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Publications
Published articles:
Part 1: Taxation as public income Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar has written little on the subject of taxation in a Proutist economy, and what there is, is better understood by reference to the existing literature. As can readily be imagined, the literature is vast and detailed, having evolved over many centuries. This article attempts to distil relevant principles guided partly by Sarkar's comments and partly by common sense. The final conclusions are not concrete policy suggestions because too much depends on the time, place and circumstance in which a tax is levied. There is much to learn about taxation and the author hopes that this article offers Proutists a helpful introduction. The author also believes that the mode of argumentation required to discuss taxation policy can usefully be carried over to other areas of debate about Proutist economic policy. ------------------------------------
Is Venezuela Heading Towards Prout? Today there are countless movements and struggles which are fighting for the creation of a more just, sustainable, and human society, guaranteeing safety and individual freedom. Of all these, many progressive people around the world see the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela as the one with the greatest possibility to transform social reality. ------------------------------------
This report has looked at 175 proposed success factors from a number of different separate sources. By sifting through the various suggestions, answers and points of view, some clear conclusions develop. ------------------------------------
This 72-page manual is an excellent resource. It explains why Prout economic planning always must begin at the local level, from the grassroots up. There are so many differences in terms of geography, climate, natural resources, infrastructure, communities and other factors between places that it is not possible to create just one effective plan for an entire large or medium-sized country. The manual clearly shows how to study the actual problems that a particular community is suffering. Then it explains how to collect economic and social data from existing sources as well as through direct interviews, how to analyze the data, and finally how to formulate a workable development plan. In this way it is possible to offer very practical and realistic proposals that will actually benefit the lives of the people and strengthen the community as a whole.
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A 30-minute presentation that suggests "Six Keys to Peace": Presented at “The Art of Peace” International Conference, in the Venezuelan Defense Ministry Auditorium, Caracas, on April 27-28, 2007. Commentary is in the notes at the bottom of each slide. Examples are for Venezuela.
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We created 80+ questions with the help of Professor Carlos José Molina Camacho of the Central Venezuela University to help us to determine how closely the Barlovento cooperatives resemble a “model” cooperative. Because there is no universally accepted criteria for this, (or any other cooperative questionnaire we could find) we designed questions to determine whether it meets the seven principles of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), whether it is financialy viable, how the members are chosen, their level of communication, the effectiveness of leadership and the supportive environment. In other words, does the co-op operate on “people before profits” principles, and is it able to survive financially? We are presently using this to interview 50 cooperatives to learn what problems and challenges they face and what they need.
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The social change theory of P.R. Sarkar is introduced to students of the Australian Foresight Institute’s Masters in Strategic Foresight program through an action learning process. Includes game scripts and facilitator instructions. Through action learning the student can come to appreciate the qualitative difference in understanding that can be obtained through taking an ‘integral’ or meta-perspective on social change processes. Such a perspective increases the efficacy and scope of all social interventions. ------------------------------------
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Content received from: The Prout Research Institute of Venezuela, http://priven.org