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Economy that focuses on simplicity and non-violence. While the modern economist is used to measuring the “standard of living" by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is "better off" than a man who consumes less, a Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well being with the minimum of consumption. This should be the quality of life of everyday people. Work is meant to be meaningful and creative, not a source of stress and distaste. Recreation is found more in the spending of time with friends and in nature, rather than in the consumption of resources. In a Buddhist economy the goals of simplicity and non-violence work together. In an effort to reduce the violence against the earth of extracting fossil fuels, and in the interest of avoiding international conflict over scarce reserves of oil and gas, the Buddhist economist would support using more local and ecologically sensitive sources of energy such as solar, and hydroelectric, even if it may not be what is cheapest on the market.