CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS
&
PROUT'S SOLUTION
Namaskar,
Most everyone feels it in one way or another: Scarcity of jobs, rising
fuels costs, governmental sanctions, food shortages, invasions and
fighting over raw materials, marginal pay for workers, terrorist
upheaval, extreme urban pollution, the pillaging of natural resources,
and overall discontent and despair etc.
Currently in this global market economy, our financial and social woes
are mounting.
No doubt, in some places, a few people are still drinking up the glories
of a global economy, but their days of prosperity will not last long.
Such an imbalanced system of the very rich and the extremely exploited
cannot sustain itself.
Yet who can forget as it was only a short while ago, that the global
economy was looked upon as the golden vessel, i.e. the way of the
future. To mention the phrase "local economy" was to sound outdated and
archaic. It was to speak an oxymoron.
How times have changed. Little by little the trend is now reversing and
moving in the opposite direction-- towards the ways of a local economy
and Prout, whether people realise it or not.
THE BUST OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
Ever since the US created the fashion of a global economic structure,
the US has been losing more and more of its market share-- 20% and
growing. Because new economic hot spots have been created, whether in SE
Asia or elsewhere. And still many are dreaming of becoming a global
giant. But again all of this is short-lived and short-sighted.
Picture this: A country like the US goes outside to somewhere like
Trinidad or Bangladesh for cheap labour. Those wealthy US corporations
exponentially increase their profit and that impoverished place like
Bangladesh suddenly has citizens on a payroll. It seems like a match
made in heaven.
Except for the loss of jobs in that economic superpower like America
such that people are now actually leaving the US to find jobs elsewhere.
That is a first. Plus, huge fuel costs to ship the finished goods from
place to place, eradication of agriculture in the local area like
Bangladesh, environmental destruction, and so many other woes. Not to
mention, when invariably that economic giant like the US pulls out in
order to find cheaper labor elsewhere, the workforce in places like Sri
Lanka or Mexico wallow in economic turmoil.
And that is only the tip of the iceberg, that is only the start of the
problems regarding the global economy.
THE ILLS OF OVER-INDUSTRIALISATION & UNDER-INDUSTRIALISATION
WARS, PILLAGING, TERRORISM, & MORE
In the global economic framework, those over-industrialised nations like
the US are constantly trying to create a market for their processed and
finished goods. And when the US is the leader in warfare supplies, arms,
ammunition, and weapons, then naturally they want to, nay need to,
create a vast, global market to sell those goods. Hence, needless wars
are encouraged all around the world simply for the sake of boosting the
sales of arms-- boosting an economy.
Plus that same economic giant will have to impose its will in order to
get more raw materials to feed its ever-growing ways of
over-industrialisation, hence the invasions into Afghanistan and Iraq
for oil etc.
Because, of the imbalances of a global economy, over-industrialised
nations like the US will always be creating hell in order to boost their
own economy, irregardless of what negative impact that has on the rest
of the world.
And on the opposite end of the spectrum, under-industrialised places
like Afghanistan, Sudan, and elsewhere will suffer from an extreme lack
of jobs & economic instability, and hence resort to terrorism in order
to get their message across.
That is another level of destruction and chaos created by the
topsy-turvy global economic structure.
So, in countless ways, the global economic system is failing. It is too
costly, too wasteful, too exploitative, too thoughtless-- and it totally
overlooks the welfare of the people.
There is no long-term, beneficial, over-arching gain-- just struggle and
strife.
In the short term, those countries leaning towards
over-industrialisation like China and India will experience a temporary
boom-- and they may be dancing in the joy of those dollars, rupees, and
yen-- but that boom is mostly baseless and short-lived. Ultimately it
will come back to haunt them. They will merely fall into the same
pitfalls which the US has experienced.
LOCAL ECONOMY IS THE ANSWER
For reasons mentioned above and more, conscious people around the world
are working hard to develop a localised economy in their area or
region-- in their samaj. No doubt, in this age of instantaneous
communication, space stations, and ultra-modern & global everything, it
may sound like an oxymoron to pursue a local economic policy, but that
is indeed that answer. That is what Baba has clearly given.
PRINCIPLES OF A LOCAL ECONOMY
In His Prout discourses, Baba has provided all the needed directions and
instructions for developing a healthy, local economy. Here are 5 central
principles to that end:
1. The first principle of decentralized economy is that all the
resources in a socio-economic unit should be controlled by the local
people.
