Proutist Economic Development Psycho-economy

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Proutist Economic DevelopmentPsycho-economy

• Dr. Michael Towsey

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Why do people work?

• Anyone who does anything for anything other than
  profit, is either a bankrupt or a mad man.
• Hon. McKinnon,
• Minister in the Australian government,
  1975-1982.
• WRONG!

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Why do people work?

• People have many motivations to work.
• Prout recognises physical, psychic and spiritual
  motivations in work.
• Peoples economy is designed to meet peoples
  physical needs.
• BUT when physical needs are met, people discover
  they have psychic and spiritual needs.

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Psychic spiritual motivation

• People work very hard to satisfy their psychic
  and spiritual desires
• Desire to be best in world atheletes,
  sportspersons
• Desire to push limits of human capacity
  mountain climber
• Desire to help the sick nurses, doctors
• Desire to make the world a better place relief
  team in Bosnia
• Desire to hear the singing of angels a musician
• Desire to achieve personal best - everyone

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Psycho-economics

• Term invented by P.R. Sarkar.
• It refers to one of the four sub-disciplines of
  economics (the other three are people's economy,
  commercial economy and general economy)
• Psycho-economy includes the study of the
  management and utilisation of psychic and
  spiritual resources.
• The economics of managing psychic and spiritual
  resources.
• A different kind of economics no limits to
  growth.
• Takes over when peoples economy is functioning
  well.
• The glamour field of economics in the future.

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Fundamental principle

• No one likes to stand still or stagnate.
• Everyone wants to develop, grow, expand, explore.
• First grow physically, then intellectually, then
  spiritually or simulataneously together.
• Everyone likes to feel that their circumstances
  are improving.

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Managing motivation

• A healthy economy will find each persons healthy
  motivation and feed it.
• A scientist might accept a bigger microscope to
  further his/her research needs instead of a cash
  pay rise.
• An engineer might accept a journey to an
  engineering marvel of the world instead of a cash
  pay rise.
• PRINCIPLE OF PSYCHO-ECONOMICS
• - endeavour to direct incentive income towards
  investment in human, social, ethical and
  spiritual capital.

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The Venezuelan middle class

• Physical needs met.
• Psychic satisfaction more important.
• Cannot put the middle class on hold while
  fighting poverty.
• The annals of human civilization say that the
  downfall of a particular government becomes
  inevitable if it goes against the collective
  interests of the middle-class people. - P R
  Sarkar

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Tools of Social Analysis

• Three social-economic classes
• Poor, Middle Class, Elite
• Three kinds of social power
• People Power, Financial Power, Cultural Power

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Tools of Social Analysis
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The power of the people
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The power of money
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The power of culture
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The middle class

• The middle class are conscious of cultural
  identity, concerned to reproduce culture and
  capable of critiquing culture.
• All social struggles revolve around cultural
  change
• - therefore the middle class is a critical
  factor in social struggle.
• In an advanced stage of social struggle, there is
  a sharp polarisation between those who want
  cultural change and those who oppose cultural
  change.

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Polarisation in Venezuela

• The Old Culture
• Privilege
• Exploitation

• The New Culture
• Social equality
• Cooperation

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Tools of Social Analysis
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Social struggle in Venezuela
for change
against change
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The current strategy
for change
against change
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Additional strategy
for change
against change
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The Venezuelan middle class

• Middle class must also feel the benefits of the
  changes in Venezuela.
• Better if they feel part of the exciting
  developments.
• They can be the greatest critics of capitalism
  and the strongest opponents of exploitation.
• Should share in the benefits of increasing
  prosperity.

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The Venezuelan middle class

• Proposals
• involve middle class in social and economic
  planning
• free up middle class entrepreneurial activity
  direct it into cooperatives and small business
• there is a battle for the collective mind must
  get the positive message out
• counter propaganda in private media - produce
  grass roots media.