Prout: Humanistic Socialism and Economic Democracy

© Copyright 2013 Acharya Krtashivananda.

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isbn: 978-1-4907-0745-7 (sc)

isbn: 978-1-4907-0744-0 (e)

Trafford rev. 07/01/2013

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Contents

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1- The Concept of Man and the Values of Life

Chapter 2- History of Class dominance

Chapter 3- On Leadership

Chapter 4- The Progressive Utilisation Theory (PROUT) and New Humanism (NH)

Chapter 5- Globalisation of Economy

Chapter 6- The Essence of Economic Theory

Chapter 7- Decentralization of Economic Power

Chapter 8- The Political Theory: Politics beyond Liberalisation

Chapter 9- Society and State

Chapter 10- World Government

Reference

Conclusion

Appendix- Principles of Prout and New Humanism

In the memory of

SISTER DIIPANVITA (NUN)

PREFACE

In the early years of the 20th century, communism appeared in Russia as an antithesis to capitalism. Subsequently it spread across many countries in the hope of breaking the chains of oppression. Communism collapsed in Russia and the East European countries mainly because it did, instead of unfastening the chains, strangled the freedom of those it had vowed to protect. China will also meet a similar fate in the near future.

To make matters worse, religious dogma still survives in many parts of the world suffocating freedom of thought and expression. The infrastructure of capitalist countries rises imposingly over individuals as an alienating power that has come to create a psychology of nihilism and to transform the individual into a cog in the bureaucratic machine. Technological progress, while helping the advancement, has destroyed the delicate balance of nature and sowed the risk of nuclear devastation. The mad desire for profit has brought about a condition of unbearable poverty in the Third World. Though the cold war between the superpowers has gone by, an unprecedented proliferation in arms is escalating conflict in other parts of the world. Humanity and its values are the worst victims of this modern civilization.

When Albert Schweitzer came to Oslo to receive the Nobel Prize for peace in 1952, he declared, Man has become superman… but the superman with superhuman power has not risen to the level of superhuman reason. To the degree his power grows he becomes more and more a poor man… . It must shake up our conscience that we become all the more inhuman the more we grow superhuman. His prophetic utterance continue to be true even in this century (21st).

The great promise of the industrial nations has been broken because of their psychological premise: radical hedonism. Radical hedonism postulates first that happiness can be achieved by the fulfilment of any material or sensual desire whatsoever, and secondly, that in order to fulfil those desires, egotism, greed and selfishness are acceptable. This, according to hedonistic beliefs, will lead to harmony and peace. It is well known that radical hedonism is the philosophy of rich people.

The ideas of intellectual liberalism and artistic refinement have failed to check unbridled greed and avarice. The faith that the spread of reason will abolish all irrational outbursts has all but disappeared. Antagonism between ethical, racial, religious and liberal groups has become the fundamental reality of the nation state, which is absorbing huge amounts of social, ethical, and religious energies and has unleashed unprecedented oppression, violence and cruelty.

We cannot live by instinct, tradition and emotion. We need a rational faith which would sustain a new order of life and rescue us from our mental inertia and spiritual emptiness.

The socio-economic system Progressive Utilisation Theory (PROUT) by Sarkar was floated in the 60’s of the last century which reflects partially the ideas of New Humanism by M.N. Roy a radical writer of the 50’s and also the essence of Humanistic Socialism proposed by Erich Fromm. My attempt is to redefine the ideas of Prout, New Humanism, Humanistic Socialism in the present context of social, economic and political environment which is leading to economic disparity, political instability and bringing the world at the brink of ecological and psychological disaster.

In the introductory chapter I have tried to explain the evolution of socio—psychological history in brief and its impact on socio economic system. The 1st chapter is about the concept of man; the 2nd chapter defines the history of class dominance; the 3rd chapter is on the question of leadership; the 4th chapter presents the fundamental of Prout and New Humanism; the 5th chapter is about globalization of economy; the 6th chapter explains about economic theory, and the 7th chapter elaborates on the decentralization of economic power; the 8th chapter defines politics beyond liberalism; the 9th chapter is about society and state, and the 10th chapter defines the concept of World Government

Author

INTRODUCTION

Evolution of Collective Psychology, and its

Impact on the Socio-political System

Human history is not a series of secular happenings without shape or direction; it is an evolutionary process, a meaningful development. Those who observe its peripheral movement are carried away by images of wars and battles, economic disorder, and political upheavals. The real drama, however, is acted out on a deeper level, where the conflict between the limited efforts of human beings and the sovereign purpose of the universe generates the momentum for progress. The undulating flow of inertia followed by momentum in all social, cultural, psychological and spiritual spheres, also lays the foundation of history. In any society, the socio-economic system evolves within the landscape of the existing social and cultural values that influence the collective psychology. Therefore, before evaluating the merits and demerits of any socio-economic system, it is essential to understand the character of the collective psychology of different societies.

