SHRII P. R. SARKAR'S NEW CONCEPT OF PEOPLE'S ECONOMY

People's economy deals with the essential needs of the peo­ple in general - the production, distribution, marketing, ship­ping, storage, pricing, sales, freight charges, Proforma costing, and all related activities of such essential needs. Most impor­tantly, it is directly concerned with the guaranteed provision of minimum requirements such as food, clothing, housing, medi­cal treatment, education, transportation, energy and irrigation water. Continuous improvement and ready availability of these requirements is the key factor in people's economy.

Purchasing capacity: The minimum requirements can be assured through guar­anteed purchasing capacity which should be enshrined in the constitution as a fundamental or cardinal human right. This will give the citizens of the country legal power if their mini­mum requirements are not met, hence the necessity of purchas­ing capacity will be reinforced by constitutional law. As people's economy will deal with minimum requirements and people's subsistence problems, it must take precedence over other parts of the economy.

Co-operative Industries: People's economy should also be concerned with the development of both private and cooperative industries. Private industries would be limited in size and scope to prevent monopoly production and exploitation, and would be required function as co-operatives once they grow too large. Cooperative industries are the best means of independently organize people so that they take collective responsibility for their livelihood.

Economic Decentralization: People's economy also includes employment for all; eradication of mass poverty; the development of rural economy the phase-wise socialization of land into the hands of those who work physically, or intellectually for proper production; practical training programs to impart skills which enable people to find employment in their immediate urban or rural locality work placement; and the transportation, transshipment, loading and unloading of any materials, even if they are not economically viable in the short-term. It is also concerned with generation of cheap power and the supply of water, which are essential if people are to control their local economics. Finally, it includes economic decentralization, cooperative dynamo and block-level planning.

Take the example of Bengal. The following program based on the provision of the minimum requirements may be adopted to improve the economic standard of Bengal.

• Food: Although Bengal is fertile it is divided into two parts - areas short of rainfall, and areas with no shortages of rainfall but which experience water shortages in winter. In both parts, water conservation is required. The irrigation problem can be solved by any of several methods, including shift irriga­tion, lift irrigation, tank irrigation and small-scale river projects. The quality of water varies among different rivers. Some water is sweet, and discriminating use of this water can improve agri­cultural production.

Different crops, fruits and vegetables can be grown all over Bengal, which is 'capable of feeding its entire population of around seventy million people through its own resources if they are properly managed.

• Clothing: The type of clothing that people wear depends primarily on climatic conditions and the availability of raw materials. In Bengal, four major raw materials are available for clothing - cotton, mulberry silk, non-mulberry silk and synthetic silk and other materials. Bengal can become self sufficient in cotton, silk and synthetic materials, and can even produce a surplus for export to other regions. Mulberry silk is ideally suited to Bengal because it requires a slightly dry climate which is found in eastern Bengal. Non-mulberry silk can also be grown throughout Bengal. Fibers can be produced from copra, rice husks, bamboo, coconut shells, banana leaves and pineapple leaves, which are all widely available. Bengal can also grow wool, and even jute can be used for clothing.
• Housing: Construction materials are abundantly available throughout Bengal. Three essential requirements are sand, lime and cement. The clay soil of Bengal is suitable for manu­facturing bricks, fire-bricks and tiles, while enormous limestone deposits have been discovered. Bengal can be self-sufficient in the production of building materials, and can also export to other regions. Industries which manufacture construction ma­terials can be quite profitable.
• Medicine: Bengal is richly endowed with both herbal and mineral medicines. The major ailments of Bengal are fever and stomach diseases. It is the practice of nature to abundantly produce those herbs which cure the common diseases of the people in that locality. Some districts in Bengal are suitable for herb cultivation, while other districts are rich in mineral medicines.
• Education: One's mother tongue is the natural medium of expression, hence Bengali should be the medium of instruction in Bengali schools. English, which is presently the global language, should be the second language, so higher education should be imparted in English. Sanskrit should also be taught to enrich the cultural heritage of Bengal.

