Business and Labour as Central Activities of the Intelligence of Need

This essay explores human collective intelligence as the creative force shaping our lives. By collective I mean that intelligence lies in its interaction, in relationship. Intelligence is beyond the individual or the collective. I focus on one of its two levels: the intelligence of need, which centres on fulfilling humanity’s needs and interests and is crucial to economic processes. Business are central to the current way of living, hence, from its good working depends human wellbeing With the rapid growth of human populations and nature’s limited resources, we must cultivate a frugal intelligence of need that moves away from viewing economic growth as synonymous with prosperity. As Socrates said: “The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” My goal is to show that the effective operation of the intelligence of need for everyone’s benefit requires it to work in harmony with a foundational yet often overlooked intelligence, which I call the intelligence of freedom, or liberating intelligence. The reforms of the intelligence of need, in particular of the economy, usually proposed are insufficient to ensure wellbeing for all. We need the awakening of the liberating intelligence, the intelligence of freedom, beauty and love, on which I will insist along this essay