History—an evolution of collective psychology

The quest for freedom is the genesis of social evolution, as human beings cannot rest in unresolved discord. The search for harmony, the striving for adjustment, and the struggle to move forward in all dimensions of existence—physical, mental and spiritual—are the natural characteristics of human psychology. The destiny of the human race, as that of the individual, depends on the direction of its life forces, the lights which guide it, and the values which mould it. The real essence of progress is the movement from imperfection to perfection, from bondage to freedom. The basic security of life and the satisfaction obtained from sensory pleasures or from the intellect are not the end point of human endeavour. Subtler human sentiments, like the happiness derived from harmony, love and the unity of the human soul, have inspired the human race for ages to search for the spiritual dimension of life.

In the early phase of human history, the struggle for existence against the vagaries of nature started its onward march, and it has progressively evolved into a struggle against social injustice, political subjugation, economic disparity, cultural regimentation and psychic suppression. Different social organizations, as well as political and cultural institutions, were formed in order to provide physical and psychic security and to fulfil the spiritual need of liberation of the soul.

For the first time in history, through the influence of science and technology, our planet and its inhabitants have become part of one whole and are mutually dependent on one another. Economic and political phenomena are compelling us to treat the world as one unit. However, the sense that humankind must become one community has been taken as a casual whim, a vague aspiration, and is not yet generally accepted as a conscious ideal. Attempts to bring about human unity by creating political systems through force have proved abortive. Even today we find that in the souls of humans there are clashing tides of colour, race, nation, religion, and gender which continue to create mutual antagonisms, myths and dreams that divide human society into hostile camps. These conflicts in human affairs are due to divisions in the human psyche.

It is essential, at this juncture, to judge why the existing cultural influences and socio-economic systems have failed to lead human beings toward their cherished goal of freedom. Let us look back and trace the origin of the ideas which rule the present.

Western Society

Western civilization is based on three foundations: the scientific approach of Greek culture, the organizational bent and imperialistic tendencies of Roman culture, and the religious aspect of Jewish culture.

The essence of Greek science was to analyse and explore, to test and prove theories about phenomena in the light of reason. Its main concern was to understand human beings in their full reality, that physical desires and mental powers should get free and full scope for their expression, and that all dimensions should develop in such a way as to produce a harmony in which no part tyrannizes the rest.

To the Greeks, happiness and success had a limited meaning. Aristotle defined happiness as: Prosperity combined with virtue, or independence of life, or that existence which, being safe, is pleasant; or a flourishing state of prosperity and of body, with the faculty of guarding and producing this; for it may be said that all men allow happiness to one or more of these things.

The Greeks were not famous for their religious genius or moral fervour. Neither were they concerned with anything mystic, nor did they have any curiosity about the eternal, or any passionate indignation against injustice. To them, religious beliefs were useful mainly for political purposes. It is true that amongst the pre-Socratics, Pythagoras, Plato, the Orphics and the Neoplatonists mystic elements were found, but these tendencies by no means represented the Greek spirit, being rather notable exceptions.

The essence of Greek consciousness was devotion to the city-state; and its patriotism also centred on this. Since each city had a sense of its own superiority, the Greeks were not able to merge the Greek world into a unified whole. Conflict, war and military conquest were frequent phenomena appearing in the wake of the political ambitions of Greek rulers. The collapse of Greek civilisation can be attributed to their adherence to the false religion of patriotism. According to A.J. Toynbee, This state worship was the spiritual disease that Hellenism died of. While the Greeks bequeathed Europe the curiosity to pursue knowledge, rationality, reasoning and the analytical approach, it also left a negative legacy which considered patriotism the highest virtue. The encouragement of nationalism based on geo-sentiment was ultimately the motivating force behind later European wars, conquests and colonial expansion.

Rome succeeded Greece with the aura of a powerful empire. Roman conquests imposed unity on a large part of Europe and gave it a civilization based on its laws and language, as well as a sense of organization and the concept of social utility. It also influenced the emergence of a socio-political character which encouraged colonial domination based on racial, geographical and social sentiments.

