Welcome back to PROUT Gems. Proper distribution of wealth is fundamental to economic and social well being. How does it apply and what are its requisites? Economic decentralisation is vital for this. The dogma that exists today is that acquisition of limitless property is an individual right. Property is limited and the real right is that all must be guaranteed minimum necessities (food, clothing, housing, education, medical care etc) through proper purchasing capacity. Such efficiencies can only be achieved in a cooperative economy. Virtually no leaders speak of the human right for minimum necessities. This is a great cloak and disguise for selfish interests to prevail over the common interest and to thwart the development of cardinal human values and justice (be it social, economic or otherwise) for all. While in developed countries some people may be sitting comfortably, this is not the case in villages and towns across the global. How to solve the problem? Let us see ... -- 2nd fundamental principle of Prout There should be maximum utilization and rational distribution of all mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities of the universe. Purport: The wealth and resources inherent in the crude, subtle and causal worlds should be developed for the welfare of all people. All resources hidden in the five fundamental factors - solid, liquid, luminous, aerial and ethereal - should be fully utilized and this endeavour will ensure the maximum development of the universe. People will have to earnestly explore land, sea and space to discover and manufacture the necessary resources. There should be rational distribution of the accumulated wealth of humanity. In other words, apart from meeting the indispensable minimum necessities of all, the necessities of meritorious people and those with special requirements must also be met. - Ananda Sutram 1962 - PR Sarkar -- Why is this so? This universe is our common patrimony. Hence all the mundane, supra-mundane and spiritual potentialities should be utilized in the best possible way. Nothing should remain unutilised. What is meant by rational distribution? When all can progress at a maximum. Prout is the theory of progressive utilization. Its concept of progress is movement towards all-round welfare. Resources are distributed rationally when all can progress at a maximum. Simple and straightforward. What is hindering this? One thing is that the economy is centralised in the hands of a few. There is no economic democracy. Economic democracy has to be the catch cry and slogan of this decade!! This means a decentralised economy. As P R Sarkar states: The first principle of decentralized economy is that the local people should control all the resources in a socio-economic unit. In particular, the resources that are required to produce the minimum requirements must be in local hands, and all the industries based on these resources will have to be controlled entirely by the local people. Local raw materials must be fully utilized to produce all kinds of commodities necessary for the economic development of a socio-economic unit. What is 'local' will depend on circumstances, populations, demographics and the like. But people can come from anywhere in the world and if they identify with the locality they can be considered local. The important thing is identification and participation in the community, whether it be the community of Australia or the community of East Timor - both can be considered local relative to the circumstances. Essentially as Sarkar states: Local people are those who have merged their individual socio-economic interests with the socio-economic interests of the socio-economic unit they live in. Clearly, this concept of local people has nothing to do with physical complexion, race, caste, creed, language or birthplace. The fundamental issue is whether or not each person or family has identified their individual socio-economic interests with the collective interests of the concerned socio-economic unit. Those who have not done so can be branded as outsiders. Immigration policies must revolve around this new notion. And to ensure economic democracy, no 'outsider' should be allowed to interfere in local economic affairs or in the system of production and distribution. Why? To do so, means a subservience to outside interests. It means the likelihood that the outsider's interest will be purely selfish - there is no real contribution to the social and economic structure, other than for extracting money in the form of profits, dividends or interest and the like. It is also the case that a 'floating population' will develop, causing the outflow of economic wealth from the local area. If this occurs the area will become vulnerable to outside economic exploitation and decentralized economy will be undermined. So, how to distribute any surplus wealth? The surplus wealth, after meeting the minimum requirements of the people in the local area, should be distributed among the meritorious people according to the degree of their merit. For example, doctors, engineers, scientists and other capable people engaged in various activities require extra amenities so that they can perform greater service to society. While a common person may require a bicycle, a doctor may require a car. But there must also be provision in the economy for reducing the gap between the minimum requirements of all and the amenities of meritorious people. To increase the standard of living of common people, they may be provided with scooters instead of bicycles. Although there is some difference between a scooter and a car, the gap that existed between a car and a bicycle has been partially reduced. The economic gap between common people and meritorious people should be reduced as much as possible, and ceaseless efforts must be made in this regard, but this gap will never vanish altogether. If the gap increases, the common people will be deprived and exploitation will re-emerge