Proutist Economic Development
The World’s No. 1 Problem?
Poverty
Dr. Michael Towsey
 2004 Proutist Universal
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Poverty
Source: CIA World Factbook
Country
Poverty Level
Kenya
50%
Venezuela
47%
India
25%
USA
13%
China
10%
New Zealand
0%
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Three promises for Venuzela –
Chavez 1998
• To break the puntofijismo system
– oligarchic 2 party political system
• To end corruption
– in all areas of the social body
• To alleviate poverty
– which is a social disparity
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Disparity due to poverty
• There must be a ceaseless fight against poverty
• Poverty is:
– a common enemy
– the result of a defective social structure
– the root cause of many crimes
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
4
Causes of poverty
1. Low rate of savings and investment
2. Low education
3. High population
- but China vs USA
4. Corruption
-
Marcos in Philippines
-
Suharto in Indonesia
5. Colonial heritage
6. Neo-colonialism
– regulations imposed by WTO and IMF
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Prout perspective on poverty
Layers of poverty
• Global level:
– Third World vs USA, Europe
• National level:
– rural poverty vs cities
• Local level:
– slums, ghettos vs elite suburbs
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Global - Neo-colonialism
Current system is an extension of colonialism - for the last
several hundred years wealth has been sucked from the
periphery to the centres of empires.
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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National - Rural poverty &
flight to the cities
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Local - Sydney suburban "poverty"
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Common factors in poverty
• The bleeding of wealth
– wastage or removal of wealth from a locality so that it is
impossible to maintain the capital base required for further
development
• Three kinds of capital
– Physical capital = natural, fixed, financial (requires rational
distribution and maximum utilization)
– Human capital = deficiency due to low spending on education
– Social capital = lost due to community decay and corruption
• Poverty and wealth concentration for the few, go hand
in hand
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
10
Wealth Concentration
in South America
Income ratios
richest 10% housholds  poorest 10% households (disposable income)
•
New Zealand 1986 – 4.7
•
New Zealand 2000 – 6.6
•
Norway 2002 – 5.3
Graph from New Internationalist, May 2003
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Wealth concentration –
derives from imperialism
Military plunder
Roman Empire
Tributes, taxes
Slavery
Military plunder – Lord Clive in India
British Empire
Forced trading - cotton & textiles
No attention to needs of local people
Capture democratic institutions
American (USA) Empire
Establish unelected institutions – WTO, IMF
Voluntary trade – commodities & bonds
(profit motive rather than consumer interests)
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
12
Recent books on empires
• British Imperialism 1688-2000, Peter J. Cain & Tony
Hopkins (2nd ed)
– decline is due to resource wars - similar to USA today
• Late Victorian Holocausts, Mike Davis (2001)
– 3rd world is creation of colonialism and climate
• When Corporations Rule the World, David Korten
(2001)
– the trend to corporate empires and their techniques
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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To end poverty
•
At local level:
– halt the bleeding of wealth from local communities
– attend to community solidarity and ethical leadership at all
levels
•
At national level:
– attend to trade and capital flows at all levels
– attend to education standards at all levels
•
At global level:
– move from economic disparity to economic parity
– wealth of the world is the common patrimony of all
– requires rational distribution and maximum utilization
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
14
Campaign against poverty
Three steps:
1.
arouse an anti-exploitation sentiment - each and
every person should be convinced that the entire
wealth of the world is the common patrimony of
all
2.
each and every person should be guaranteed the
minimum necessities of life by providing
everyone with sufficient purchasing capacity
3.
simultaneously, the wealth of the country / socioeconomic zone should also be increased to meet
the demands of the people
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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Goal is economic parity
• With the eradication of socioeconomic disparity:
– the collective wealth of society will
increase progressively; and
– society will become bountiful.
• The goal is to achieve economic parity
around the world.
Dr. Michael Towsey
Proutist Universal
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