Proutist Economic Development Physical, Mental and Spiritual Resources

1
Proutist Economic Development Physical, Mental
and Spiritual Resources

• Dr. Michael Towsey

2
Traditional economics

• Factors of production land, labor and capital.
• Land and labor are natural resources.
• Capital is constructed by humans.
• But the distinction is not clear.
• Public health is an investment in human capital.
• Environmental health is an investment in labor
  and resources.

3
Different kinds of capital

• Ownership of capital public, private,
  household.
• Three are interconnected
• Investment in housing and household appliances
  improves efficiency in public and private
  sectors.
• See Hugh Stretton, Economics A New
  Introduction, 1999.
• Traditional fixed (physical) capital, financial
  capital, human capital.

4
PROUT economics

• PROUT distinguishes physical, mental and
  spiritual capital.
• Define capital as wealth in potentiality.
• Physical and mental capital easy to understand
• Eg, investments in health and education.
• benefits for society in the physical and
  supramundane arenas.
• What is spiritual capital?

5
Spiritual capital- an idea whose time has come

• Sarkar first introduced the concept in 1959.
• Not peripheral, not the icing on the cake.
• Not just a concern of wealthy but spiritually
  bankrupt nations.
• Spiritual capital is core of an economic system.
• Has a micro-economic and macro-economic context.

6
Micro-economic approach

• 1980s - The savings and loans scandals.
• 1990s - Enron and other scandals.
• Many books on ethics in business
• Enron Anatomy of Greed, Brian Cruver, Arrow
  Books, 2003
• Thin on Top, Bob Garratt, Nicholas-Brealey
  Publishers, 2003
• The need for ethical auditing.
• Triple bottom line now quadruple bottom line,
  even quintuple!
• Prout states it is essential to establish an
  audit tier of government
• Must prevent conflicts of interest in performing
  audits for enterprises.

7
Micro-economic approach

• Sociologist Paul Wong (Trinity Western
  University, BC, Canada) a healthy corporation
  must be strong in four core areas
• (a) financial capital in terms of investments and
  profits
• (b) technological capital in terms of
  cutting-edge software and hardware
• (c) human capital in terms of knowledge,
  expertise, and creativity and
• (d) social-spiritual capital in terms of ethics,
  relationships, meaning and purpose.
• Enron's deficiency in social-spiritual capital
  proved to be fatal!
• http//www.meaning.ca/articles/print/lessons_from_
  enron.htm

8
Micro-economic approach

• Books on designing a working environment where
  the human spirit, and therefore business, can
  thrive
• The Spirited Business, Georgeanne Lamont,
  published Hodder and Stoughton, 2002.
• Creative Work, Willis Harman, 1990.

9
Macro-economic approach

• Definition of community
• (Latin) To give among each other.
• A group of people who do favours for one another.
• A group of people who exchange gifts.
• Social Capital many definitions an attempt to
  describe the connectedness of a community.
• Economist, Tim Hazeldine (Professor of Economics,
  Auckland University)
• social capital is the empathy and sympathy in
  human relationships and the shared attitudes and
  goals of a community.
• Sociologist, Robert Putnam
• social capital consists of the connections among
  individuals - social networks and the norms of
  reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from
  them.
• Bowling Alone, New York, Simon Schuster, 2000.

10
Socio-spiritual capital

• Empathy, sympathy, trustworthiness these are
  spiritual qualities.
• Hazeldine says that neo-liberal economics
  consumes and destroys social capital. Therefore
  destroys community.
• Just like it wantonly consumes natural resources
  and destroys the environment.
• Hazel Henderson - information, human capital and
  social capital are key resources.

11
Building socio-spiritual capital in Venezuela

• Perez-Marti uses the term solidarity.
• Because I hold others in esteem, I do not steal.
• Solidarity includes the desire to serve the
  people.
• Solidarity builds on solidarity multiplier
  effect.
• Can promote solidarity by establishing coops and
  other equal opportunity programs.