Education materials such as paper and ink are also avail­able in Bengal. Paper can be manufactured from different grasses and plants which can be readily grown in several districts. Ink can be manufactured from synthetic processes or from indigo.

• Energy and transportation: Until solar energy can be manufactured cheaply, other energy sources such as hydroelec­tricity, thermal power, tidal power and wind power can be uti­lized. All the raw materials necessary for transportation are also available, including rubber, steel, mica, mercury, silver, copper, quartz and manganese. Hence, Bengal can develop all kinds of transportation.

Neo-Humanistic Principles: These four parts of the economy should be integrated and adjusted according to Neo-Humanistic principles to ensure the maximum utilization and rational distribution of all resources, and to harmonize human progress with all creation.

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 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 this, 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 system 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.

To increase people's purchasing capacity, the easy avail­ability of the minimum requirements, stable prices, progres­sive, periodic increases in wages and salaries, and increasing collective wealth must be ensured.

In a Proutistic economy, there will be no limit to purchas­ing capacity - that is, purchasing capacity will be ever increas­ing. The minimum requirements must be guaranteed and should always be increased according to time, space and person, and this can best be done by continuously increasing the purchas­ing capacity of the people in relation to the economic develop­ment of the concerned socio-economic unit. The greater the purchasing power of the people, the higher their standard of living.

Planning should also result in the increasing purchasing capacity of every person. ‘PROUT' does not support the existing practice of considering the per capita income as the index of people's economic standard. Per capita income is a deceptive and defective measure of collective wealth popularized by capi­talistic economists to fool people and cover their exploitation. The genuine measure of people's economic advancement is in­creasing purchasing capacity.

According to PROUT, increases in per capita income are not a sufficiently reliable and scientific index to determine the standard and progress of a particular socio-economic unit. Rather, this approach is misleading and deceitful, because it refers to a simple mathematical calculation of total national income divided by total population. This does not give the cor­rect picture of the standard of living of the people of a particu­lar socio-economic unit as the wealth disparity in society is concealed. Per capita income shows the mean and not the vari­ation of increase distribution. If inflation is also considered, the reliability of per capita income is further reduced.

Purchasing capacity, on the other hand, is the real index of how people's economic needs can be met by their income. All PROUT's plans and programs in the socio-economic sphere should be aimed at increasing the purchasing capacity of the people. PROUT stresses increasing purchasing capacity and not per capita income.

Per capita income is not a proper indication of the increase in the standard of living of the people because while people may have very high incomes they may not be able to purchase the necessities of life. If the per capita income is low and people have great purchasing capacity they are much better off. So, purchasing capacity and not per capita income is the true meas­ure of economic prosperity. Everyone's requirements should be within their pecuniary periphery or purchasing capacity.

Such a simple approach of fixing per capita income suf­fers from the following defects :

• The income of every family or citizen in a particular socio-economic unit is not equal; a few are very rich, many are very poor. Such an unequal distribution of national wealth can not correctly - determine the per capita income of every indi­vidual. Rather, this is a deceitful intellectual method to camou­flage the misdeeds of the capitalists before the eyes of the peo­ple.
• Further, per capita income is a variable factor with the changes in the market prices, inflation, production and supply of essential commodities, communication system, socio-politi­cal climate, natural condition and other economic transactions. All these factors deeply influence the per capita income of a person in a particular socio-economic unit.

The ideal approach to determine the economic standard and progress of the society should be based on how much­ purchasing-capacity each-individual has in a particular socio-eco­nomic structure.

So, Prout advocates that it is not per capita income but purchasing capacity which should be accepted as the standard and reliable yardstick to determine the economic progress of a particular socio-economic unit.

In the subtle economic sense, the value of wealth is the real wealth. Wealth, if not properly defined, may mean only riches. But the value of wealth is to be measured in terms of its capacity to purchase commodities. That is, the purchasing capacity of wealth is its real value. This real value of wealth has not yet been properly understood in numerical terms by economists.

• 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. That is to say, the raw materials of one socio-economic unit should not be exported to another unit. Instead, industrial centers 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.
• The fourth requirement for economic democracy is Block Level Planning. Planning should function on various levels such as the block, district, state, national and global levels, but block level planning will be the basic level of planning. Block-level planning is essential for economic decentralization, so it should be adopted in all blocks. There should be provision in the con­stitution for block-level planning for socio-economic develop­ment.
  
