I think this is part of the fear that attends it. This is why professional people won’t get near this stuff—because what would you do? How would you return to your job in arbitrage if, on a Saturday night, you had a revelation of the real meaning of money? You know, you could blow the whole apple cart. You could have to change your life, God forbid. People are afraid of this.
Economics is the study of systems—how resources are sourced, transformed, and distributed to sustain life and activity. Much like metabolism in biology, economics examines the flows of energy and matter, whether in human societies or natural ecosystems. Both describe processes of input, conversion, and output: a body metabolizes food into energy, while an economy transforms raw materials into goods and services. Just as metabolic systems balance supply and demand for nutrients, economic systems balance production and consumption across scales, from individuals to global networks. Inefficiencies—whether clogged arteries or supply chain disruptions—can destabilize either system. By understanding economics as a form of societal metabolism, we can explore resource cycles, energy dynamics, and adaptation mechanisms. This perspective bridges disciplines, showing that the survival of organisms, ecosystems, and economies alike depends on maintaining dynamic flows and responding to changing environments. Economics, like metabolism, is about sustaining life’s ongoing exchange.
Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren
Keynes argues that due to technological advancements and capital accumulation, the economic problem of scarcity will be solved within a century, ushering in an age of abundance. He predicts higher living standards, shorter workweeks, and a shift in moral values away from the love of money. However, he cautions that this transition will be challenging, requiring society to find new purpose beyond subsistence.
Education for Non-Entity
(A True Materialist Society)
Alan presents his argument that the United States—often referred to as the ultimate materialist society—is anything but: it lacks a sincere appreciation for the material world and inadvertently destroys it in an attempt to “live the good life,” chasing after ever greener pastures just beyond the horizon of time.
On Commerce
Alan Watts explores the nature of commerce and money. He argues that we’ve lost sight of the purpose of technology—to reduce labor and increase leisure. Instead, we’re trapped in rituals and mindsets that no longer serve us. He advocates for rethinking our relationship with work, trusting employees, and embracing a more relaxed, purposeful attitude towards money and business.
The Global Brain as a Model of the Future Information Society
The Global Brain paradigm views the emerging global information network connecting humans and technology as a nervous system for Earth's social superorganism. This special issue surveys opportunities and challenges in developing this potentially more intelligent, synergetic system. Contributions explore political, economic, and philosophical aspects, aiming to guide the transition towards a sustainable society empowering diversity.
Theory of Games and Economic Behavior
This is the classic work upon which modern-day game theory is based. What began more than sixty years ago as a modest proposal that a mathematician and an economist write a short paper together blossomed, in 1944, when Princeton University Press published Theory of Games and Economic Behavior. In it, John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern conceived a groundbreaking mathematical theory of economic and social organization, based on a theory of games of strategy. Not only would this revolutionize economics, but the entirely new field of scientific inquiry it yielded—game theory—has since been widely used to analyze a host of real-world phenomena from arms races to optimal policy choices of presidential candidates, from vaccination policy to major league baseball salary negotiations. And it is today established throughout both the social sciences and a wide range of other sciences.
USA 2000
Beginning with his prophecy that the United States of America will no longer exist in the year 2000, Alan introduces us to a possible utopia which he discerned in his vision of the future. Topics include automation, guaranteed universal incomes, the confusion of money with wealth, changing work ethics, and the grim necessity of our learning how to sensuously enjoy luxury if we want to avoid total destruction.
