Understanding Prout Volume 1

Essays on Sustainability Transformation& UNDERSTANDING PROUT VOLUME 1 THE BIOPSYCHOLOGY OF COOPERATION 5 EDUCATION FOR LIBERATION 5 THE THREE-TIER ENTERPRISE SYSTEM 5 WATER AND LAND MANAGEMENT EDITED BY JAKE KARLYLE AND MICHAEL TOWSEY UNDERSTANDING PROUT Essays on Sustainability and Transformation Volume 1 Edited by Jake Karlyle and Michael Towsey Proutist Universal Australia II Copyright 2009 Proutist Universal, Australia, electronic edition. Copyright 2010 Proutist Universal, Australia, printed edition. PROUTIST UNIVERSAL ® is a Registered Trade Mark of Proutist Universal in Australia. Published by Proutist Universal, Australia. P. O. Box 665, Maleny, Queensland 4552, Australia. All rights reserved by the publisher. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright permissions and enquiries: [email protected]. National Library of Australia – Cataloguing-in-Publication Data: Jake Karlyle, 1952- and Michael Towsey, 1948-. Understanding Prout – Essays on Sustainability and Transformation, Volume 1. First Printed Edition 2010 ISBN 978-0-9591792-3-1 (Volume One) ISBN 978-0-9591792-4-8 (Set of Volumes) 1. Sarkar, Prabhat Ranjan, 1921-1990. 2. Social Sciences. 3. Social Change. 4. Economics. 5. Cooperatives. Cover design by Kamala Alister. Cover photo by Rob Blakers, www.robblakers.com Printed chemically-free on carbon-neutral, FSC, TCF (totally chlorine free) paper. Maleny Green Printery, www.malenyprint.com . III To Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar V Contents Preface The Biopsychology of Cooperation – Michael Towsey Introduction The Cooperative Movement in the 19 th Century Matter-centred Philosophy Self-centred Philosophy The Renaissance of Cooperation Education for Liberation – Marcus Bussey Prout and Neohumanism From Humanism to Neohumanism Neohumanism Prout as Social Pedagogy Prout’s Fundamental Principles and Education Bridge Building Unpacking Service Education for Sadvipraship Policy and Beyond Conclusion The Three-Tier Enterprise System – Michael Towsey Introduction The Three-Tier Enterprise System Corporate Structure and Governance Regulation The Rural Sector The Service Sector Water and Land Management – Michael Towsey Introduction Supply – Water Production and Harvesting Storage and Yield Demand – Water Consumption Land Use Planning The Administration of Water and Land Community and Culture Policy Recommendations VII Preface This first volume of Understanding Prout – Essays on Sustainability and Transformation was published electronically in 2009 to mark the 50 th anniversary of the founding of the Progressive Utilization Theory by the eminent Indian philosopher Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990). The editors are happy to present this paperback edition in 2010. Prout (an acronym for Progressive Utilization Theory) is arguably the only socio-economic theory to emerge out of the Third World that has direct applicability to the developed world. It offers a new vision of society based on cooperation rather than competition and domination. Why describe these essays as about sustainability and transformation ? Because, in society as in individual life, there is a constant struggle to maintain equilibrium (sustainability) while at the same time to adapt to and to learn from the new experiences that life throws at us (transformation). Transformation also has a deeper, inner sense, as the contributors to this volume make clear. Surely the greatest challenge facing humans at the start of the 21 st century is to learn the lessons embodied in climate change and globalization. One of Prout’s contributions to this challenge is to propose a cooperative economic system. Consequently all the essays in the first volume explore the theme of cooperation from various viewpoints. A cooperative economic system, however, is not possible without a commitment to a cooperative ethic and culture. Thus in the first essay of this volume, “The Biopsychology of Cooperation”, Michael Towsey explores cooperation from an ethical, social and cultural perspective. In the second essay, “Education for Liberation”, Marcus Bussey begins with the paradox of a modern education. Why does it appear to impart so much and yet fail to prepare us for a future that now asks different questions of humanity. Bussey introduces Sarkar’s philosophy of Neohumanism as the essential ingredient of an education for cooperation and liberation. The third essay, “The Three-Tier Enterprise System”, by Michael Towsey, introduces cooperatives from the traditional economic perspective and compares them with the more usual private and public enterprises. However he moves on to expand our understanding of the cooperative sector and to explore the governance