Progressive utilization theory

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Progressive utilization theory or PROUT is a socio-economic theory first mentioned in 1959 and fully outlined in 1962 by Indian philosopher and spiritual leader Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921–1990). PROUT is a social system that claims to overcome the limitations of both capitalism and communism. Among other things, progressive utilization would optimize the use of natural, industrial and human resources, based on cooperative coordination on a wide basis, ranging from local communities to larger regions and nations, and between the people of diverse geographical areas.

PROUT seeks the welfare and happiness of all. The theory is not concerned solely with economics but encompasses the whole of individual and collective existence - physical, educational, social, political, mental, cultural and spiritual - not just for human beings but for all beings.

Five fundamental principles

The founder of PROUT, P.R. Sarkar, summarized PROUT in sixteen numbered samskrta aphorisms (see Chapter 5 of Ananda Sutram). P.R. Sarkar described the last five of those aphorisms as the "Five Fundamental Principles of PROUT". The five aphorisms translate into English as follows:

There should be no accumulation of wealth without the permission of society.
There should be maximum utilization and rational distribution of the crude, subtle, and causal resources.
There should be maximum utilization of the physical, mental, and spiritual potentialities of the individual and collective beings.
There should be a well-balanced adjustment among the crude, subtle, and causal utilizations.
Utilizations vary in accordance with time, space, and form; the utilizations should be progressive.

The original English wording of these principles, given by P.R. Sarkar in 1959 in his book Idea and Ideology, is:

No individual should be allowed to accumulate any physical wealth without the clear permission or approval of the collective body.
There should be maximum utilization and rational distribution of all mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities of the universe.
There should be maximum utilization of physical, metaphysical and spiritual potentialities of unit and collective bodies of human society.
There should be a proper adjustment amongst these physical, metaphysical, mundane, supramundane and spiritual utilizations.
The method of utilization should vary in accordance with changes in time, space and person, and the utilization should be of progressive nature.

Cooperatives

Prout’s three-tiered economic structure consists of government-owned key industries (oil industries, wind farms, etc.), worker-owned cooperatives, and privately owned enterprises. Of these three, the cooperative structure—industrial, consumer, agricultural and credit—forms the core feature of the Prout economy.

Sarkar considers cooperatives the best economic structure for human society, arguing that if individuality dominates human life, it will "adversely affect the environment, the welfare of different groups and even the continued existence of humanity".

The Prout cooperative system is based on the principle of coordinated cooperation, where free human beings with equal rights and mutual respect work together for the welfare of all. In a system of subordinated cooperation, on the other hand, people work individually or collectively but are under other peoples’ supervision. According to Sarkar, true coordinated cooperation does not exist in the present capitalist or communist systems.

According to Sarkar, cooperatives will succeed if they have ethical leadership, strong management, and the people’s whole-hearted acceptance of the cooperative system. Moreover, members must have similar interests, share a common economic structure, and demand similar necessities. Lastly, cooperatives need ready access to suppliers and markets for their goods and services.

Minimum necessities promised

Prout acknowledges that people have certain needs that must be met in order for them to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually. A Proutist society would seek to meet these needs by ensuring that everyone is working in a way that will meet their basic needs, rather than through hand outs or a trickle-down methodology. If the government of a Proutist region guaranteed 100% employment, and accompanied this with a minimum wage that realistically provided enough funds for the purchase of a suggested minimum amount of each basic necessity, then everyone would be able to purchase their basic necessities. Prout does allow for welfare checks to be distributed to those who are truly unable to work.

Limits to accumulation

Prout believes in providing incentive to provide sufficient motivation to accomplish more. However, Prout also believes there should be a limit to the amount that may be accumulated over time, or earned within a fiscal year.

Block level planning

In a PROUTist system, regions known as blocks would be defined in order to make every region economically self reliant. These blocks would be identified based on common socio-economic situations, raw material availability, geographic conveniences, meteorological tendencies, cultural traits, languages, and other common uniting factors. Districts within these blocks would further group together local practices and availabilities.

The businesses of a Proutist economy would be government run energy facilities, many worker-owned businesses, and occasional micro credits and small businesses.

References

Craig, Edward, ed. (1998). Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Sociology of knowledge to Zaroastrianism. Routledge (Taylor & Francis). ISBN 0-415-16916-X.
Megan Nolan Ph. D. (27 November 2007). "PROUT and regulated Market Economy". OpEdNews. Retrieved 26 November 2011.
Sarkar, Prabhat Ranjan. 1992, Proutist Economics, Calcutta, Ananda Marga Publications, p 128.
Sarkar, PR. 1988, Prout in a Nutshell XIV, Calcutta, Ananda Marga Publications. p 38.
Sarkar, Prabhat Ranjan. 1992, Proutist Economics, Calcutta, Ananda Marga Publications. p 129-130.
Carla Dickstein, The Prout Worker Cooperatives,The Prout Worker Cooperatives

Bibliography

Batra, Ravi, Progressive Utilization Theory: Prout - An Economic Solution to Poverty in The Third World, Manila: Ananda Marga Publications, 1989.
Dickstein, Carla. "Prout Worker Cooperatives," Prout Globe, http://www.proutglobe.org/2011/05/the-prout-worker-cooperatives/ 1999.
Dyer, Bruce. "Why Cooperatives: The New Zealand Context," PROUT Globe, http://www.proutglobe.org/2011/05/why-cooperatives-the-new-zealand-context/ 2000.
Feldman, Jonathan, Michael, et al. ed., "From Community Economic Development and Ethnic Entrepreneurship to Economic Democracy: The Cooperative Alternative," Umea, Sweden, Partnership for Multiethnic Inclusion: 2002.
Friedman, Mark L. "Toward an Optimal Level of Income Inequality," PROUT Globe, http://www.proutglobe.org/2011/05/toward-an-optimum-level-of-income-inequality-i/ 2001.
Inayatullah, Sohail, "Situating Sarkar: Tantra, Macrohistory, and Alternative Futures," Maleny, Australia: Gurukula Press, 1999.
Inayatullah, Sohail and Fitzgerald, Jennifer, Transcending Boundaries: Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar's Theories of Individual and Social Transformation, Queensland: Gurukula Press, 1999.
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Maheshvarananda, Dada, “Go with the Flow” (1985)
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