Rome inherited the spiritual legacy of Greece. This was practiced for political expediency, rather than for the fulfilment of spiritual longing. Difference provinces of Rome had their own religious forms and practices and despised the religions of their neighbours. Rome’s military conquests brought her into contact with other communities and her spiritual poverty exposed her to different religious influences. After a period of struggle, Christianity took root.

The influence of religion

In the 4th century, Constantine gave official recognition Christianity as a state religion. This new religion retained the Jewish belief in a living God, a patriarchal social order, and its passion for righteousness and justice, while also absorbing Greek thought and Roman tradition. Both Judaism and Christianity are based on faith and revelation. To Greek thinkers, God was the Idea of the Good, The First Mover, The Ruling Principle, Reason or Logos, whereas for the Jews and Christians, God is a supreme person who reveals His will to His lawgivers and prophets. The Jews believe that some great decisive event will solve their historical problem. The Messianic idea, which is the determining factor in Jewish history, also survived in Christianity. The synthesis of Greek and Jewish conceptions of history can be traced to Christianity. However, the Jewish emphasis on the historical, and the Christian doctrine of incarnation, are difficult to reconcile with the absolute and non-historical character of the Godhead. In his theological writings, Thomas Aquinas attempted to build a system of Christian theology based on Aristotle’s logic. However, he failed to explain the relation of history and divine life, because the crux of the matter is that the concept of evolution is incompatible with Christian doctrine.

When ethics or righteousness are practised because they are believed to be ordained by God, without relevance to history, human character, logical support or spiritual justification, this leads to dogma. Such beliefs may give definiteness, conviction and urgency to the ethical message, but shut the door to progress.

The Jews propagated the myth that only one religion could be true, but did not feel that they had a mission to convert the world. Christianity inherited the ethical passion of the Jews, the logical explanations of the spiritual mysteries of the Greeks, and the organizational aptitude of the Romans, which it used to institutionalise religion. The simple faith of Jesus was transformed into a fierce creed that had as one of its tenets the conversion of the world. After the time of Constantine, religious and secular authorities displayed systematic intolerance towards other religions with the slogan, He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathers not with me, will be scattered. Naturally, under the shadow of such a doctrine, social dynamism declined and intellectual curiosity diminished.

The primitive early church supported the doctrine that the state is a divine creation. Although at the end of the fifth century, the Roman Empire declined and political unity was lost, cultural unity was sustained to some extent by the Holy Roman Empire. Great personalities of the

Middle Ages like Charlemagne, Otto, Barbarossa, Hildebrand, Aquinas and Dante believed in one Church and one Empire. The last remains of the Roman Empire collapsed with the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453.

Medieval Christianity gave Europe a sense of the reality of the divine; it defined the process of right conduct and the destiny of humanity. Intellectual query and artistic aptitude, which had been confined within the objective form of nature, found a new dimension in the search for divine form. Simultaneously, however, Christianity also imposed a religious dogma on Europe that stifled intellectual inquiry and promoted obscurantism.

Even so, infinite mental potentiality cannot remain confined within the narrow fences of dogma for long, and the desire for freedom eventually lifted the shadows of antiquity from the Middle Ages. The natural thought of the ancient Greeks and their idea of reasoning power and analysis again began to attract attention. The scholastic movement prepared the way for a rationalistic revival, and at the same time perception of the interrelationships between the human and the divine gained force. Dante explained that divine providence set two ends before humanity: blessedness in this life, which consists in the execution of one’s natural powers, and the blessedness of eternal life, which consists in the realization of God. The belief that religion and humanism were complementary to each other gained momentum. This recognition prepared the way for the belief in the perfectibility of human beings and society, which led to another dogma.

Martin Luther challenged the authority of the Catholic Church, setting the Bible as supreme authority in place of a supposedly infallible Church. The Protestant movement, by giving people a desire for freedom, removed certain psychic complexes and mental inertia, stimulating a revolt against institutionalism—the Catholic Church in this case—but not against religion. Later, the discoveries of science challenged the basis of religion itself, which ultimately neutralized the authority of religious doctrines and the influence of religious institutions.

The Renaissance: emergence of a capitalist society

The Renaissance was the age of disintegration and rebirth. The religious orientation of the Middle Ages decayed, and a new world was born, ushered in by Luther and Calvin, Copernicus and Columbus, Galileo and Descartes, Hobbes and Locke,