in society in the guise of amenities. Decentralized economy leaves no such loophole because on the one hand the standard of the minimum requirements must be increased, and on the other hand the provision of amenities will be assessed from the viewpoint of the collective welfare. (See discourse of 16 March 1982, Calcutta - Prout in a nutshell 21) -- Then what is decentralisation? At the beginning of civilization, the desire to create arts and crafts arose in the human mind. At that time artisans used to work at home, and arts and crafts were produced in cottage industries. Men, women, boys and girls -- all participated in the creation of arts and crafts. Later people realized that some arts and crafts could not be produced in every village; so a few combined villages produced certain artefacts. If artisans had not combined together, they would have suffered losses in the market place, and their numbers would have been significantly reduced. So gradually human beings started to go and work in places where production was done collectively, or the first factories. At that time the few industries that existed were decentralized. In this connection one thing should be remembered -- the more that arts and crafts are decentralized, the greater the benefits for human society. Decentralization does not diminish or dissipate economic potential. Rather, decentralization removes regional disparity because wealth is distributed almost equally everywhere. We do not find situations where people in some places cry out in agony due to scarcity and starvation, while people in other places become immoral due to excessive affluence and over abundance. In fact, industrial centralization is detrimental to a well-knit social order. In a decentralized economy people do not have to leave their locality or even homes to work in an industry, and consequently they are saved from the expenditure of maintaining two establishments or travelling long distances. Moreover, decentralization increases the possibility of saving labour, because people can earn their livelihood while simultaneously taking care of their household responsibilities. This arrangement is not possible under capitalism. Capitalism will never support decentralization, because capitalist production exists to maximize profits. Centralization means industry for profit, while decentralization means industry for consumption, ie for the benefit of consumers. Prout's approach, which will be supported by all rational people, is production for consumption. Prout's maxim is, "Production for consumption, not production for profiteering." Note: Under ordinary economic theory, including competition theory, this should be the case if competition is designed to marginalise profit and so benefit the consumer. However, the inefficiencies of capitalism never yield this result. Capitalists want to produce commodities at the lowest costs and sell them at the highest prices. To produce commodities cheaply, there must be efficient transportation, cheap raw materials, cheap labour, cheap energy, adequate water supply, etc. No matter what form capitalism takes -- individual capitalism, group capitalism or state capitalism -- capitalists will always prefer centralized production. All these forms of capitalism are essentially the same. Thousands of industries have mushroomed around large cities due to this capitalistic mentality. Remote places have been neglected. They have gone to sleep, crying in cimmerian darkness. Perhaps only a few people have even heard of these places. How could they? The people living there are extremely poor. They are incapable of purchasing a woollen wrapper for winter, what to speak of expensive woollen clothing. Regional disparity is increasing. Regional disparity is detrimental to the cause of a healthy social order. Prout is the only panacea. There is no other solution. Communism is state capitalism, which is why it is not free from the defects of capitalism. State capitalists, like individual and group capitalists, control industries. State capitalism means state controlled industries. In other words, in state capitalism industries are centralized. Communist countries support state capitalism, which means centralized production. While communism appears to differ from capitalism on the question of popular liberation, capitalism and communism are the same internally. Fruits of the same variety may have different colour skins, but their seeds are the same. Capitalism and communism are fruits of the same variety. To ensure the social and economic liberation of human beings, the maximum amount of socio-economic decentralization is essential. While it may be difficult to establish village or town level economic infrastructure at present, there is no insurmountable obstacle preventing us from establishing block-level economic infrastructure (conglomerations of villages and towns). As far as possible, the establishment, operation and distribution of all industries should be done at block level. Only when this cannot be done should industries be organized at a higher level. Obviously, industries such as iron and steel factories cannot function in every village, block and district, so they should function in a larger area. There are some special types of key industries, which can conveniently function as either small-scale industries or medium-scale cooperative industries. The cooperatisation of the economy is what is required. However, some key industries cannot be structured in this way, so they must be under state or local government control - in effect on trust for the public. Care should be taken to ensure that they are properly organized. Capitalists should never control such key industries (eg water, electrical grid); otherwise the interests of the people will be partially if not fully ignored. Moreover, if they are left in the hands of capitalists, many different kinds of problems will arise. Normally only very large-scale key industries should be under