“…He justifies his scepticism and critique of liberal democracy and capitalism by reasoning that the Buddha himself had the principle or ideal of socialism but his method of working was dictatorial (quoted in Jackson, 2003, p.240). In this reading, Buddhism opposes capitalism, with its notions of property, ownership and possessions as ends in themselves, because those material ends are non-conducive to freedom and liberation but instead reinforce and perpetuate the ignorance that Buddhism tries to eliminate (Puligandla & Puhakka, 1970). However, leading Engaged Buddhist Social theorist David Loy warns that both socialism and capitalism offer us naturalistic salvation in the future, when we (or at least some of us) will become happy because our desires are satisfied (Loy, 2003, p.28).…”