  The amount of natural and human resources varies from block to block, hence separate economic plans will have to be made for each and every block for this purpose. The block level planning body will prepare a plan for the development of the block and accordingly implement the local developmental programs. Above the block level there will be a district-level planning board. Thus, from the block level upwards, there will be planning boards to prepare and implement the local plans and programs. It must be remembered that planning should be of ascending order, starting at the block level, and including all the levels of a socio-economic unit.
  
  Each block should be made economically sound so that the entire socio-economic unit will be self-sufficient. Only then will a country or federation become economically strong and developed in the real sense. This is a unique feature of PROUT's decentralized economic planning.



• The fifth requirement for economic democracy is that outsiders must be strictly prevented from interfering in the lo­cal economy. 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, PROUT must be implemented and the economic welfare of all people must be enhanced step by step. This, in turn, will lead to greater oppor­tunities for the spiritual emancipation of human beings.



• 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.

According to Prout, the co-operative system is the best system for the production and distribution of commodities. Co­operatives, run by moralists, will safeguard people against different forms of economic exploitation. Agents of intermediaries will have no scope to interfere in the co-operative system.

For their success, co-operative enterprises depend on mo­rality, strong administration and the whole hearted acceptance of the co-operative system by the people. The latest technology should be used in the co-operative system both in production and distribution. Appropriate modernization will lead to in­crease production.

The controversial problem of the ownership of the land can be solved by the phase-wise socialization of land through cultural co-operatives. Co-operative land ownership should implemented step by step in adjustment with the economic circumstances of the local area.

If the sprit of co-operation is followed, those commodities which are essential for supplying the minimum requirements such food, clothing, housing, education and medical treatment will have to be co-operatively produced. Food is the most important commodity, and because of the importance of the food, agricultu­re is the most important sector of the economy.

Besides agricultural or farmers co-operatives, Prout advo­cates the formation of the other types of co-operatives, includ­ing producers and consumers co-operatives. Producer's cooperatives include agro-industries, agrico-industries and non ag­ricultural industries. The total profit of such co-operatives should be distributed amongst the workers and members of the co­operatives according to their individual capital investment in the co-operative and the service they render to the production and management of the co-operative.

Similarly, consumer's co-operatives should be formed by like-minded persons who will share the profits of the co-opera­tive according to their individual labor and capital investment. Those who are engaged in the management of such co-opera­tives will also be entitled to draw salaries on the basis of the services they render to the co-operative. Consumer's cooperatives will distribute consumer goods to member of society at reasonable rates.

In a balanced economy, there should be proper adjustment among agriculture, industry and commerce. For example, a fixed percentage of people should be engaged in agriculture; another fixed percentage in industry and some percentage in commerce. Otherwise there will be no equipoise or equilibrium in the socio­-economic sphere of life.

Unfortunately, no such adjustment exists in any country of the world today. Even in industrially advanced countries like Great Britain there is no proper adjustment. While England is developed, Scotland is backward. Even among the countries of England, some are developed and some are backward. Lancas­ter, for instance, is highly developed but Yorkshire is undevel­oped. Sussex, Essex and Kent are not equally developed.

For a perfectly balanced economic environment, it is re­quired that some thirty to forty percent of the people should depend directly on agriculture, and about twenty percent on agro-industries, twenty percent on agrico-industries, ten per­cent on general trade and commerce, and ten percent on intel­lectual or white collar jobs.

The agricultural system should be structured as an indus­try. That is, the prices of agricultural products should be deter­mined by considering basic factors such as agricultural income, expenses and necessities. [For example]The farmers of Burdwan and Birbhum must not be forced to sell their rice at throw away prices; the growers of Hooghly district must not be compelled to sell their potatoes at very cheap rates; and the peasants of Nadia district must not be made to sell their jute at extremely low prices to pay off their debts. [Compiled from "PROUTIST ECONOMY" By Shrii P. R. Sarkar]