state control, and these industries should be centralized instead of decentralized. But industries that cannot be readily decentralized today may be decentralized in the future due to changing circumstances. At that time the decentralization of key industries must be implemented. Cooperatisation can then occur. There are also many other adverse effects of industrial centralization. For example, in large cities it is difficult for people to remain healthy. There can even be scarcity of fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. Immorality and corruption are rampant. Thieves, criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics and antisocial elements easily conceal themselves or prey on innocent people or are ignored. Some need desperate help for medical treatment. Malnutrition, air pollution, water pollution as well as other problems also exist. All large industrial centres presently suffer from these defects. On decentralization By P.R. Sarkar 6.11.88, Calcutta From "Decentralized economy 2" -- Economic decentralization In economic democracy, economic and political powers are bifurcated. That is, Prout advocates political centralization and economic decentralization. Political power is vested with the ethical and moral persons, but economic power is vested with the local people. The principal goal of the administration is to remove all the impediments and obstacles, which prevent the economic needs of the people being met. The universal aim of economic democracy is to guarantee the minimum requirements of life to all members of society. Nature has been kind enough to provide abundant natural resources to every region of this earth, but she has not given guidelines on how to distribute these resources among the members of society. This duty has been left to the discretion and intelligence of human beings. Those who are guided by dishonesty, selfishness and mean-mindedness misappropriate these resources and utilize them for their individual or group interests rather than for the welfare of the whole society. Mundane resources are limited but human longings are limitless. Hence, for all the members of society to live in peace and prosperity, human beings have to adopt a system that ensures the maximum utilization and rational distribution of all resources. To achieve this, human beings will have to establish themselves in ethics/morality based on cardinal human values (not relativistic personal notions) and then create a congenial environment for morality to flourish. Economic decentralization means production for consumption, not production for profit. Economic decentralization is not possible under capitalism, because capitalist production always tries to maximize profit. Capitalists invariably produce at the lowest costs and sell at the highest profits. They prefer centralized production, which leads to regional economic disparity and imbalances in the distribution of the population. In the decentralized economy of Prout on the other hand, production is for consumption, and the minimum requirements of life will be guaranteed to all. All regions will get ample scope to develop their economic potentiality, so the problems of a floating population or overcrowding in urban centres will not be allowed to arise. Unless a country attains optimum development in industry and other sectors of the economy, it is impossible for it to be highly developed. If more than thirty to forty-five percent of a country's population is engaged in agriculture, there will be excessive pressure on the land. Such a country cannot become highly developed, nor can there be balanced, decentralized development in all sectors of the economy. Any country confronted with such circumstances will find it very difficult to meet its domestic and international responsibilities. The purchasing capacity of the people will keep decreasing, while economic disparity will go on increasing. The social, economic and political environment of the whole country will degenerate. So, economic decentralization does not mean that the majority of the population will be dependent on agriculture for their livelihood or that the other sectors of the economy will remain undeveloped. Rather, each sector of the economy must strive for maximum development, and all sectors must strive for maximum decentralization. In all the democratic counties of the world, economic power is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and groups. In liberal democracies economic power is controlled by a handful of capitalists, while in socialist countries economic power is concentrated in a small group of party leaders. In each case a handful of people -- the number can be easily counted on one's fingertips -- manipulates the economic welfare of the entire society. When economic power is vested in the hands of the people, the supremacy of this group of leaders will be terminated, and political parties will be rendered useless. Consensus politics run on an ethical basis for the good of all will be the norm at all levels. People will have to choose a socio-economic system based on either a centralized economy or a decentralized economy. Which one will they select? Political democracy cannot fulfil the hopes and aspiration of people or provide the basis for constructing a strong and healthy human society. The only way to achieve this is to establish economic democracy. PR Sarkar June 1986, Calcutta Prout in a nutshell 21 -- What are the requirements of economic democracy? The first requirement for economic democracy is that the minimum requirements of a particular age -- including food, clothing, housing, education and medical treatment -- must be guaranteed to all. Not only is this an individual right, it is also a collective necessity, because the easy availability of the minimum requirements will increase the all-round welfare of society. The second requirement for economic democracy is that increasing purchasing capacity must be guaranteed