Characteristics of PROUT

The Progressive Utilization Theory (PROUT) is a visionary political philosophy offering a new paradigm of development based on the following characteristics:

           • PROUT is comprehensive, covering all core facets of a political philosophy,
including:  values base, theory of history, political system, economic system,
ecological philosophy, social and cultural concepts, future vision, and methodology of
change.

           • PROUT synthesizes into one theoretical framework a wide array of progressive
concerns, such as:  cooperatives, economic democracy, bioregionalism, economic
decentralization, social justice, environmental protection, guaranteed basic
necessities, social equity, world government, fair trade, rights of species, spiritual
values, global peace, cultural autonomy, and sustainable development.

           • PROUT is a viable alternative to materialist-based political philosophies:
anarchism, communism, and capitalism.  It starts from a new, post-materialist
worldview that gives rise to a profoundly different wholistic political vision from that of
existing political paradigms.

           • PROUT has a values base grounded in the holistic cosmology found in
such diverse places as the perennial philosophy of the wisdom traditions, indigenous
peoples' spirituality, deep ecology, and the philosophical implications of quantum
physics and modern cosmology.

           • PROUT is compatible with an emerging shift in planetary consciousness that
synthesizes the strengths of Western, Eastern, indigenous, and holistic scientific
contributions to human knowledge.

           • PROUT is designed to serve the totality of human nature: physical, mental
and spiritual.  It does not neglect or suppress the development of any facet of human
nature, rather it promotes their balanced and integrated expression.

           • PROUT does not privilege material development above spiritual
development, nor spiritual development above material development, but recognizes
their interdependent contributions to nurturing a healthy, balanced, and fulfilled
human society.

           • PROUT affirms that doctrines and policies must arise from, and get validated
by, practice; and that policies of the present must be proactively changed in response
to changing social and economic conditions.

           • PROUT expands the concept of humanism beyond a concern for human
welfare and attainment to a new humanism concerned for the welfare of all
living beings.  Neohumanism asserts that the welfare of individuals, groups, and
species cannot be separated from the welfare of the whole.

           • PROUT reconceptualizes the idea of progress from one based in material and
technological change to one based on improvement in the all around welfare of human
beings.  Progress is best indicated at a material level by an increase in people’s quality
of life; at the mental level by expansion of neohumanist consciousness; and at the
spiritual level by growth of love, inner peace, and cosmic disposition.

           • PROUT takes core social ideals — such as economic democracy, social equity,
world peace, and ecological protection — and provides a practical framework for their
attainment.

           • PROUT is not a reaction to social problems, it is a positive effort to envision
and build a wholesome, viable and sustainable human society.  It does not stem from a
critique of current global realities, but starts from the seeds of life and the needs of
human beings to find holistic fulfillment.

           • PROUT does not place collective interests above individual interests, nor
individual interests above collective interests, rather perceives individual and collective
interests as being inherently interrelated.  The well-being of individuals lies in the
development of the collective, and collective well-being lies in the development of
individuals.

           • PROUT asserts that the liberation of society can only arise from the liberated
consciousness of individuals.  It therefore does not give primacy to political change,
but stresses cultural change, proper education of the human intellect, moral
development, and spiritual growth.  Change in political power should be driven by a
change of collective consciousness, not imposed by new wave vested parties.

           • PROUT proposes fundamental shifts in the locus of power, such that the locus
of economic, social and cultural power must devolve from transnational corporations
and nation-states to local and regional levels, and the locus of political and military
power be taken from nation-states and invested in a world confederation.

           • PROUT rejects profit as the core motive for economic activity.  While profit is
an important practical consideration in operating enterprises, it must not supercede
in importance such concerns as consumer needs, community well-being, resource
sustainability, environmental health, social equity, and worker fulfillment.

           • PROUT cannot be characterized as either conservative or liberal; neither can
it be called libertarian, socialist, or anarchist.  It arises from its own values base,
transcends the left-right political spectrum, and acknowledges the strengths of many
social philosophies.

           • PROUT conceives of a deep sustainability based in maintaining balance
at all levels of material, mental, and spiritual development in society.

           • PROUT models the way nature works.  Those with knowledge of ecological
science, complexity theory, systems theory, or the philosophical implications of
quantum physics will experience a familiarity with its values, principles, and operational
structure.

           • PROUT calls for neither a free market nor a command economy, but a
regulated and planned market economy.  It does not support control of enterprises by
large corporations or by the state, but by cooperative, small private entrepreneurs,
and — in the case of key industries — by public boards.

           • PROUT affirms the relativism of post-modernism with respect to the
phenomenological world, but rejects the notion that there is no basis for universal
values; PROUT asserts that a sound and durable value base lies in the transcendental
ground of material existence.

http://PROUT.Shows.it/
For Study Group Opportunities and Proactive Progressive Change Engagements,
Contact Satya at PROUTNews@gmail.com