Welcome to another edition of PROUT Gems. In this issue: Economic Overview of Prout Leadership Current Trends Ecology - Sophia in Nature - Robert Bly interviewed by Roar Bjonnes Types of Cooperatives Ecological Economics - websites Tobacco Terrorism - still hard at work in Australia - a satirical piece Prout is an acronym for Progressive Utilization Theory. It is a new socio-economic theory that is completely different from both capitalism and communism. From 1955 to 1990, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar gave approximately 180 discourses on Prout, which are published in the twenty-one part series, Prout in a Nutshell. Economic Overview of Prout -------------------------- In a 1966 discourse, "The Future of Civilization", P. R. Sarkar set out the six basic factors that need to be adopted by a society or civilization for it to survive and progress. One of these essential factors is a comprehensive socio-economic theory. In the late 1970's, P. R. Sarkar gave four basic requirements of a comprehensive socio-economic theory. These points were published in the booklet "Prout Gita", written by Ac. Ragunath Prasad. The four basic requirements of a comprehensive socio-economic theory are: an integrated philosophy, a theory of history, an economic theory, and a political theory. An integrated philosophy: An integrated philosophy includes the usual branches of philosophy, such as epistemology, ontology, metaphysics, etc., and also includes psychology and spiritual philosophy. A theory of history: A theory of history includes class theory, the nature of collective psychology, the movement of the social cycle, the rise and fall of civilizations, evolution and revolution, the meaning of progress, etc. Economic theory: Economic theory includes the four basic areas of economic activity: people's economy, general economy, commercial economy, and psycho-economy. Political theory: Political theory includes topics such as the nature and use of power, types of leadership, forms of government, etc. Taken together, these four areas outline the scope of a comprehensive socio-economic theory. Of significant importance (although not more important than the others) is economic theory. Economic democracy and an economic system and analysis consists of: 1. People's Economy: ensuring the basic necessities. This is so fundamental to economics that it must be a key duty of the government, and written into law as such. The performance of a government should be first rated according to criteria concerning the success and implementation of aspects of people's economy such as purchasing capacity -- does the minimum wage cover all the basic necessities of food, clothing, shelter, medical care and education for all the family? Is everyone able to meet their basic necessities? 2. Psycho-Economy: dealing with the psychic impact of economic trends. There are two main concerns: preventing degrading trends such as the subliminal imposition of sentiments and complexes, especially through advertising; and ensuring that economic activity translates progressively into greater opportunities for everyone to develop the latent potential of mind. 3. Commercial Economy: concerned with efficiency throughout the economy. Here, the contrast of Prout and capitalism is clear: under capitalism it is efficient to ship raw materials from an undeveloped area to a developed area, process them there, and return them to the undeveloped area for sale. This takes no account of environmental costs or greater potential for all-round welfare by developing the potential of all local areas. The logic of efficiency in capitalism is based primarily on the profit-taking opportunities for the controllers of trade. Prout applies the rationale of all-round welfare and ensures it in the local area by processing local resources locally. 4. General Economy: this is macro economics and includes the study of economics through all available lenses; currently this would include capitalism and socialism in their various forms, and Prout. Prout structures the economy in a three-tier system: state concerns -- these are the vital resources and services such as mining and national transport and communications networks, which are run on a "no profit no loss" basis; cooperatives -- the coop is the main mode of enterprise structure in a Prout economy and would cover most manufacturing and services currently under private enterprise; and the private sector -- in a Prout economy this is limited to operations deemed too complex or small for coop organization. As with other parts of the economy, limits to wealth accumulation and wage parity agreements apply. Any serious study of economics and implementation of economic policies and programmes must take these four areas into account. Conventional economic and policies rely on the superstitious and religious folly of an 'invisible hand' - and convenient metaphor for inaction and not achieving all-round welfare for all people. Leadership ---------- If we understand each of the four basic requirements of a comprehensive socio-economic theory and the topics they cover, we will gain valuable insight into human society. As an illustration, let us briefly discuss leadership. The types of leadership that can be adopted by a society may be divided into three basic categories: rule by brute force, rule by rationality, and spiritual leadership. Rule by brute force includes various forms of leadership, ranging from brutal martial leaders, such as Genghis Khan, to proletariat dictatorship, a utopian leadership model that never actually existed in practice. Prout does not support rule by brute force. Rule by rationality includes democracy, both general democracy, which is widely practised today, and restricted democracy, which was practised by the Licchavis and the Greeks. It is only possible to give qualified support to democracy because its value depends entirely on 51% or more of the population having a proper education, a moral and ethical sense, and a well developed socio-economic-political