2. The second principle of decentralized economy is that production
should be based on consumption, not profit.
3. The third principle of decentralized economy is that production and
distribution should be organized through cooperatives.
4. The fourth principle of decentralized economy is that the local
people must be employed in local economic enterprises.
5. The fifth principle of decentralized economy is that commodities
which are not locally produced should be removed from the local markets.
(PNS-21)
And verily, the world is beginning to move in this direction. It has not
come to fulfillment, but there are growing pockets where the above
principles are being embraced.
Of course, those corporate giants are still trying to pilfer all they
can on the global level. So there is a tug of war going on the and the
situation will get worse before it gets better. But, with each and every
step those very same corporate giants are getting closer to hitting that
wall, where they can not only progress no further but are forced to turn
back in the opposite direction. The failing dollar, high costs of fuel,
social unrest and more will be the undoing of global capitalism.
ACTIVISTS AND THINKERS ARE MOVING TOWARDS PROUT
In response, knowingly or unknowingly, so many grassroots organisations,
cooperatives, and small businesses are trying to establish themselves in
the local arena. They realise that a local economy will bring
environmental balance, job security, social stability, and economic might.
In that way, society is coming round to the ideals of Prout. Not because
they are reading Prout discourses, but because they are reacting to the
ills of the global economic system.
So it is our duty to bring more and more attention to Baba's
socio-economic teachings. Because , only He has prescribed a step by
step analysis for how to create a fully-sustainable, local economic
system. This is what the people of today need to hear.
A FEW OF BABA'S TEACHINGS
So now, when the world is quickly getting tired of the global economy,
when it has become too expensive to grow spinach in China and have it
shipped to consumers half-way around the world, when so many local jobs
have been lost and outsourced, and when so many local merchants have
been swallowed up by Wal-Mart and Home Depot, people want answers for
how to proceed.
Here for your review are but a few of the many golden ideas Baba has
given in Prout. It is ideas like these that will empower the people and
revolutionise the world. So we should be maximally familiar with Baba's
Proutistic teachings and be ever ready to share them with all.
Baba says, "In a decentralized economy the commodities produced by a
socio-economic unit will be sold in the local market itself. As a
result, there will be no uncertainty in the local economy or the
economic life of the local population. In addition, money will be
circulated within the local market so there will be no outflow of local
capital. The possibility of an economic catastrophe in the local economy
will be largely eliminated. In such a system, people’s income will have
an upward trend and their purchasing capacity will continuously
increase. No economic system in the world has been able to continuously
increase the purchasing capacity of the people, because economic power
is concentrated in the hands of a few." (PNS-21)
Baba says, "Commodities which are not locally produced should be removed
from the local markets...It is essential that the local population
utilize the commodities produced in their own area to ensure the
prosperity of the local economy...In a decentralized economy, the
application of this principle is very important. If it is neglected, the
local industries will gradually close down, local markets will go out of
the hands of the local people and unemployment will increase. Once
locally produced goods are accepted in principle, not only will local
industries survive, but with their further development the local economy
will thrive. The outflow of capital from the local area will be checked,
and because it will remain in the local area, it will be utilized to
increase production and enhance the prosperity of the local people. With
the increasing demand for local commodities, large-scale, medium-scale
and small-scale industries will all flourish." (PNS-21)
BABA'S BLESSING
By His grace, He has bestowed upon us an economic system that is the
perfect answer to today's current socio-economic woes. Global needs to
be replaced by local. Corporation needs to be replaced by cooperative.
And Prout is that way and so much more.
Baba says, "In this present age of transition, you are seeing many
theories change and being discarded before your very eyes...
wholeheartedly embrace that theory which adjusts with time, space and
person and will continue to exist forever."
"Prout philosophy is situated at the height of pinnacled excellence
because it moves with the changes of time, space and person. PROUT will
always cross the barriers of time, space and person in an
ever-progressive way."
"So go on progressing. Mischief-mongers will not be able to poke their
nose into human affairs and put up a fence to block the path of
progress. Go on progressing, undaunted." (AFPS-9)
Namaskar,
Ishvara
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Future Humans
Baba says, "A day will come when the eyes and the bones in the human
body will become weak. Almost all people will wear glasses and have
false teeth. In the future there will also be tremendous changes in the
structure of human beings. Human intellect will become sharper, the
cranium will become larger and the nerve fibres will become more
complex." (AV-8, p.8-9)
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