The Prout Research Institute of Venezuela

According to neoliberal economics, which are taught in most universities, economic inequality doesn’t matter, because if the national economy is growing, everyone benefits. Neoliberal economists have even created a term for this, called the “trickle down effect”. Let’s see if this really happens.

Forbes Magazine for International Investors (www.forbes.com) tracks every year the publicly-owned wealth of the richest people in the world. It says that the richest Venezuelans are two billionaires: Lorenzo Mendoza and family, head of Polar beverages, have US$ 6 billion. Gustavo Cisneros and family, the emperors of mass media, also have US$ 6 billion. Now by simply checking the lists over the last ten years, you will discover that they are 3 times and 4 times richer than they were 10 years ago. Question: are all of you 3 to 4 times richer than you were ten years ago? No? Then what is happening, here and in the global economy around the world, is that the rich are getting richer at the expense of everyone else. I call this kind of injustice as “structural violence”, a block to true peace.

Consumerism for Beginners: “Look, honey, I bought something!” “Oh, darling, I’m so proud of you!” What did he buy? It doesn’t matter! It could be a Coke, a car part or a pair of shoes. But advertisements around the world want you to believe that total happiness and bliss comes from buying their material product. Personally I believe that happiness comes from the heart, not from material things.

Advertising portrays a very pleasurable life. It makes people want the glamorous clothes, cars and houses of TV. Most Venezuelan children see their parents struggling with insufficient money, which makes them start to feel backward and primitive. So TV makes people want to be rich…and white! Because if you count the actors and actresses on TV shows and ads, and all the models in the pages of a magazine, about 90 percent of those happy, rich people are white. I call that racism!

A Calvin and Hobbes cartoon: The little boy, reading a book by Karl Marx, asks, “It says here that ‘Religion is the opiate of the masses.’ What do you suppose that means?” The TV answers: “It means Karl Marx hadn’t seen anything yet.” Because television is an even more effective drug than traditional religion was. Turn on the TV, turn off your mind!

What do you really want? Most people respond to this question in one of four ways: happiness, love, peace or health. All of these are non-material desires.

To change the unjust global economy, I believe the world needs a new type of “progressive socialism”. Prout is the abbreviation for the Progressive Utilization Theory, a new socio-economic model of that is based on economic self-reliance, cooperatives, environmental balance and universal spiritual values.

The founder of Prout was Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990), an Indian philosopher, author of more than 400 books, a composer and a spiritual master. He was also a political prisoner from 1971-1978 because of Prout’s stand against corruption, the caste system, the exploitation of women and political exploitation. My first meeting with him took place in his prison cell. I never met anyone who had so much unconditional love for everyone. The goal of Prout is the good and happiness of all living beings.

Some very prominent people have supported this new project. For example, Dr. Noam Chomsky of MIT said, “Prout’s cooperative model… sharing the resources of the planet for the welfare of everyone, deserves our serious consideration.” Frank Bracho, former Ambassador of Venezuela to India, ecologist, writer said that Prout is "a welcome, interesting and valuable contribution… showing how ancient and new wisdom can join to build a better world, based on spiritual values and sustainability.”

It is important to remember that Prout is not a rigid mold to be imposed on any society. On the contrary, it is a holistic set of dynamic principles that can be applied appropriately by the citizens and leaders to help their region or country prosper and achieve self-reliance in an ecological way.

Prout’s solution to economic inequality is based on the obvious truth that the world’s physical resources are limited. If individuals accumulate too much, there will not be enough for everyone. Every country should decide maximum salaries, wealth and land ownership. The only reason to pay more is to motivate people to make a greater effort to benefit society.

2. Community

The Latin definition of the word community means “to give amongst each other.” Sociologist Sergio Luio expands this idea to “a group of people who do favors for one another,” whether for money or friendship. Prout believes that community should be “a group of people moving together like a family towards a common goal.”

According to many prominent neoliberals, community is not important. For example, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said, “There is no such thing as society – there are only individual men and women.” The “guru” of neoliberal economics Milton Friedman said that the idea that business has a social responsibility is “fundamentally subversive”. And the worst quote is by Sir James Killen, Australian former Minister for Defence who said, “Anyone who does anything for anything other than profit is either a madman or a bankrupt.” Doesn’t he do anything out of love? These quotes show how neoliberal capitalism promotes individualism and competition at the expense of community.

In the Philippines where I worked for nine years, “Bayanihan”, means to move someone’s house together. Ayni in Quechua (the language of the Inca Empire) means cooperation and solidarity as a way of life. Cayapa, a Venezuelan word whose early origins are unknown, also captures the cooperative spirit of community.

Cooperatives are the path to full employment. They promote economic democracy and strengthen communities.

"Cooperatives are the businesses of the future," said Venezuelan professor Felipe Perez-Marti. There are several benefits: Workers own the cooperative. There are more incentives for workers to be efficient. There is no conflict between owners and employees. Workers benefit from the effort they put in.

To be successful, cooperatives need: 1. Honest leadership 2. Good business plan 3. Strict accounting 4. Community support When I gave this talk in South Italy, the audience laughed and said, “There are no honest leaders here, everyone cheats a little.” Perhaps. But to help cooperative leaders stay honest, the government should provide more training and regular inspections. If an inspector comes to check the cooperative accounts every month, and a different inspector each time, then there is another reason for the cooperative managers to stay honest.

A few months ago we formed The Prout Research Institute of Venezuela, a legal not for profit foundation in order to help cooperatives. Its mission: “To empower all people to improve their quality of life and live in a more just society by fostering the development of worker cooperatives, self-reliant communities, environmental protection, universal ethics and spiritual values.”