and regulatory issues that are likely to arise in a cooperative economy. Finally the fourth essay, “Water and Land Management”, brings the focus to the local level. A cooperative global society cannot be achieved without due attention to the local economy and the local economy depends first and foremost on water and land management. Whereas 20 th century water policy VIII focused on hydraulic engineering, so the 21 st century approach will be about ecosystem management and biotechnology. It will work with ecological and biological processes rather than usurp them. We cannot live outside ecosystem dynamics. P. R. Sarkar developed Prout over a period of 35 years, from the beginning of 1955 until his death in October 1990. Apart from some notable exceptions, the majority of his published works consist of extemporaneous discourses delivered to groups of people who had typically gathered from many parts of the world. The exceptions are books which the author dictated. All the author’s discourses and books on Prout are contained in the series Prout in a Nutshell , which was created by the author in 1987. The First Edition of the series contains 21 parts, published between October 1987 and October 1991. In 1959 Sarkar first described his socio-economic ideas as the Progressive Utilization Theory for which he coined the acronym Prout. From 1955 to 1959, he spoke on a broad range of topics, but it was on 5 th June 1959 that he first solidified his socio-economic ideas into a comprehensive theory, defining Prout as the “progressive utilization of all factors”. He continued to develop Prout throughout his life and consequently Prout in a Nutshell contains some 180 discourses and book chapters. P. R. Sarkar once noted that the study of Prout can be done on three levels: introductory, intermediate and advanced. These levels may be equated with senior high school, undergraduate and post-graduate or research levels respectively. The essays in this series of volumes are designed to be on the intermediate level, making them accessible to a wide audience. A number of contemporary thinkers have studied Prout and been impressed by the scope of Sarkar’s vision. For example, Leonardo Boff, the co-founder of Liberation Theology, says, “Prout is very important to all who yearn for a liberation that starts from economics and opens to the totality of human existence.” Hazel Henderson, economist and author of Beyond Globalization , has described Prout as, “an important contribution to re-thinking the disastrous course of the current economic globalization”. Noam Chomsky, Professor of Linguistics (MIT), renowned academic and activist, says of Prout: “Alternative visions are crucial at this moment in history. Prout’s cooperative model of economic democracy, based on cardinal human values and sharing the resources of the planet for the welfare of everyone, deserves our serious consideration.” The editors hope that the reader will enjoy the essays in this book – they are a refreshing contribution to the challenges that lie ahead in the 21 st century. Jake Karlyle and Michael Towsey, Editors The Biopsychology of Cooperation Michael Towsey Introduction The cooperative system is fundamental to the organization, structure and culture of a Proutist 1 economy. It is an expression of economic democracy in action – cooperative enterprises give workers the right of capital ownership, collective management and all the associated benefits, such as profit sharing.2 Sarkar, the propounder of Prout, goes further and argues that an egalitarian society is actually not possible without a commitment to the cooperative system. 3 The commitment is not just to an economic order but also to a cooperative ethic and a cooperative culture. This essay explores cooperation from the ethical, social and cultural perspective. The business enterprise perspective is the subject of another essay in this volume. 4 Background Cooperation as a cultural, social and economic movement arose early in the 19 th century, and with particular success in Britain. The term movement is used here to indicate that what caught the popular imagination of the day was much more than the consumer/worker cooperative, which at the time was a novel form of business enterprise. The cooperative movement was primarily a social and cultural movement because it advocated better conditions for the working class and better education for their self-improvement. It was also an economic movement in that it “sought to transform the balance of economic power from capital ownership to democratic control by members of an economic enterprise”.5 The cooperative business model enjoyed early success in the capable hands of

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