consciousness. These must not be a superficial understanding. Accordingly, general democracy as it is practised today is unlikely to elevate and increase the well-being of most people as it is dependent on party politics and party dictatorships emerging from elections. It also has no sense of economic democracy. Until a better system is developed, restricted democracy can be supported. Today's democratic standards are quite low in any case. Until the consciousness of people is raised beyond the mundane, it is likely that democracy will continue to support essentially selfish and degraded interests over all-round welfare. In the future, it is quite possible that democracy will be replaced by another form of government based on merit: meritocracy. This means that people will demand that their leaders be both capable and ethical. A genuine meritocracy should be supported. Eventually, as human consciousness evolves a time will come when elevated people will guide society. In due course, spirituality will be widely accepted in society and spiritual leadership is the best form of leadership. This does not mean religious leadership by religious dogmatists. That era has long since gone since the rise of the Renaissance period. Although it still emerges today when political leaders continually evoke the name of God to assist in their efforts for war and national victory. These blind dogmatic notions and superstitious toadyisms do great harm to elevating the consciousness of people - the degenerate the level of thinking to irrational assertions that some kind of paper gods will solve international conflicts. Spirituality requires morality and a spiritualist fights against immorality. Earning money in a sinful way or accumulating great wealth is against the fundamental principles of spirituality. It will be quite impossible for people who are not following the fundamental principles of morality to be spiritualists. Spiritualists are those who are engaged in the continued endeavour to expand the self. By reciting holy scriptures or by acquiring a few pompous titles, one cannot succeed in spiritual pursuit. Spirituality bears no relationship to religion. Although religion may or may not have some aspects that incline to spirituality. Also, those who believe that they must first attain success in individual life before participating in collective struggle will not succeed. They will never bring expansion in their individual lives if they ignore collective welfare. Individuals will have to concentrate on both intellectual and social development. Otherwise, no matter how lofty they might sound in theory, it will remain as a big hoax in the practical field. One will have to make an earnest endeavour to develop oneself thoroughly; mere rhetoric will not do. People who profess to be spiritual moralists will pick up the neglected humanity and arrange for its revival. To them no sinner is contemptible, no one is a rogue. All round elevation of mind and self is the hallmark of spirituality, as well as a proper objective understanding and application in the physical world. It has nothing to do with attaining a spot in some mythical heaven or kingdom of God or being a chosen people or any other social and religious dogmas that confine people to narrow thinking about their place and existence in the human society, world or universe. That sort of thinking is the cause of fissiparous tendencies and irrational inclinations for bloodshed. The type of leadership adopted by a society provides an insight into the stage of human evolution of its members and the extent of its advancement. It is vital that members of the human society understand the motives of leaders and see through the veneer of dogmas that are spouted. This is critically important today as more and more political leaders turn to the concept of God to justify their cause. The distinction between religion and spirituality becomes even more critical when that happens. Current Trends -------------- We live in an age of transition. We are moving from a materialistic age to a post-materialistic age; out of a patriarchal era and out of a capitalist age; from a religious age to a post-religious age in which the distinction between religion and spirituality gradually becomes evident; from an age dominated by the nation-state to an age of worldwide socio-economic integration. As we look around, the old is gradually disappearing and the new is taking an-ever-more-concrete shape. However, the old dogmas will try to cling on hard to their fanatical stance - that will be evidenced by fanatical economists who try to justify capitalism through superstitious notions of the invisible handle, superstitious religious notions espoused by political leaders of God blessing particular countries, and superstitious and irrational notions of what is work and value in society. This age of transition that we live has one dominant characteristic: polarization. There is polarization between the progressive and regressive forces, between the pro-materialistic and anti-materialistic forces, between the pro-spiritual and anti-spiritual forces. Polarization will continue for the foreseeable future in every sphere of life, and will continue at an accelerating rate. A second significant characteristic of the age of transition is that the process of transition itself is marked by distinct phases. For example, over the last few decades, the socio-economic systems that have dominated the world have undergone rapid change. Communism has totally collapsed; it remains today in just a few places (and as a shell for state capitalism), and even there it remains in name only. Capitalism, on the one hand, is passing through a phase of accelerated globalization, and on the other, is struggling to survive, exemplified by the recent Asian economic crisis and the current problems in South America. Organized religion, too, is in a state of crisis in several places - immorality is rampant. As we look around, we can see that the world is changing before our very