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prout.gen

Factors for Development

September 11, 1994

Q: What are the most important factors for success in initiating a Proutist scheme of development?

Prout is a very practical approach to human development. In it there is practical and logical decision-making as well as implementation. So under what circumstance may Prout develop? It will develop best when the hearts and minds of people in the society seek a better road towards dharma, towards spiritual and intellectual freedom.

You know, in a communist setting, Prout cannot be developed because individual thought, intellectual freedom, is suppressed along with the suppression of spiritual freedom. In this setting, Prout cannot be developed. Likewise, in a capitalist setting, Prout is equally inhibited due to the avarice and greed which dominate the collective thinking and actions. In this setting, the welfare of the poor means very little, and the accumulation of the powerful and affluent is very great. Such a society lacks balance and so Prout cannot be established in a capitalist society.

So when is Prout to be developed? Under what conditions? It is best developed when the existing systems have collapsed due to their own inherent flaws. If the society can be regenerated through systematic approach, then also Proutist government, Proutist system, may be introduced. But if the degeneration is too extensive, only collapse will cure the problem, and that will happen naturally and inevitably. So a Proutist scheme is best developed in an atmosphere of intellectual freedom, spiritual exploration, and openness for new ideas. There must be a foundation built through education and social awareness in which new and practical solutions can be found to old problems and a healthy, life supporting society be developed. In this way, a new society can be built -- through regeneration or on the ashes of destruction.