Economic Myths Around the Globe (Part 2)

To: AM-GLOBAL
From: Prakash-42@eos....com
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2012 - 0000
Subject: Economic Myths Around the Globe

Baba

"Toma'ri deoya' pra'n'e, toma'ri deoya' mane..." (PS 3624)

Purport:

Baba, You are the Giver of Life. This very existence of mine has been bestowed upon me by You. This very mind of mine has been given to me by You. Now by Your grace, my whole mind and heart, which have been given to me by You, are focused solely on Your meditation - ideating on You. Baba You are my Goal and my sadhana revolves around You. I am thinking only about You. Baba, by Your grace I understand that everything belongs to You. Except You, nothing exists. You are everything.  

Baba, I love You so much; I am crying for You; I have so much longing for You. I want that You should come close to me - in my sadhana, in my dhyana. Besides You there is no one who is mine. I do not have anyone. But You are not coming close. Baba, why do You remain far away, O' Heartless One. Why do You remain forgetful of me. Why are You throwing me aside and instead going to some far distant place. Baba, please come close; those things which I have kept in the casket of the inner core of my heart I want
to whisper in Your ear. And among them, one of them is the intense desire to get You. Baba, I have so many intimate things to tell You. I have so many thoughts to share with You. O' Baba, my only request is that I should get You. Baba, please be gracious.  

Baba, due to my crude mind, for ages and ages I remained oblivious about You. I was not keeping You in my mind. Baba, I do not know how long it has been that I have forgotten You. During that time, I just danced in the rhythm of this crude material world. I was just infatuated, intoxicated, and engrossed with the mundane allurements of the relative sphere. O' my Dearmost, today You have graced me and made me understand that I am only Yours. By Your infinite compassion, all my thoughts, plans, programs, aspirations, sorrows, happiness, desires - everything revolves only around You. Baba, You are my Polestar; You are my everything, I surrender at Your lotus feet...

== ECONOMIC MYTHS AROUND THE GLOBE ==

~ PART 2 ~

Note: A link to the first part of this series is noted below - Eds.

Namaskar,
Nowadays the world is witnessing and experiencing first-hand some of the many defects of capitalism. But few are those who are thinking outside the box of capitalism. Most, including the so-called experts or pundits, are trying to solve the defects of capitalism with more capitalism.

So I feel this thread on the myths of capitalism is very important and I would like to add further points.

The myth presented in the first letter was: "Everyone can be a billionaire" and then the letter discussed the pitfalls of materialism. Namely that limited finite objects cannot satisfy infinite human longing. That is why spirituality is needed. Only by ensconcing the mind in Parama Purusa can one experience deep satiation and lasting peace. Money and material things are needed for surviving and maintaining objective adjustment in this mundane world. But collecting and hoarding money for psychic satiation is a misguided pursuit.

Here following are myths #2 & #3.

MYTH #2:

DEPRESSION IS NATURAL

In capitalism, a financial depression is thought to be a natural phenomenon – i.e. an event that invariably occurs every generation or so. Hence and economic depression is basically an unavoidable occurrence in the free market system, according to the experts.

And while it is true that in capitalism, depressions are inevitable. It is not true that each and every economic system experiences depressions.

Prout philosophy states, “Depression is not a natural phenomenon… In a Proutistic structure..depression will not occur.” (A Few Problems Solved – 9)

Hence, the capitalistic notion that depressions are natural and unavoidable is false.

Per our Proutistic philosophy, the reason depressions occur in a capitalistic economy is because once the exploiters capture all the wealth, then money stops rolling. And that extreme stagnancy causes a depression.

Prout philosophy states, “If capital is concentrated in the hands of a few individuals or the state, most people will be exploited by a handful of exploiters. As a result of this process of severe exploitation, a serious explosion takes place. This explosion is known as a depression in the economic world.” (A Few Problems Solved – 9)

In contrast, in our local economy based on socio-economic units, or samajas, exploitation will not be tolerated in which case all the financial capital will not be hoarded into hands of the few; nor will all the resources be shifted to a different region. That means the money will role and local areas will produce and manufacture goods using their own reasons. This will help ensure economic movement and prevent the onset of a financial depression.

So the idea that depressions are natural or cyclical, and that it is a way to get rid of the “bad blood” is a myth. It is our duty to spread the teachings of Prout and educate the people that we need not suffer in this way.

MYTH #3:

LAYOFFS ARE NATURAL

One other myth associated with the capitalistic model is that employee layoffs are natural and acceptable. By this way, in periods of recession and depression, thousands or even millions lose their jobs every month.

In this modern era capitalism, more and more mechanization means that less and less people are needed to do the work. In which case the person low down on the ladder loses his job. If there is not enough work to keep everyone busy all day long or if there is not enough money to pay everyone, then a worker or even an executive gets laid off, i.e. out of a job. That is the way it works in capitalism and people think that this is a natural outcome.

For example, due to computers and modern machinery, fewer workers are needed in banks, factories, labs, universities, farms, stores and more. Machines now do what people used to do. Hence there are less jobs. And people get laid off from work.

Capitalists view this a natural phenomenon - a natural resultant of progress - because they increase their profits through technology and decrease their expenses by downsizing their workforce. They think this is an inherent part of economic life.

In Prout however, with the cooperative model, worker layoffs do not exist. People are not released from their jobs because the work is completed either more quickly or with less people. That is not the way it works in Prout. Because the exclusive aim in Prout is not the profit motive where companies fire extra employees to increase their net earnings. Rather, Proutistic cooperatives and businesses seek to supply people with the needed goods and amenities. It is based on consumption and service where the well-being of the populace and workers is always considered.

It is not a profit oriented economy but rather a service based economy. Ours is a people’s economy (reference ‘Quadri-Dimensional Economy’ - A Few Problems Solved - 7)

Thus, in the cooperative model, more and more mechanization does not threaten people’s jobs. Rather than firing one person, everyone will just work less hours and devote more time to the arts, fitness, social service activities, and spiritual pursuits.

Prout philosophy states, “The proper use of science under a collective economic system will only bring about human welfare. It may well be possible that due to mechanization no one will have to labour for more than five minutes a week!” (Problems of the Day #13)

It is just like if in a family business a new machine is purchased, then all the family members will work less, they will not kick out one brother from the family business.

Similarly, in our Proutistic model, due to mechanization, all will benefit by working less and earning more, and no one will lose their job outright. Thus Prout follows the family model. In which case all will reap the benefits of mechanization by having more time for sentient pursuits and spending less time in their mundane jobs.

It is just a capitalistic myth then that worker layoffs are part of life and to be expected.

SUMMARY

Prout has the solution to each and every defect of capitalism. The faster we debunk the myths of capitalism the sooner we will be able to educate people about and implement the ways of Prout.

Namaskar,
Prakash Deva

Note: LINK TO EARLIER LETTER

Here is a link to the first letter in this series:

http://am-global-01.blogspot.com/2012/06/economic-myths-around-globe.html