Socio-economic and cultural movements
Dharmadeva
must grow organically from the
local/regional level, taking into account the sentiments of the local
populace, so that there may be something like the human expression of all
ethnic groups, but still a bouquet of flowers with different expressions.
For this Prout talks about:
1/ people's culture and tradition; and
2/ their economc activity.
Common culture and shared traditions create a certain cultural legacy, which
is expressed in various ways
depending on the culture. Seen together with the economc potential and
traditions of the area, each area
can develop its unique potential. Thus the economic/cultural activities of
Navajo Indians in the South Western USA will be different from those of the
farmers in California.
Any attempt to stifle local cultural expression will be detrimental to
people's psychology. Suppression of culture leads to psycho-economic
exploitation. Any political program must be free from any kind of cultural
superiority in order to be of benefit for the local people. This does not
deny superiority in aesthetic expression and priority to art that elevates
people.
Prout support the rights of a people to establish local autonomy. People
will not be interested in universalism as long as their rights to determine
their own future is curtailed. For the whole
to be strong, the parts must also be strong. Eg, top down decisions by
people in Melbourne cannot decide the future or way of life of aborigines
living out in the remote areas or people living in Tasmania.
Universalism is the key. Geo-political identity must then grow into
humanistic patriotism, love for all peoples. In other words, while the
spirit of PROUT is on the one hand regional, its spirit must also evoke
universalism, otherwise narrow sentiments will arise.
The problem with "One Nation parties" is that they generally see all from
the perspective/intererests of white/dominant peoples, and thereby create an
artificial sense of unity, which sometimes has expressed itself as Nazism or
Fascism.
Individuals express themselves according to their inner psychology/identity.
A group of people has a collective cultural energy/synthesis which is
reflected in culture, attitudes, likes, dislikes, language etc. When a
people's synergy is destroyed, the culture breaks down and exploitation sets
in. For colonized peoples, a renewed sense of synergy is important and
should be supported. (When the Native American Ghost Dancers became active
in the 1880's in America, the US Government quickly outlawed it as it was
seen as a threat to the interests of white settlers.)
Populism is not always truly supportive of all people and cannot
automatically be likened to a socio-economic/cultural movment. Politicsy
without the above elements (plus a few more) will not be representative of
real people's movement; such narrow populist movements are detrimental to
the harmonious development of humanity.
---
'The main characteristic of PROUT-based socioeconomic movements
is that they aim to guarantee the comprehensive, multifarious
liberation of humanity.' P R Sarkar
PROUT - PROgressive Utilisation Theory http://www.prout.org
New Renaissance: A Journal for Social and Spiritual Awakening:
http://www.ru.org