Peoples Economy by Dada Maheshvarananda

Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

Download

Peoples Economy - Proutist Economic DevelopmentPlanet Earth has enough resources for everyone – if we share. The goalof Prout is to utilize and distribute our shared inheritance in arational way for the benefit of everyone. THE RIGHT TO LIVE! The first priority of Prout is to ensure theguarantee of the minimum necessities to everyone: “The minimumnecessities of all should be guaranteed in any particular age.” – P. R.Sarkar. Guaranteeing the right to live has to be the first priority of every country. The Brazilian spiritualist Frei Betto called attention tothis need when he said, “The degree of justice in a society can beevaluated by the way food is distributed amongst all of the citizens.”Minimum necessities and hence economic rights are a fundamental humanright.In 1999, the last year that statistics were published, Venezuelaproduced only 49% of the cereals (maize, rice, sorghum, and wheat) thatit consumed – the rest had to be imported. A limited amount of cerealimports is reasonable, for example if people like to eat bread they needwheat, which requires a colder climate (only 500 metric tons are grownin Venezuela each year). Excess rice or corn could easily be tradeddirectly for wheat without using foreign currency at all. But thecountry must produce 100% or more of the total cereal it consumes, sothat whenever any natural, political or economic disaster strikes andimports are blocked, the people can consume rice or corn instead of bread.Prout recognizes five fundamental necessities of life:1. food (including pure drinking water);2. Clothing;3. Housing4. medical care; and5. education.According to the principle of Neohumanism, this birthright of minimumnecessities transcends citizenship -- meaning that every human being,whether native or visitor to a country, must be guaranteed thesenecessities. All are citizens of one planet, one universe.Providing the basic necessities should be the primary function and dutyof any economy. Human beings require these in order to realize their individual potentialities, to develop culturally, to achieve inner fulfilment and self-realization, which many now consider as higher goalsof life.The right to meaningful employment with fair wages is also a fundamentalhuman right. It is this that will enable the earnings to be derived toacquire the minimum necessities, and from there to increase theamenities available for all. The minimum requirements should not behanded out by a government agency, as the current welfare systems of liberal democratic countries do. Rather, the people should pay for themwith the income they earn from honest work. It is the responsibility of all levels of government to pursue policies which achieve and maintainfull employment, with jobs that utilize each worker’s skills and

capabilities. A just minimum wage must be set high enough so that peoplemay purchase the necessities.Most welfare systems create disincentives for welfare recipients towork. In the USA, for example, those who receive welfare mustimmediately report any dollar they earn, which is usually deducted fromtheir next welfare check. They are not allowed to borrow money to starta small business without immediately sacrificing their monthlyassistance. In this way, welfare recipients become emotionallydependent, prisoners of both poverty and the welfare system. Prout, onthe other hand, would only offer welfare as a special contingency for those who are physically or mentally unable to work. This is because ina balanced economy and an economy which has people as its basis andtheir welfare as its goal, working cooperatively, all will be able toacquire their necessities through their efforts and all will be rewardedaccordingly.Material incentives for those who work harder, are more skilled, and whocontribute more to society are also integral to a Proutist economy, butthe incentives must be reasonable. The goal is to gradually raise thestandard of living and quality of life of everyone, while doing lessdamage to the natural world and other creatures.The determination of the minimum necessities should be done in aprogressive way; i.e. there must be continual adjustment of these basicrequirements depending upon the available resources and scientificstandard of the locality. As with all the principles of Prout, thestandard for minimum necessities will change with time and place. For example, staple foods are different in different cultures, yet they mustmeet adequate nutritional standards. Clothing varies according toclimate and culture. Minimum housing standards appropriate to theclimate and culture will also be determined. Of course, those who workharder will be able to earn enough to buy bigger and better housing –such incentives will be built into the system, unlike in communisteconomies. Everyone, however, will be guaranteed a roof over their head,regardless. And incentives are there primarily so that people canrender greater service to society - incentives for mere indulgence makesthe capacity to produce less worthy.Prout measures economic progress according to the people’s purchasingcapacity. In order to facilitate a continually increasing purchasingcapacity, a number of factors are required. These include the guaranteedavailability of basic goods and services, stable prices, progressive andperiodic wage increases, and increasing collective wealth andproductivity. What a wonderful world it will be when no one on theplanet will worry about getting enough money to buy food, clothes,housing, education and medical care needed for his or her family!Is it possible? Yes. If the focus is first on people's economy. P.R.Sarkar gave great importance to a field of economics that he termed thepeople’s economy. This concentrates on providing goods and services tothe people. It analyzes the lives of individuals in relation to theeconomy as a whole, including their living standard, purchasingcapacity, and economic problems. It implements what is required. Themost important aspect of the people’s economy is ensuring that everyonereceives the minimum requirements. This responsibility includes

overseeing the production, distribution, storage, marketing and pricingof consumable goods.For commodities (goods and services) their classification should be:essential, semi-essential, non-essential.Essential goods are those needed to maintain an adequate standard of life -- clean water, most foods, most clothing, medicines, housingmaterials, textbooks and other educational materials. Cooperatives wouldproduce and sell the majority of essential goods/commodities, and asmuch as possible they should also manage semi-essential products.Services also be classified in the same way. Essential services providethe basic necessities, such as schools (from kindergarten touniversity), hospitals, water and sanitation utilities, local publictransportation, the railway system, the airspace for national airlines,energy infrastructure, communications infrastructure, etc. So it extendsto electricity, other energies and communications which are vital now towell being. The local, state and federal government should beresponsible for providing these services through autonomous bodies setup for that purpose. These are key industries held in trust for thebenefit of all - for the benefit of the public and not for individualgain.Some essential services such as health care practices, medical centresand health maintenance clinics employing three or more health carepractitioners can be run as service cooperatives, owned and managed bythe health care practitioners themselves. These are relatively smallscale affairs.Semi-essential commodities include some types of food and clothing,books other than textbooks, most electronic goods, various householditems, etc. Non-essential commodities include luxury goods. Smallprivate enterprises would only produce luxury goods and somesemi-essential items.As the economy of a region develops, the number of different types of commodities in all three categories will increase and vary. Wheneveryone is able to purchase the minimum necessities, gradually moresemi-essential commodities such as household appliances and electronicitems will be reclassified from semi-essential to be consideredessential commodities. An item which is initially considered as a luxurywill later be classified to be a semi-essential or essential commodity.All other services will be classified as semi-essential or non-essentialand can be provided by small private enterprises; however, a Prouteconomy will always favour the development of cooperative enterprises.Accordingly, small private enterprises should operate cooperatively aswell, in substance, or be converted to cooperatives when the get to big.Also, some aspects of key industries can also be cooperatised once theinfrastructure or backbone can be managed in smaller units.It should be emphasized that the role of a Prout government would be tocoordinate – not to be directly involved with – the production anddistribution of goods and services.

of 00

Leave a Comment