to each and every individual. In economic democracy local people will hold economic power. Consequently, local raw materials will be used to promote the economic prosperity of the local people. What is local depends on circumstances, eg population demographics. Generally, the raw materials of one socio-economic unit should be used for making secondary goods in that regions and not be exported to another unit. Secondary goods or goods made from the raw materials can be exported. Industrial centres should be built up wherever raw materials are available. This will create industries based on locally available raw materials and ensure full employment for all local people. The third requirement for economic democracy is that the power to make all economic decisions must be placed in the hands of the local people. Economic liberation is the birthright of every individual. To achieve it, economic power must be vested in the local people. In economic democracy the local people will have the power to make all economic decisions, to produce commodities on the basis of collective necessity, and to distribute all agricultural and industrial commodities. Cooperatives will be the means of production and distribution. The fourth requirement for economic democracy is that outsiders must be strictly prevented from interfering in the local economy. Outsiders are those who do not have a social or community footing. Their objective is to extract and not contribute. The outflow of local capital must be stopped by strictly preventing outsiders or a floating population from participating in any type of economic activity in the local area. For the success of economic democracy, the economic welfare of all people must be enhanced step by step. Finally, it should be remembered that economic democracy is essential not only for the economic liberation of human beings, but for the universal well-being of all -- including plants and animals. Economic democracy will devise ways and means to effect the smooth progress of society by recognizing the unique value of both humans and non-humans alike. Economic democracy By P.R. Sarkar June 1986, Calcutta Prout in a nutshell 21 --- INDUSTRY We cannot neglect a single creature, nor can we ignore any particular part of this world. Therefore it is desirable to pursue the policy of decentralization in the management of industry as much as possible. The promotion of industry in one part of the world cannot eradicate either poverty or unemployment in any other part. So it is desirable to form self-sufficient units one by one, to produce the essential commodities of life, at least in the fields of agriculture and industry. Otherwise, people may have to face tremendous hardship and misery during war and other abnormal circumstances. With the development of transport facilities, we can increase the scope of these units. (Problem of the Day, 9) In the field of industry, we will have to accept the necessity of both small-scale and large-scale industries. For example, in a self-sufficient unit the requisite amount of yarn for the manufacture of cloth may be produced by many big textile mills. If the production of yarn came within the scope of large-scale industry, then with its cooperation a large number of satellite industries could flourish. We could form many weavers' cooperatives with every textile machine as the centre. There, weavers would be able to weave cloth in their own houses. They would no longer have to leave their homes at the distant call of a large-scale industry. Moreover, the weaving industry would no longer suffer even in war since textile machines would always be at hand. (Problem of the Day, 10) Under a capitalistic framework, mechanization means more misery and unemployment for the common people. Doubling the yield by using a machine will decrease the required number of labourers by half; consequently, capitalists will lay off labourers mercilessly. The unemployed labourers are ruined, bit by bit, by poverty and hunger. A few of them try to keep their souls and bodies together by indulging in theft, corruption, and other antisocial activities. This situation is certainly not desirable. No such reaction is possible in a collective economic system. There, mechanization will mean less labour and more comforts. With a double increase in the productivity of machines, the working hours may be reduced by half. (Problem of the Day, 11) The proper use of science under a collective economic system will only bring about human welfare. It may well be possible that due to mechanization no one will have to labour for more than five minutes a week! Being not always engrossed in anxiety about food and clothes, humanity will not misuse its mental and spiritual wealth. People will be able to devote more time to sports, literary discourses and spiritual pursuits. (Problem of the Day, 13) In the present age, there are so many elements hostile to morality. In urban civilization, more people live in a small area; this is the enemy of individual morality. It is essential for the moral development of an individual to live a life of solitude for some time. The city serves as an asylum for antisocial elements, but this generally doesn't happen in villages. In villages everyone knows everyone else, and the source of each others' livelihood is known to all. In the city, even after twenty years, a person doesn't know his or her neighbours, who may be scoundrels. Thus we have to keep aloof from the barbarity of city life. This will not be done merely by speaking slogans like, "Go back to the village!" Employment opportunities will have to be created in the villages for the intelligentsia. The availability of a power supply and the expansion of cottage industries in the villages are the paramount needs of the hour. By cottage industries, I do not mean old and outmoded, but rather rationalized and well mechanized industries. Hence, decentralization is an economic necessity. (Abhimata, The Opinion, 142)