eyes. Nature, and the Earth itself, is not immune from this process. A sense of ecological economics is vital and essential to economic principles. That includes the psycho-ecological approach as well in which the human self must be made ecologically whole and elevated through higher human endeavours including those of spiritual elevation. Many good people are working to create a bright future for all the people living on our planet. All should work together, and join the effort to create a better world. Ecology - Sophia in Nature - Robert Bly interviewed by Roar Bjonnes ------- Robert Bly is a well know American poet. These are extracts from an interview with poet Robert Bly on ecology, spirituality and the capitalist market-place. Bly remains one of the most hotly debated American artists of the past half century. The psychologist Robert Moore believes that "When the cultural and intellectual history of our time is written, Robert Bly will be recognized as the catalyst for a sweeping cultural revolution." Robert Bly is not only a poet, but also a translator and essayist. Some refer to him as the father of what he has called "the expressive men's movement". Some of his latest books are: Meditations on the Insatiable Soul, What Have I Ever Lost by Dying?, Morning Poems, and Eating the Honey of Words. See www.robertbly.com Roar Bjonnes is editor of Prout Journal. The nature of the discourse is in poetic terms. Bly: According to the Gnostic religion, Sophia looked down upon this planet of ours and decided to descend into it. She entered inside the stones, the trees, the birds, and the water. She went into fire and air. This is the story of Sophia. Bjonnes: This reminds me of the Tantric concept of Shakti. Bly: Yes, exactly. Sophia--like Shakti--is an active, powerful force, all-encompassing and all-pervading energy in nature. Bly: The ecology movement, then, is a response to the inability of the capitalist world to understand that Sophia is also in the rainforest. Through the loss of the story of Sophia, the Christian Church has given permission to the capitalists to destroy nature. This was done partly by translating the word "Sophia" as "wisdom". This destroys the story and takes away the feminine quality. There have been many such errors in translating the Old Testament, and we are suffering from those mistakes today. Bjonnes: So how does modern technology fit into all of this? Bly: Well, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to think that the computer will bring some kind of renaissance. Technology used to move much slower before. A Japanese poet recently said: "We have moved from walking to the rickshaw to the horse-carriage to the airplane without taking time to stop or pause". And that is terrifying. The speed with which technology has developed is demonic. I recently read a book in which the author said something like this: "We used to build great houses, beautiful bridges and roads, but today we build only markets". So, the only thing that can become bigger now is the capitalist market-place. We have simply given upon our pride in building great and beautiful things. Types of Cooperatives --------------------- - Based on notes by Ac. Samanvayananda Ecological economics is related to economic democracy and the only way to ensure that is through a co-operative economic structure. Cooperatives are a way for people to work together so that they can ensure the welfare of each individual in the enterprise and society at large. The International Cooperative Alliance defines a cooperative as follows: "A cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise." People often think that a cooperative is only meant to look after its members. However, if we accept this view, there will be no difference between a company, registered under the companies or corporations Acts, and a cooperative. A company is intended to benefit its shareholders, its "members", and is not intended to benefit each individual in the enterprise or humanity in general. Companies run on the basis of capitalist principles, meaning that they are run to make profit. This is generally their primary, and often only, reason for existence. Greatest importance is given to capital, and to those who have invested their capital in the company; very little importance is given to the needs and aspiration of the employees. Thus, in the company structure, there is no intention to further the welfare of each individual human being working in the enterprise or human society in general. If there is any intention of welfare, at most it runs a distant second behind the desire to make a profit. The consequence of companies placing profit ahead of people is that they generally exploit people as they strive to make a profit. Cooperatives, on the other hand, are intended to look after the interests of their members. Just like any business, they try to make a profit - but it is rationally based, but at the same time they are designed to further the welfare of human society, especially the people in the local community. Those who work in a cooperative own the enterprise and make all the decisions regarding its functioning. As long as cooperatives are properly managed and run by ethical people, there will be no scope for them to exploit people for profit. There are at least three main types of cooperatives: producers' cooperatives, distributors' or consumers' cooperatives, and service cooperatives. Producers' Cooperatives Countries such as India, Mexico, Brazil, America, Canada, and Australia have large amounts of agricultural land. Farmers' cooperatives and farmers '-and-producers' cooperatives will have to play an important role in the agricultural production of these countries. An important type of producers' cooperative is dairy cooperatives; another is agro-industrial cooperatives, or cooperatives which make commodities from agricultural produce. Agro-industrial producers' cooperatives vary in size and can produce all types of goods, including commodities such as sugar, jute, banana chips, potato