Transcript Key industry Cooperatives Private

Proutist Universal
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• Prout is the abbreviation for the Progressive
Utilization Theory
- a new socio-economic model for a sustainable
future.
• It espouses and is based on:
- economic self-sufficiency;
- cooperatives;
- environmental balance; and
• - universal spiritual values.
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Growing Recognition
“Prout’s cooperative model… sharing the resources
of the planet for the welfare of everyone, deserves
our serious consideration.” – Dr. Noam Chomsky,
MIT
“An important contribution to re-thinking the
disastrous course of the current economic
globalization.” – Hazel Henderson, economist
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Spiritual Base
Consciousness
Matter
• All life is on the same journey
• One origin - consciousness
• One destination – consciousness
• One family
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Neo-Ethics
Lays a foundation for balanced progress in material and
spiritual sphere.
1. The Macrocosmic Entity (Pure Consciousness)
should be accepted as the ultimate goal in life.
2. There should be a happy balance between material
consumption and psycho-spiritual consumption.
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Rational Distribution
• Based on model of extended
family
• Guaranteed minimum
requirements of life
• Use remaining surplus as
incentives for the meritorious to
encourage greater social
service
• Fix reasonable ceilings on
individual accumulation
• Adjust minimum and maximum
income upwards as economy
improves
• But constantly try to reduce the
gap between incomes
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Our Present Distribution
System?
• Apple Computers paid CEO Steve Jobs $872 million,
30,000 times what the average Apple employee is
paid each year!
• The wealth of the world’s 200 richest people more
than doubled during the last few years.
• Question: Are you two times richer today than you
were four years ago?
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Fairness = Productivity
Ratio of Maximum to Minimum Income:
• Mondragon, Spain: Three to One
• Economist - Ravi Batra: Ten to One
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Three Tier Industrial
System
Private
Cooperatives
Key industry
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Small Scale Private Business
• High motivation
• Efficient and adaptable
management
• No threat to society
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Medium Scale Cooperative
Enterprises
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•
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Worker owned and managed
Democratic environment for healthy personal growth
Security of employment
Benevolent use of technology reduces working hours
Promote social and economic equality through
decentralization of economic power
• Today more than 100 million people are employed by
cooperatives
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Large Industries Run by Local
Government
• Only local government can put into effect decentralized
industries – block level planning
• With key industries to be operated by local government
• Brings work to the people (instead of people to work)
• Provide essential infrastructure on no profit-no loss basis
• Can adapt quickly to local needs and conditions
• Keeps economy and vital resources in hands of local
people
• Environmentally responsible
• Prevents concentration of economic power (state or
private)
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Integration of Three Tier
Industries
Artists and
fashion designers
Textile
cooperatives
Public utilities
produce nylon
and cotton thread
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Economic Democracy
Requirements:
• Minimum requirements of life must be guaranteed
• Increasing purchasing capacity must be guaranteed
• Local raw materials will be used to create local
industries to ensure full employment
• Power to make all economic decisions in hands of
local people
• Commodities produced and distributed on basis of
collective necessity
• Outsiders must be strictly prohibited from interfering
in the local economy
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Self-Sufficient
Socio-Economic Zones
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McWorld Negative Globalization
• Domination by a few
• Temporary prosperity occurs wherever conditions suit
capital investment
• When conditions change capital moves elsewhere
• Successful economies rise and fall with increasing
speed - some never rise at all
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Federation of
Self-Sufficient Zones Positive Globalization
• First bring an end to negative globalization by
creating self-sufficient economic zones
– form zones on basis of economic, geographic and
cultural similarities
– e.g. Sarkar proposed 42 separate zones for India
• Reunite the zones into federations after achieving
economic parity
• Ultimately one world federation can be formed
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Principles of Self-Sufficient
Socio-Economic Zones
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Prout promotes self-sufficiency in the essentials of life
Trade in raw materials is a sign of a weak economy
Minimise imports of essentials – food, medicines
Avoid dependence on tourism – fickle
Avoid export of raw materials - value add before export
Export surplus and specialty goods
Barter trade wherever possible
Establish trade blocs between equally developed countries
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An Economy is a Living
System
Semi-permeable trade border
imports
balance
exports
•
Self-sufficiency in the essentials of life
•
Regulated trade
•
Maintain internal economic balance despite fluctuating global economy
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No country has ever developed
using free markets and free trade
•
Joseph Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel Prize, Economics,
author of "Globlisation and its discontents".
•
"I have always been struck by the divergence
between the policies that America pushes on
developing countries and those practised in the
US itself."
•
"Those in Mexico, Brazil, India and other
emerging markets should be told a different
message: do not strive for a mythical free-market
economy which has never existed. Do not follow
the encomiums of US special interests ...."
•
"The Guardian" London, 29/10/2003
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Benefits of Self-Sufficient
Zones
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Economic security
Freedom from war
Maximum utilization of human and natural resources
Minimum impact on environment as a result of
decentralization and diversification
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World Government
• Needed to help form and protect self-sufficient
economic zones
• Initially only a law-making body
• Limited executive power for maintaining peace
– Controls world militia
• Structure
– 2 Houses
• Lower house according to population
• Upper house according to country
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Ideal Leadership ?
• The world needs leaders with moral force, spiritual vision and
courage to fight injustice and exploitation.
• Prout calls such leaders “sadvipras”, a Sanskrit term which
literally means “those with subtle mind”.
• Those who have developed the positive qualities of all four
psychological classes (worker, warrior, intellectual, merchant).
• Anyone can become an ideal leader by setting a personal
example of honesty, self-discipline, sacrificing spirit and
dedication to the welfare of humanity.
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Sadvipras and Social Cycle
• One psychological class
always dominates
• Each class succeeded by
next class
• Each phase begins with
relief and innovation,
ends with stagnancy and
exploitation
• Sadvipras act to shorten
phase of exploitation,
lengthen phase of
benevolence
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workers
warriors
capitalists
intellectuals
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Political Centralisation
• Prout separates political power from economic
power.
• Political centralisation, economic decentralisation.
• Political power is vested with ethical leaders ....
• But .... economic power is vested with local people.
• Government sets the rules and enforces them ....
• But .... local people plan their strategy and play the
game!
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Myth of Democracy
• Myth: “Government of the people, by the
people, for the people”
• Reality: Government of the people, by the
millionaires, for the millionaires
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The Real Issue
• Democracy is too weak to control the capitalist class
• Democracy is unable to preserve fair play in
economic and social life
• All states are actually governed by groups
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The Real Issue
Is the group benevolent or oppressive?
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For Now –
Democratic Reforms
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No political parties, all candidates are independent
Right to vote based on education and awareness
Candidates legally bound by election promises
Candidates chosen on basis of education, moral
standard and service spirit
• Independence of powers between legislature,
executive, judiciary and audit/treasury
• Directly elected strong executive head
• Constitution should be amended to provide
guaranteed purchasing power to all citizens
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For the Future –
Government by Sadvipras
• To establish and sustain economic democracy political
power must be concentrated in benevolent hands
• Needs to be powerful, knowledgeable, decisive and
fair. Like a referee in a game of football
• Not a one-man dictatorship – government by moralists
• Independence of powers – independent executive,
legislature, judiciary and audit/treasury
• Greater protection of human rights (including social,
cultural, economic) than political democracy
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The Fullest Expression of
Finer Human Qualities
• Humanity’s existence is based on morality
• Prout returns the moral element to our economic
and political institutions
• Healing the conflict between inner and outer
• Giving scope for “the fullest expression of our finer
human qualities”
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End
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