Proutist Economic Development The World’s No. 1 Problem? Poverty

1. Proutist Economic DevelopmentThe World’s No. 1 Problem?Poverty Dr. Michael Towsey  2004 Proutist Universal

2. Poverty Source: CIA World Factbook Proutist Universal

3. 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 Proutist Universal

4. 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 Proutist Universal

5. Causes of poverty • Low rate of savings and investment • Low education • High population - but China vs USA • Corruption • Marcos in Philippines • Suharto in Indonesia • Colonial heritage • Neo-colonialism – regulations imposed by WTO and IMF Proutist Universal

6. 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 Proutist Universal

7. 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. Proutist Universal

8. National - Rural poverty & flight to the cities Proutist Universal

9. Local - Sydney suburban "poverty" Proutist Universal

10. 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 Proutist Universal

11. 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 Proutist Universal

12. Wealth concentration – derives from imperialism Proutist Universal

13. 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 Proutist Universal

14. 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 Proutist Universal

15. Campaign against poverty Three steps: • 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 • each and every person should be guaranteed the minimum necessities of life by providing everyone with sufficient purchasing capacity • simultaneously, the wealth of the country / socio-economic zone should also be increased to meet the demands of the people Proutist Universal

16. Goal is economic parity • With the eradication of socio-economic disparity: • the collective wealth of society will increase progressively; and • society will become bountiful. • The goal is to achieve economic parity around the world. Proutist Universal