Embedded Economy

The Indic model does not treat the economy as an autonomous sphere governed only by profit, production and consumption. Economic life is embedded within Dharma, family, community, ecology and social responsibility. The concept of Aṣṭalakṣmī reflects this wider understanding of prosperity: wealth includes food, knowledge, courage, fertility, success and material abundance. Artha is therefore one dimension of prosperity, not its entire meaning. Wealth creation is legitimate, but economic activity remains connected to social and moral obligations. The Indic model thus studies the economy as a part of the wider social and civilizational system, rather than a separate universe.