Black Economics - March 2024

This article is pending publishing in the Youngstown Buckeye Review, a locally owned black publication.   

 Homer Warren

Economics is about goods and services households buy, businesses supplying goods and services to households and to one another, and governments providing public projects, public education, and public health and safety systems that facilitate the selling and buying of goods and services.  Black economics is about the productivity and efficiency of Black households, Black business owners, and Blacks working in the private and public sectors.

Though Black spending power in the USA is around 1.6 trillion dollars, evidence indicates that Black economics is unproductive with many deficiencies. Black households are financially dysfunctional in their spending habits.  Many Black business owners see their business mostly as a means to status identity and/or an income stream.  Many Blacks working in the private or public sector also see their job mostly as a means to status identity and/or an income stream.  And worse yet, many Blacks are dissatisfied with work and life.

Evidence is also clear that Black economics has been hampered by the history of white supremacy and racism.  However, as I’ve repeatedly argued, we must treat white supremacy and racism, though vile and deadly, as symptoms of the consumer mindset disease that has us commodifying everything, turning relationships into selfish tit-for-tat transactions, and seeing the world in terms of consume-or-be-consumed treats to survival.  The consumer mindset disease causes us to live with more negative than positive FARTs (feelings, actions, reactions, and thoughts) for one another and for ourselves.    

For Black economic empowerment we must abolish the consumer mindset and begin thinking, talking, and making decisions with a Producer mindset.  Producer mindset captures ancient spiritual wisdom that humans are made in the image and likeness of a powerfully productive and creative universal energy.  As Producers we are to live in harmony with the Input-Output systems the universal energy uses to flow through all of life.  Unlike consumer mindset that sees the world in terms of threats to survival and prevents harmonious living, Producer mindset sees the world in terms of contributions to flourishing and helps us “produce” positive FARTs crucial to Black economic empowerment.

An example (among hundreds) of how consumer mindset prevents Black economic empowerment deals with what we put into our body.  Unhealthful foods, drinks, smokes, loud music, and social media (the last two are foods for the mind) have high financial, emotional, and healthcare costs that divert wealth from Black economic empowerment.  Poor eating habits result from being programmed by marketers, family, and culture to be “consumers” of food.  Hence, poor quality food --- poor energy --- harm to the body --- poor quality of life.  On the other hand, Producer mindset promotes a mental independence to see food purely as Inputs your body uses to produce energy needed to produce your daily Outputs (e.g., personal and community interests and activities).  With Producer mindset there’s healthful food Inputs --- high quality energy --- body, mind, and soul wellness --- production of quality Outputs and positive FARTs crucial to Black economic empowerment.  

Only when we stop seeing ourselves and one another as consumers and start thinking, talking, and making decisions as Producers will we experience how Black economic empowerment can be a force to save the world from the economically and morally corrupt path it has followed for hundreds of years.