Its vision: “To be an independent model institution, recognized in the national and international community for its research, training, conferences and publications. We strive to strengthen worker cooperatives, so that people, by working together, become a strong force to create true economic democracy and regional self-reliance…”

3. Ecology

A great North American spiritual leader named Black Elk said, “When the last river and the last forest have been destroyed, man will discover that he cannot eat money.”

In my opinion, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has one of the most progressive and inspiring constitutions in the world. For example, it recognizes indigenous languages as official for their people; it prohibits discrimination based on sex, creed or social condition; and it prohibits the death penalty. In contrast, these rights are not protected in the US constitution.

Yet some of its principles are not yet reality. For example, Article 305 says: “The State shall promote sustainable agriculture as the strategic basis for overall rural development...” However agronomists from the best Venezuelan universities agree that the big money power of chemical pesticides and fertilizer companies are the major obstacle to sustainable, organic agriculture.

Article 127 says: “…It is a fundamental duty of the State, with the active participation of society, to ensure that the populace develops in a pollution-free environment…” Anyone who has visited Caracas or any other major Venezuelan city knows that air and water pollution cause a lot of suffering.

What is the future of petroleum? The Stone Age, which lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, did not end because the world ran out of stones – it ended because human beings discovered metals! So why should we wait until the last drop of petroleum has been extracted from the earth before looking for better, non-polluting technology? We need to rigorously investigate alternative sources of energy, including biodiesel, solar and wind.

What can you do to help the environment? First of all, do something! because you can make a difference, you can contribute to a better world! Plant trees to help reforest this country. Reduce, reuse and recycle. And most important of all, educate others and yourself about the environment.

4. Ethics

A few years ago, the American Psychiatric Association did a research study to try to understand why some people become criminals. The most common factor they found among criminals was the tendency to lie. Interestingly, this same defect is also common amongst some lawyers, corporation directors, accountants, advertisers and politicians. Throughout history, ruling classes have created moral rules and laws to maintain power. For example, the idea that men are somehow spiritually superior to women. Nonsense!

Cardinal human values that I propose should be taught in schools at every level and throughout society are: honesty, courage, mercy, humility, self-restraint, compassion. To protect the weak, avoid harming others and overcome selfishness. What do you think? Are these the kind of values we want our children and future generations to follow?

5. Ideal Leadership

The world needs leaders with moral force, spiritual vision and courage to fight injustice and exploitation. Anyone can become an ideal leader by setting a personal example of honesty, self-discipline, sacrificing spirit and dedication to the welfare of humanity.

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, the founder of Prout, visited Venezuela in 1979. He said: “Venezuela needs good spiritual political leaders. If Venezuela can produce spiritual political leaders, it will be not only the leader of Latin America, but also the leader of the planet.”

We were inspired to design a three-day intensive training course for officers in the Venezuelan military: “Creating Ideal Inspirational Leaders in the Venezuelan Military.” Some of the subjects will include:

Effective Decision Making Warrior Psychology Overcoming Stress and Fear Understanding Your Opponent How Intuition Can Save Your Life Achieving Your Personal Goals Service: The Key to Winning Hearts and Minds Alternative Futures for Venezuela And finally, an unforgettable experience, the Fire Walk! We believe that this training course can improve the leaders of Venezuela.

6. Spiritual Values

When I presented a copy of the Spanish edition of my book, After Capitalism: Prout’s Vision for a New World, to President Hugo Chavez, he said on his television show, “This book we appreciate very much. Your visit has come at such an opportune moment. Thank you very much, brother, and let's continue with spirituality, spirit, good faith, morality, and the mystical force that moves the world.” I also believe there is a divine mystical force that unites us all.

Universalism is a very important spiritual value, respecting everyone’s beliefs and all forms of mysticism. The ecumenical celebration of Peace that took place in the Ministry of Defense on April 27 was historical and inspiring initiative.

Che Guevara showed another important spiritual value: love. “At the risk of sounding ridiculous, I would say that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.”

The rock star Jimi Hendrix said, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will be at peace.”

Dr. Bernie Seigel, an oncologist, also talks about the great power of love. “If I told patients to raise their blood levels of immune globulines or killer-T cells, no one would know how. But if I can teach them to love themselves and others fully, the same changes happen automatically. The truth is: love heals. I believe that someday we will understand the physiological and psychological workings of love well enough to turn on its full force more reliably.”

In the struggle for peace and justice in the world, we should not neglect our own internal peace. Meditation is an ancient practice with many benefits: overcoming insomnia, depression and mental complexes; increasing memory, concentration, willpower, self-control, self-esteem and tolerance; developing mental peace, wisdom, compassion and unconditional love. Are you interested in any of these benefits?

Meditation is one of the most beautiful and inspiring techniques you can learn. Close your eyes and open your mind.

How to meditate? It is really quite simple.
1. Close your eyes
2. Sit straight
3. Breathe deeply
4. Repeat your mantra (this word from India means, “a sound which liberates the mind”)
5. Practice every day

“Baba Nam Kevalam” is a universal mantra in Sanskrit that means: “Everything is an expression of one loving infinite Consciousness.” For many years I have taught prisoners in jails in Brazil and Portugal how to meditate to transform their lives, and I am preparing to begin similar weekly courses in Venezuelan jails.

Planet Earth represents our “Circle of Concern”, because we care about all the problems and sufferings of the inhabitants of this planet. But unfortunately, our “Circle of Influence” is very small. Actually we can only really control what I do, what I say and what I think. But in this respect, the ecological slogan, “Think Globally, Act Locally” shows us that by doing something positive, we can help bring about a better world. And when we do something positive, we start to inspire others, and in this way our influence can spread.

“There is something which is stronger than all the armies of the world, and that is an idea whose time has come," said Víctor Hugo, French writer. I believe that the ideas of economic justice, community, ecology, ethics, ideal leadership and spiritual values are ideas whose time has come.