I am a Marxist monk: Dalai Lama

[Tsukasa Buddha]

At a gathering at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), he said: “I am a Marxist monk, a Buddhist Marxist. I belong to the Marxist camp, because unlike capitalism, Marxism is more ethical. Marxism, as an ideology, takes care of the welfare of its employees and believes in distribution of wealth among the people of the state.”

Delivering a lecture on Ethics and Business, the Tibetan leader-in-exile said the global economy has created vast economic differences in every country of the world. “In the absence of ethical handling of money, the whole community suffer from a sense of insecurity. Exploitation of workers is maximum in developing countries. There are very high degrees of exploitation in India and China, similar to the exploitation during industrialisation of Western countries a century ago,” he said.

Ethics, the Dalai Lama said, could be categorised as theistic, non-theistic, and secular, and need not be based on religious faith.

Linky.

My only response: Whoa.

 

[gtc]

Was the traditional Tibetan society particularly 'ethical'?

 

[ImaginalDisc]

I take it that the "Free Tibet" will not be a theocracy dominated by nepotism, but a communist state run to benefit the proletariat?

 

[Kopji]

Makes perfect sense to me. I mean, isn't all religion essentially this way?
I'm supposed to work hard to make money so... I can give some to them?

What's the big deal?

 

[blobru]

Any Marxist state is pretty much a giant monastery. Plain uniforms, relentless orthodoxy, selfless dedication...
Whereas, it's tough to reconcile capitalist ethics with any religion.

Of course, given Tibet's experience with Chinese Marxism, it's surprising DL would praise it, but note he's also taking a tangential swipe at the current regime in China -- nominally Marxist -- where he says exploitation is common.
So his "I am a Marxist monk" may be a little cagier than it sounds.

 

[godless dave]

I'm surprised at the surprise. The Dalai Lama is sympathetic to many of the values of Marxism. Not exactly a shocker.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Was it Gandhi who said that both Christianity and Communism were good ideas but it's too bad nobody has tried either?