2004 Proutist Universal 1
Proutist Economic Development
Economy, Community & Ecosystem
Dr. Michael Towsey
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 2
The integration of economics with community and
ecosystem
economyeconomy
ecosystemecosystem communitycommunity
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 3
ecosystem
community
economy
The 'hierarchy' of economy, community and
ecosystem
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 4
Ecological balance
• Ecological order for the earth is something to be maintained both within and without.
• Balance must be maintained between the internal and external spheres.
• The internal sphere has to do with the mind, as a healthy (or unhealthy) mind affects the community in which it is placed.
• The external sphere is the animate and inanimate environment in which a person lives and in which they express their mind.
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 5
Ecological equipoise
• Movement towards ecological equipoise is one of synthesis.
• Peace in the inner world & harmony in the external world.
• In all aspects of human life this subtle balance must be maintained for ecological balance.
• For ecology of mind see:
http://www.oikos.org/psicen.htm
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 6
A hierarchy of communities
• Global community – the Planet
• Continental, subcontinental community – South America
• Nation or State - Venezuela
• District - Miranda
• Local community - Guarenas
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 7
What is a community?
• Community – (Latin) to give among each other.
• Sergio Luio: A group of people who do favours for one another.
• Bernard Lietaer: A group of people who exchange gifts.
• P.R.Sarkar: Samaj (Sanskrit) or socio-economic unit - A group of people moving together.
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 8
Community in Modern Capitalism – Mental Imbalance
• British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher: “There is no such thing as society – there are only individual men and women.“
• Neoliberal Economist, Milton Friedman: The idea that business has a social responsibility is “fundamentally subversive“.
• Honorable Mr McKinnen, Australian Minister for Defence: “Anyone who does anything for anything other than profit is either a madman or a bankrupt.“
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 9
What creates a community?
• Environmental factors– climate, soil, topography, river catchment
– agriculture
• Social, cultural factors– common sentimental legacy (history), language, ethnic identity
• Economic factors– sufficient resources, administrative feasibility (small states not
efficient)
– existing level of development, capital accumulation
– common economic struggle
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 10
Prout’s samaj strategy
• Goal: To build economically healthy communities.
• Observation 1: ecology, community and economy must be in harmony.
• Observation 2: Poverty is caused by the bleeding of wealth from a community.
• Strategy: identify samajas or socio-economic units - natural communities that have the potential to become self-sufficient in their needs.
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 11
The samaj concept- socio-economic unit
• Samaj:- A natural community that has the potential to be economically self-sufficient. Sarkar also calls the samaj a socio-economic unit.
• Many existing nation states are effective socio-economic units, but some are not:– Venezuela, Australia, Germany can be effective socio-economic
units;– Some African nations have colonial boundaries that do not make
ethno-linguistic sense;– Sarkar identified 44 socio-economic units in India.
• Each socio-economic unit must plan for its self-sufficiency.
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 12
The block or local community
• Self-sufficiency comes from block level planning (bottum up).
• Each socio-economic unit is divided into blocks (local communities) based on environmental factors and population.– A block is the smallest unit of economic planning in Prout.– A block consists of approximately 100,000 people.
• In Australia, a block is equivalent to a shire – the lowest tier of government. Population: 75,000-250,000 people.
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 13
Venezuela and Australia
Venezuela• Venezuela is one socio-
economic unit
• Population: 25,000,000 (approx)
• Assuming 125,000 persons per block, Venezuela would contain 200 blocks
• Av 4410 sq km per block
Australia• Australia is one socio-economic
unit
• Population 20,000,000 (approx)
• Assuming 100,000 persons per block, Australia would contain 200 blocks
• Av 75,000 sq km per block
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 14
An economy is a living system
homeostasis waste
Skin, semi-permeable membrane
1. Structurally closed, energetically open
2. Internal stability despite fluctuating environment
food
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 15
An ecomomy is a living system
LIVING CELL• Internal homeostasis
• Semi-permeable membrane
• Regulated flow of inputs and outputs
ECONOMY• Manage economy to achieve
constant supply of essential goods and services at stable prices
• Economy has a border, ie foreign exchange rules and trade rules
• Regulated flow of imports and exports
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 16
A dynamic economy
• A developed economy should consist of 4 parts:
– people's economy;
– psycho-economy;
– commercial economy; &
– general economy.
• This quadri-dimension of the economy is a vast expansion on the contemporary conceptions of economic activity.
Dr. Michael Towsey Proutist Universal 17
Expand our understanding
• Most economists today understand only a little of the principles of general economy and something of commercial economy, but both of these parts are still in an undeveloped stage.
• People's economy and psycho-economy are totally overlooked by modern economists, and as such do not find a place in the present mode of economic thinking.