From: RTMCoX@AZbxxTEGm6.com   
      
   PROUT Gems - 16   
      
   Welcome to another edition of PROUT Gems.   
      
   Well it certainly is interesting and extraordinary economic times that are   
   occurring. Not to mention the extraordinary circumstances in the entire   
   social arena also, such as increasing frictions around the world with   
   religious dogmas against each other playing out behind other facades, narrow   
   mantras of 'border protection' as a scapegoat for instilling fear into   
   people's lives convincing them that they were apparently unsafe before   
   without the repetition of this mantra, the ongoing social falsity being   
   created as to what is terror and its doublespeak redefinition to potentially   
   include any social challenge to the status quo, and the demise of another   
   mantra being that of 'greed is good'. One will no doubt continue to see   
   assertion of many of these things. However, ultimately it comes down to how   
   expansive you want your mindset to be. A narrow vision based on fear (and   
   loathing) will not anyone any good. A broad vision based on liberation of   
   self and service to humanity - through higher ideations - will be necessary   
   to the advancement of society. This also includes in the economic arena of   
   life. What we see today in economics is the narrowness of the profit motive.   
   The consumer and environmental integrity is forgotten. But my, look at the   
   consequences of that neglect. So let us reliven our thoughts and visions and   
   our higher thinking and our actualisations for achieving the highest in   
   humanity. Economics largely needs rethinking and principles that allow for   
   full recognition of each life and value need to be the basis of that   
   thinking. This can be called the spiritual vision.   
      
   Dharmadeva   
      
   --   
      
   The economic principles of Prout   
      
   The basic principles of Prout's economy are part of the 16 principles that   
   encapsulate Sarkar's Progressive Utilization Theory (PROUT). The four   
   socio-economic principles are numbers eight to eleven, and are followed by   
   what Sarkar calls the five fundamental principles of Prout. All these   
   principles are concerned with economics.   
      
   The first of the four socio-economic principles, the eighth of the sixteen,   
   states:   
      
   "Diversity is the law of nature and sameness will never be."   
      
   That is, absolute equality is not possible in an ever-changing world. So   
   although social equality is the key to an expansive and humanistic ideology,   
   and although world federation with a common constitutional structure is a   
   political necessity, diversity must also be recognized and utilized for the   
   collective good.   
      
   Economically, diversity is a necessary consideration in the sound policy of   
   both developed and less developed countries. The precarious existence of   
   subsistence peasants must be stabilized, and the living standards raised   
   through diversification - diverse production and production for both   
   consumption and trade. Similarly, the precarious existence of totally   
   trade-dependent economies in both developed and less developed countries   
   must be established by diversification into self-sufficient production.   
      
   Orthodox economic theory proposes the maximization of specialization and   
   trade, so as to raise total output. However, regional sufficiency must   
   augment trade for:   
      
   a) strategic purposes, so that production of necessities is maintained in   
   the case of disruption to communications or transport, or in case of war;   
      
   b) fullest resource utilization, which is impossible in a totally   
   specialized economy, where only the most 'efficient' resources of a   
   particular area are exploited - mass employment is possible in a diversified   
   economy; and   
      
   c) economic democracy, where communities retain productive control of as   
   much as possible their basic necessities and so retain control of their   
   lives and help prevent exploitation.   
      
   Another economic implication of this recognition of diversity is the   
   question of incentives and income differentials. While no great gap between   
   upper and lower incomes can be tolerated in any society based on equality,   
   some gap must be provided for the maintenance of a certain level of material   
   incentives and thus higher labour productivity. This issue, and the   
   practical harnessing of diversity to serve collective interest, is taken up   
   in the third and fourth principles of this set of four.   
      
   The second principle here, the ninth of the sixteen, states:   
      
   "In any particular age the minimum necessities of all shall be guaranteed."   
      
   That is, the provision of food, clothing, housing, education, medical care   
   and other necessities to all, is a collective responsibility and must be the   
   cornerstone of economic policy and social effort. While regional   
   self-sufficiency is encouraged, a social guarantee must back such efforts.   
   Everyone comes into this world born of the expectation of living a life   
   useful to them and society and that is only achieved by ensuring each   
   person's minimum necessities. Lack of this guarantee today is solely and   
   unequivocally due to economic inefficiencies and economic arbitrage by   
   vested selfish interests alone and it is this that is leads to excess wealth   
   accumulation and the huge disparities and disgusting gross social inequality   
   in society.   
      
   Surplus goods and services cannot be provided for anyone while people in   
   general do not have their necessities. Of course, the definition of   
   necessities will vary at different places. For instance, heavy clothing is   
   needed in cold countries and transport requirements will vary from place to   
   place. But a minimum level must be determined and guaranteed to all.   
      
   The prime mechanism for this policy in any modern economy is the provision   
   of purchasing power through wages. To ensure that wages carry sufficient   
   purchasing power for necessities, as well as to ensure that income   
   differentials are contained, there must be collective prices through   
   co-operative structures and income control with ceilings on the wealthy.   
      
   The third principle of this set, the tenth of the sixteen, states:   
      
   "The surplus goods and services, after distributing the minimum   
   requirements, are to be given according to the social value of the   
   individual's production."   
      
   Note that it is social value rather than economic value. This principle   
   provides a rational basis for material incentives. It is, of course, better   
   for society if moral incentives and the desire for social service motivate   
   people in their productive work. However the practical reality is that   
   labour productivity is, to a large extent, proportional to material rewards.   
   The need is for a framework that controls such incentives and contains them   
   within such bounds as will best serve the collective interest. The   
   incentives should also be provided in the form of goods and services that   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)