PROUT’s economic structure consists of three tiers: key industries, such as electric utilities, are owned and operated by the local or state government, medium and large scale enterprises which operate as cooperatives and are owned by the workers, and small-scale private enterprises owned by individuals. The main defect of capitalism today is that it has created a profit-driven and centralized
The financial system has an important facilitating role to play in the economy by stimulating the real economy. Once the financial sector grows too large, as it currently has, speculation begins to dominate the economy and the real economy becomes unstable. Speculation does not create new wealth, it only redistributes it. Today, an estimated 95% of investments are speculative—only five
Free trade between industrially advanced countries can be of mutual benefit, but free trade between rich and poor countries, which happens frequently, is disastrous for the least developed trade partner. Therefore, countries attempting to build up their industrial capacity will have to protect their infant industries through tariffs and other import restrictions. Once industries have been developed sufficiently enough to
Political democracy holds a vital place in society, but it can be improved in the following ways: by educating the populace politically and economically, by ensuring that political leaders are ethical and keep their campaign promises, and by preventing politics from being controlled or unduly influenced by moneyed and other vested interests. Yet in order to improve people’s lives, PROUT
The underlying philosophy of PROUT is fundamentally spiritual in nature, not because it subscribes to a specific religious view, but because it acknowledges the inherent unity of all life and the spiritual essence at the core of all beings. This spiritual vision also acknowledges the “oneness principle” of the universe, that there is a convergence between consciousness and matter, together
Socialism is a conceptual umbrella under which a variety of economic, political, and social theories exists. Most of these ideas contrasts themselves with capitalism by opposing private ownership, competitive relationships, and free, unrestrained markets. Within the socialist camp, there are differences regarding who should control the economy (state vs self-managed), between market and non-market approaches, and how it should be
Sustainability refers to the ability of systems to “sustain” or endure over time. Since the 1980s, public and private entities throughout the world have adopted the path of ‘sustainable development’, where human systems advance in a way that meets the current and future needs of humanity. These efforts includes a triple bottom line policy of balancing economic development with social
A market economy depends upon the interplay of supply and demand to determine how capital is invested, what is produced, and how goods are priced. Although theoretically there should be little or no government interference in the operation of such markets (hence the term “free markets”), most economies in the world regulate their markets to some extent through different policies
Capitalism, especially in its current form of corporate capitalism, facilitates the concentration of wealth by powerful individuals and business entities. Due to inheritance, ineffective or regressive taxation on wealth, depressed wages, and different forms of economic and social exploitation, the rich have been gaining greater control over capital and wealth, resulting in increasing wealth disparities. According to analysts at Credit
Historically, taxes have been viewed as a “necessary evil” in order to fund government. They have been difficult to collect, have exacerbated inequalities in society, and encouraged a host of illegal activities. In modern times, personal income taxes are particularly egregious, as they directly reduce an individual’s income that was earned through direct labor. PROUT suggest the elimination of income
Prosperous, self-sufficient local economies form the foundation of ROUT’s socio-economic system. Today, people throughout the world face stagnant or declining living standards due to increasing economic inequality caused by the concentration of wealth. PROUT supports the policy of economic decentralization so that local people gain control over their economic destinies and wealth is distributed more equitably. Decentralizing the economy entails
Employment is the core strategy in PROUT for distributing wealth to individuals and ensuring that they are able to purchase the necessary goods and services for their basic needs and development. Except for those with special needs and unable to work, all able-bodied adults should have access to jobs with decent wages. Prout views welfare economies which rely on public
Proutist Universal (PU) is a global network of activists and thinkers inspired by the integral vision and approach of the Progressive Utilization Theory (PROUT).
PU publishes, presents, and networks to share those ideas and engages locally to put PROUT’s guiding principles and values into practice.
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