Welcome,

It is vital for society to have proper economic and social principles.
PROUT has 5 fundamental principles in this regard.  Let us now look at
mainly the third.  Also, below is an inspiring letter from a priest in
Brazil.

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3rd fundamental principle of Prout
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There should be maximum utilization of the physical, metaphysical and
spiritual potentialities of the unit and collective bodies of human society.

Purport: The collective body, collective mind and collective spirit must be
developed. One must not forget that collective good lies in individuals and
individual good lies in collectivity. Without providing for the comfort of
the individual through proper food, light, air, accommodation and medical
treatment, collective good can never be accomplished. So it is with the sole
intention of doing collective good that one will have to devote oneself to
individual good.

The development of the collective mind is impossible without developing a
proper social consciousness, encouraging a sense of social service and
awakening knowledge in every individual. So, inspired with the thought of
doing good to the collective mind, one has to do good to the individual
mind. Absence of spirituality and spiritual morality in an individual will
break the backbone of the collectivity. So for the sake of collective good
one will have to awaken spirituality in individuals. One or two powerful,
learned or worldly-wise people, or one or two spiritualists do not indicate
advancement and progress of the whole society. The body, mind and self of
every individual have the potential for limitless expansion and development.
This potentiality has to be harnessed and brought to fruition.

PR Sarkar
Ananda Sutram 1962

Last time, we looked at principle 2 of PROUT.  How does it fit with
principle 3.

The 2nd principle of PROUT says that wealth throughout the universe should
be utilized at a maximum and distributed rationally to ensure maximum
progress. The 3rd principle says that the physical, metaphysical and
spiritual potentials of the individual and the collective must be utilized
at a maximum in order for both the individual and the collective to progress
at a maximum. Metaphysical potentials are those psychic faculties and
capabilities that govern the physical, such as engineering, political
science, etc. They are not of psycho-spiritual nature but pertain to the
physical. So the 2nd principle says that all collective wealth must be taken
well care of, while the 3rd principle says that all individual potentials as
well as the collective form of those potentials must be harnessed properly
for the good of all.

A simple example:

Different people are endowed with physical, intellectual and spiritual
potentialities. They should be encouraged to serve the society with their
respective capacities. In the same way the collective body should also be
encouraged to serve society. For example, the Gorkhas are a fighting race,
so they should be utilized for special work. Similarly, Germans have an
inclination for scientific discoveries and research, so they should be
encouraged in this direction.
- From Talks on Prout (1961)

One mus not forget that in PROUT, the minimum necessities of all will be
established in order for the effective implementation of principles 2 and 3.

Prout's economic system guarantees the minimum requirements of life -- that
is, food, clothing, accommodation, medical treatment and education -- to
each and every person. Once the minimum requirements have been guaranteed,
the surplus wealth is to be distributed among people with special qualities
and skills such as physicians, engineers and scientists, because such people
play an important role in the collective development of society. The quantum
of the minimum requirements should be progressively increased so that the
standard of living of all the common people is always increasing.

The concept of equal distribution is a utopian idea. It is merely a clever
slogan to deceive simple, unwary people. Prout rejects this concept and
advocates the maximum utilization and rational distribution of resources.
This will provide incentives to increase production.

To effectively implement the guarantee of minimum necessities, increasing
the purchasing capacity of each individual is the controlling factor in a
Proutistic economy. The purchasing capacity of common people in many
undeveloped, developing and developed countries has been neglected, hence
the economic systems of these countries are breaking down and creating a
worldwide crisis. The first thing that must be done to increase the
purchasing capacity of the common people is to maximize the production of
essential commodities, not the production of luxury goods. This will restore
parity between production and consumption and ensure that the minimum
requirements are supplied to all.

In terms of production of goods (and as a result of implementing principles
2 and 3), Prout divides the industrial structure into three parts -- key
industries managed by the immediate or local government, cooperatives and
private enterprises. This system will eliminate confusion regarding whether
or not a particular industry should be managed privately or by the
government, and will avoid duplication between the government and private
enterprise.

In many undeveloped and developing countries of the world there is excessive
population pressure on agriculture. It is improper if more than forty-five
percent of the population is employed in agriculture. In villages and small
towns a large number of agro-industries and agrico-industries should be
developed to create new opportunities for employment. In addition,
agriculture should be given the same status as industry so that agricultural
workers will understand the importance and value of their labor.

According to the wages policy of Prout, wages need not be accepted only in
the form of money. They may be accepted in the form of essential goods or
even services. It is advisable to gradually increase this component of wages
in adjustment with the monetary component of wages.

Prout supports maximum modernization in industry and agriculture by
introducing the most appropriate scientific technology, yet modernization
and rationalization should not lead to increased unemployment. In Prout's
collective economic system, full employment will be maintained by
progressively reducing working hours as the introduction of appropriate
scientific technology increases production. This is not possible in
capitalism.

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A NEW WORLD IS VISIBLE: THE PROPHETIC IMAGE OF PROUT
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Letter of appreciation from a Catholic priest and author

By Father Marcelo Barros

Marcelo Barros is a Catholic Benedictine monk and prior of the
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