rectangular bowl, it takes a rectangular shape. Adjustability is one of the most flexible natures of water. Even though it adjusts to where it is, water never changes its very nature. It keeps this nature as it is. Economy should be flexible and adjustable according to the local situation. When one model of economy is imposed on different situations, it creates conflicts with the local context. There cannot be a canonical economic principle applicable to all situations. However, it should not change its mandate of serving life, whatever type of economy the local situation might have.

Satisfaction of enough and danger of too much and too little: As has been said earlier, when you measure water with a gourd, you do not need any device to balance it. Once it has filled the gourd, it overflows. Water never accumulates more than it needs. As we can see, the problems of over-eating, over-production, over-consumption, over-investment, over-indebtedness, limitless growth, limitless development, limitless greed--"over" and "limitless"--represent the most serious disease in today's economy and life-style. One of the most serious dangers of water is "too much" or "too little". When it is too much, it causes a flood and becomes very violent. We experienced this danger in the tsunami which hit South Asia last December. The opposite is also dangerous: when it is too little, it causes drought and endangers life itself. In order to survive, the time has come to transform the "over" and "limitless" life-style into an "enough" or even kenosis life-style. Eating less is much better than over-eating for the health. In Taoism, Chung Bin Rak Do, or "choose to be poor and enjoy Tao (Way)!" is an important spiritual guideline for life in virtue. Yang Hu said, "Be rich, you won't be humane (jen); be humane, you won't be rich." Would it be too much to say, "Be rich, you won't be spiritual; be spiritual, you won't be rich"? This would be a profound way of understanding Jesus' saying, "You cannot serve God and wealth" (mammon) (Matt. 6:24).

Saving and executing: Water saves itself when it is not needed, but it always gives itself away when it is needed. Cooperation between trees, earth and water is wonderful. The trees or forests keep water and release it bit by bit, so that the lower part can have it even though it is not the rainy season. This is in fact the original role of the bank.

Making life possible: "The value (goodness) in work is competence." Water makes life possible. By flowing continually, water makes the life of every part of the body possible. Economy should make life possible: if it does not, it needs to be reformed. Today's neo-liberal economy makes life impossible. Not only the majority of the world population but also all creatures, air, water, earth, forests, animals and so on are suffering with the current economic system, and their life is not possible. This needs to be reformed.

No shame: "There is no resentment." Water is never ashamed of anything, because it makes the life of others possible. This is why the opening affirmation of wisdom on water is, "The highest value (goodness) is like water." Water is taken as the closest image that Laotze took in explaining Tao. As Wisdom sans, the highest value is like water.

The interpreters have an agreement that the affirmation, "The highest value (goodness) is like water", actually means Tao, as the Logos in John would actually mean God in the form of Jesus incarnate.

Learning a vision of economy from water--a concluding remark

As we all know, economy and ecology came from oikos, the household of God. The economic operation and ecological functioning in the household is accomplished like water flowing. The fundamental principle of household economy is to be beneficial to all members of family. Nobody is excluded from the benefit. Often the most vulnerable members of the family are the first beneficiaries, before anyone else in the family. The household economy's care starts from below or the most vulnerable. The household economy puts priority on basic needs like food, water, health, education, housing, clothing, cultural activities, and so on. Only after the basic needs are met, is there a possibility for investment or other activities. The household economy is dangerous when it is indebted and destabilized. Debt is the path leading to the bankruptcy of all economies. At home, family members do not compete but assist each other.

There is another important economic slogan in Taoism. It says, "Unite the wealth, you divide the people. Divide the wealth, you unite the people." With the teaching on water, isn't this a wisdom for alternatives to the neo-liberal economic globalization which attempts to unite the world markets, but results in fact in dividing the whole world including creation? Isn't this an alternative vision which builds communities of peace for ALL?

Seong-Won Park coordinates the processus confessionis programme of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Geneva.