chips, corn flakes, rice, flour, etc. Agro-industrial cooperatives can produce edible oil (such as soya, coconut, peanut, mustard, olive, cottonseed, sunflower, etc.), bakery products (such as bread, cakes, biscuits, etc.), fruit juice, jams, jellies, etc. They can process vegetables and preserve many types of vegetables and fruits. All types of food products can be manufactured by such cooperatives. Producers' cooperative also include cooperatives which produce goods for general industrial purposes. Such coops might produce commodities such as iron and steel goods, plastic goods, rubber goods, aluminium goods, cement, paper products, chemicals, etc. There are many products which agro-industrial and industrial cooperatives can produce in order to provide employment for local people and develop their economy. These lists above only emphasis that the scope of co-operatives is vast. Distributors' Cooperatives Distributors' cooperatives are generally referred to as consumers' cooperatives. Consumers' coops can be either wholesale or retail cooperatives. In many cases, consumers' cooperatives function as retail cooperatives. They are cooperatives through which members of the public, ie, consumers, buy products produced by producers' cooperatives. Wholesale consumers' cooperatives usually function in one of two ways. First, they bulk purchase various types of products made by producers' cooperatives and bulk sell them to the public, thus enabling them to offer wholesale rates. For example, if several retail cooperatives join together to bulk purchase commodities, they will be able to pass on the savings to their consumers. Second, they take on some of the functions of a producers' cooperative, producing various types of commodities themselves, and then sell them directly to consumers, often at discounted rates. Service Cooperatives Examples of service cooperatives include, but are not limited to, the following: cooperative hospitals, cooperative maternity centres and nursing homes, cooperative educational institutions, cooperative banks, credit cooperatives, transport cooperatives, housing or builders' cooperatives, medical and medicinal cooperatives, printers' and publishers' cooperatives, health food cooperatives, children's homes and student's homes cooperatives, and aged people's homes cooperatives. In the broadest sense, service cooperatives include all the various cooperatives that provide essential, semi-essential and non-essential services. Ecological Economics - websites -------------------- The International Society for Ecological Economics http://www.ecoeco.org/ Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics http://www.anzsee.org/ Global Futures And The Future 500 http://www.globalff.org The Natural Step http://www.naturalstep.org Tobacco Terrorism - still hard at work in Australia - a satirical piece ----------------- Tobacco smoking is an act of terrorism, governments agree! But can do nothing due to the economic effects. The Australian and United States governments have agreed that tobacco companies around the world who have killed more than 180 million people are carrying out acts of terrorism. Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, says this has always been a specific terrorist threat that could have been stopped by the Australian Federal and State Governments prior to the deaths. It is known that many Australians have been killed, but Mr Howard has not issued his sympathy to the families of the dead and injured. Instead he has agreed to waive tobacco taxes owing by tobacco companies in order to stimulate the economy. The indiscriminate, brutal and despicable way in which lives have been taken away by an act of barbarity will deeply shock all Australians, he said. Mr Howard says the Australian Government has received information for many years leading up to the tobacco attacks. But denies his government was able to specifically warn of these incidents on actual human beings, he said. There have been some general expressions repeated and we have expressed our concern in relation to them, he went on to say. There are now calls for those responsible to be brought to justice, but there are no criminal laws in place so it is unlikely Australian Federal Police will get involved in investigations. Instead, he said it is better that the common person spend more money on law suits in order to resolve the situation. He says it is more than likely tobacco companies will obtain special exemptions for their terrorist attacks. Not to do so would be against western interests, even though he realises all Australians are specific targets. An expert on the tobacco company terrorist network, Rotthen Gumdiseasa has for a long time advised the government not to interfere with its interests. Mr Howard says he believes those responsible for the tobacco terrorism will prove to have links with the corporate America network. God Bless America! has to be the catch cry he re-emphasised. He acknowledges how good tobacco smoking is for the Australian economy. He said it creates many externalities and extra costs for the Australian medical system, thereby putting pressure on demand for hospital beds, meaning shortages increases prices resulting in benefits of more profits for everyone involved in curing the attacks. The flow on effects go right down to the need for more bed sheets advisors have suggested. The Australian Government in the past has not taken the tobacco terrorist threat seriously, but the Australian Government will not respond more effectively against the threat of tobacco terrorism, as these killers inject to much money into the economy. Public smoking injecting rooms, however, are also out of the question, and in a positive move - but only due to public pressure - there will be laws that hotels and workplaces across Australia are to be smoke free. However, Mr Howard asserted that in the name of democracy and freedom smoking injection rooms will be allowed at home, and people can openly inject themselves in public parks and gardens.