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Today the new left movement tends to deal with creating antithesis andcritiques of capitalism with lack of attention to showing the way for new alternatives. Slogans of post-modernist intellectuals are shy toproject an ideological spirit in clear terms. Now is the time toportray alternatives. But the fundamental principles must be there. Inthis regard, socio-economic units should form the basis of socialcohesion in different parts of the world and each socio-economic unitmust provide the minimum necessities of life to all.100% employment is not a dream and it all depends on what you count asemployment and what is considered socially useful at all the levels of existence. Today, the pressure is on in developed countries to acceptthat people staying at home to take care of children should be sociallyrewarded for doing so and for benefiting society. A genuineco-operative society would cater for this and see to the minimum basicnecessities of all.100% Employment for the Local PeopleP.R. Sarkar First, there should be 100% employment for the local people. The basicright of all people is to be guaranteed the minimum essentials for their existence, including at least proper food, clothing, housing,education and medical care. This basic right should be arranged throughcent percent guaranteed employment, not through welfare or dole-outs.Unemployment is a critical economic problem in the world today and 100%employment of the local people is the only way to solve this problem.This is possible once a proper definition of employment is consideredand the value of all labor and skill is recognized - not just thenotion of careerist aspirations. All work and effort must be recognizedand rewarded including household and domestic duties, service to theneedy, etc and a co-operative economy is capable of doing this.Local people are defined as those who have merged individual interestswith the interests of the unit they live in. The primary considerationis whether or not people have merged their individual interests withtheir unit, regardless of their color, creed, race, mother tongue,birthplace, etc. Drainage of capital necessary for the continued growthof that unit undermines its economic development and is contrary toeconomic democracy.Capitalists, in either their singular or collective forms, are the mostpernicious economic exploiters today. All over the world they arecontinually exploiting local economies and draining their wealth. Innearly all cases the profits they accrue are spent outside the localarea and remitted to outside stockholders and parent companies.
 
To create 100% employment among local people, there needs to be both ashort term and a long-term economic plan. In the short-term plan,labor intensive industries based on the collective minimumrequirements of life should be started immediately or made moreproductive where they already exist. These industries should be basedon the consumption motive. They should also provide a rational profitin order to guarantee adequate purchasing capacity to those employed inthem and to ensure their continued existence and growth.In the long-term plan, capital-intensive industries should also bedeveloped to increase the productive capacity of the unit. Proutadvocates a three-tiered economic structure, that is, small scaleprivately owned businesses, medium scale cooperatives and large-scalekey industries managed by the immediate or local government as afiduciary to the people. Such an economic structure should be based onthe principles of self-reliance, maximum utilization, rationaldistribution, decentralization, rationalization and progressiveincreases in the standard of living of all people. Through the never ending creation of new industries, new products and new productiontechniques incorporating the latest scientific discoveries, thevitality of the economy can be increased. As part of the long-termeconomic plan, working hours may also be progressively reduced tomaintain full employment.To solve the unemployment problem in both the short and long term theremust be an accurate understanding of the surplus and deficit manual andintellectual labor trends. In most of the countries of the world wherethere is high unemployment, there is surplus manual labor. Manuallabor-intensive industries are required to create employment. In someinstances where deficit labor exists for an expanding industry,retraining programs may equip workers with the necessary skills for employment.Another way to help solve unemployment, especially in ruralcommunities, is the utilization of plants for economic self-reliance.All units have the potential to increase their plant and crop varietiesby properly matching these with the soil, topography and climaticconditions etc. in their units. Reforestation can reclaim arid andsemi-arid regions, and some unique plants like the peranica or fern,which has the capacity to attract clouds, can help radically transformthe rainfall and weather patterns of a region.Agro- and agrico-industries based upon the productive potential of different plants can also help solve rural unemployment by creating arange of new goods and services.Cultural Aspirations of Socio-economic Units----------------------------------------------P.R. Sarkar Socio-economic units will not only have to fulfil people's social andeconomic needs, but also their cultural aspirations. Culture denotesall sorts of human expressions. In a sense, culture is the same for allhumanity, though there are obvious differences in cultural expression.
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