ss 1,2

prout.econ

Distribution of Incentives

December 30, 1995

Q: In the Prout society, incentives are to be given to those whose work is meritorious. How will the merit of work be determined - by some kind of market forces, or by determination by some social body?

The merit of work will be determined by the outcome. If the man or women is a physician and their patients get well, if their treatment is outstanding, more and more people will come to them, will they not? Because it will get around saying, "Hey this guy is good." So all the people will want to go to that physician, and for his good work he will get reward, and it will be determined in a fair market manner because all the people will be coming to his door wanting him to treat them because he will be considered the best. If the physician treats the people but they feel he is unpleasant to them and they do not get better, why should they go to them? His clientele will be less and his income will be less.

The same will be true in all other areas. So it will be proven through practical means, and reward will be given not by some higher authority who will decide that you are better than another. There is too much room for corruption in such a system. But it will be naturally acquired through effort. If in the cooperative there is a worker who works long hours, or during his shift he is more productive than others, it will be natural to promote this worker or give him more, and it will be the norm of the society to do so. And when he has gotten more, then he may be better off because he is more ingenious, more productive. He will go up to a higher paying job. Naturally he will be selected because he will work his way up, he will show his skills. And let us say it is a small cooperative, such as a farming cooperative. There are twenty farmers in the cooperative; they each have their own farm. Now one farmer produces twice the grain as another because he is very industrious, and also he has developed a new technique for organizing and handling his crops. Now, for his efforts he will be given greater share from the cooperative because his input is greater. And if the others want his new method for farming which has enhanced his production, they will have to pay him. He may sell it to them, and others in other cooperatives may want to buy also and he may sell to them. So he may get ahead by his hard labors and his ingenuity.