ABSTRACT
201 Our industrially based system is grounded in the competitive commercialization of goods and services and driven by an economic rationalism that has resulted in large and growing socio-economic disparities within and between nations. We cannot call this wise. A wisdom economy 1 would be one that pays far greater attention to social equity and egalitarianism, and does not encourage us to admire vast wealth in the hands of the few – as is so often the case in today’s celebrity culture. In practice, this means a fair distribution of the profits of industry and enterprise among all those who contribute to its success. These principles were put into practice in manufacturing industry in the 20th century by the Mondragon cooperatives in Spain’s Basque country; here, the maximum difference between the lowest and the highest paid workers is strictly limited and earnings are based on the average wage of the region. 2 , 3
