SOCIO-ECONOMIC DECENTRALIZATION

official source: Shabda Cayanika' Part 19

cross-references: Prout in a Nutshell Part 16none

this version: is the printed Prout in a Nutshell Part 16, 1st edition, version 
	(spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most 
	up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition.

      Gandhaha'rin and gandhaharinii. At the beginning of civilisation, at the dawn of the Vaedic age, the desire to create arts and crafts arose in the human mind. At that time, artisans used to work at home, and arts and crafts were produced in cottage industries. Men and women, boys and girls -- all participated in the creation of arts and crafts. Later, people realised that some arts and crafts could not be produced in every village, so certain artifacts were produced by a few combined villages. If artisans had not combined together, they would have suffered losses in the market place, and their numbers would have been significantly reduced. So, gradually human beings started to go and work in places where production was done collectively, or the first factories. At that time, the few industries that existed were decentralised.

      In this connection, one thing should be remembered -- the more that arts and crafts are decentralised, the greater the benefits for human society. Decentralisation does not diminish or dissipate economic potential. Rather, decentralisation removes regional disparity, because wealth is distributed almost equally everywhere. Situations do not arise where in some places people cry out in agony due to scarcity and starvation, while in others people experience corruption due to excessive affluence and overabundance. In fact, industrial centralisation is detrimental to a well-knit social order.

      In a decentralised economy, people do not have to leave their homes to work in an industry, and consequently they are saved from the expenditure of maintaining two establishments. Moreover, decentralisation increases the possibility of saving labour, because people can earn their livelihood while simultaneously taking care of their household responsibilities.

	This arrangement is not possible under capitalism. Capitalism will never support decentralisation, because capitalist production exists to maximise profits. Centralisation means industry for profit, while decentralisation means industry for consumption. PROUT's approach, which will be supported by all rational people, is production for consumption. PROUT's slogan is, "Production for consumption, not production for profiteering." Capitalists want to produce commodities at the lowest costs and sell them at the highest profits. To produce commodities cheaply, there must be efficient transportation, cheap raw materials, cheap labour, cheap energy, adequate water supply, etc. No matter what form capitalism takes -- individual capitalism, group capitalism or state capitalism -- capitalists will always prefer centralised production. All these forms of capitalism are inwardly the same.

      Thousands of industries have grown up like mushrooms around Calcutta, Bombay, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Kanpur and Madras in India due to this capitalistic mentality. Other remote places like Khayarasol in Biirbhum district, Puynca' in Purulia district, Goghat in A'ra'mbadh district and Na'ka'shipa'ra' in Nadaya district have been neglected. They have gone to sleep, crying in the cimmerian darkness. Perhaps only a few people have even heard of these places. How could they? The people living there are extremely poor. They are incapable of purchasing a woollen wrapper for winter, what to speak of expensive woollen clothing.

      In India, regional disparity is increasing. Calcutta's per capital income is 20% higher than the rest of Bengal, while Punjab's per capita income is higher than Harayana's and Orissa's. Delhi people enjoy much greater liberty and comfort compared to the villagers of Purulia district. Regional disparity is detrimental to the cause of a healthy social order. PROUT is the only panacea. There is no other solution.

      Communism is state capitalism, which is why it is not free from the defects of capitalism. State capitalists, like individual and group capitalists, control industries. State capitalism means state controlled industries. In other words, in state capitalism industries are centralised. Communist countries support state capitalism, which means centralised production. While communism appears to differ from capitalism on the question of popular liberation, capitalism and communism are the same internally. Fruits of the same variety may have different colour skins, but their stones are the same. Capitalism and communism are fruits of the same variety.

      Maximum socio-economic decentralisation is essential to ensure the social and economic liberation of human beings. While it may be difficult to establish village level economic infrastructure at present, there is no insurmountable obstacle to prevent us establishing block level economic infrastructure. As far as possible, the establishment, operation and product distribution of all industries should be done at block level. Only when this cannot be done, should industries be organised at a higher level. Obviously, industries such as iron and steel factories cannot function in every village, block and district, so they should function in a larger area.

      There are some special types of key industries which can conveniently function as either small-scale industries or medium-scale co-operative industries. If some key industries are structured in this way, they must be under state control. Care should also be taken to ensure that they are properly organised and on a large scale. Such key industries should never be controlled by capitalists, otherwise the interests of the people will be partially, if not fully, ignored. Moreover, if they are left in the hands of capitalists, many different kinds of problems will arise. Normally, only very large-scale key industries should be under state control, and these industries should be centralised instead of decentralised. But industries which cannot be readily decentralised today may be decentralised in the future due to changing circumstances. At that time, the decentralisation of key industries must be implemented.

	There are also many other adverse effects of industrial centralisation. For example, in large cities it is difficult for people to remain healthy because of the scarcity of fresh fruits, vegetables and milk. Immorality and corruption are rampant. Thieves, criminals, drug addicts, alcoholics and anti-social elements easily conceal themselves, and prey on innocent people. Malnutrition, air pollution and water pollution, to name just a few problems, also exist. All large industrial centres presently suffer from these problems.

      In ancient times, people who travelled great distances to reach their place of work in order to earn their livelihood were called gandhaha'rin. Women and girls did not usually work outside the home. They normally stayed at home, took care of their household duties and worked as well. Women who did go outside the home to work were called gandhaha'rinii.

      Highly skilled people do not usually get proper recognition and adequate facilities if they live in remote areas. In fact, they often have to travel long distances just to arrange their livelihood. In medieval times skilled ivory artisans used to live in Burdwan district, but there was no market for ivory in Burdwan. There was a large ivory market in Murshidabad, and smaller markets in Bankura, Vishnupur and Dacca. Consequently, the skilled ivory artists of Burdwan were compelled to travel to those places. Skilled artisans who are compelled to travel to another place for work are called gandhaha'rik or gandhaha'rika'.

6 November 1988, Calcutta
Shabda Cayanika' Part 19