PROUT
the Progressive Utilisation Theory
PROUT advocates the formation of a world government. Human Society is one and indivisible and a future world government will be in a better position to safeguard the interests of the entire human race. The interests of individual states will have to give way to the interests of the collective human society.
Besides a world government, there will also be a single world militia and a world constitution.
That is, the legislative, executive and judicial parts will all function at a global level.
The following are extracts from P.R. Sarkar's books:
Universalism does not depend upon any relative factor, hence it is free from the vices of ism. Ism thrives on the angle of group interest. Among many other factors, ism is a major factor in war. War is not an ideological clash. Those who are eager to establish peace should shake off nationalism and other allied isms.
If we are to shake off these isms, we have to organize a universal body and go on strengthening its power. This will be the first phase in establishing a world government. In the initial stage it will be a law-framing body. The first beneficial effect of such a body will be that no country will be allowed to frame laws detrimental to the interests of its minorities. The right to execute those laws will be vested with the local government and not with the world government. The world government will decide the principles on the basis of which a particular law will be enforced in a particular country.
There will be two houses: a lower house and an upper house. In the lower house, representatives will be sent according to the population of the country. In the upper house, representatives will be sent country-wise. First bills will be placed before the lower house, and before their final acceptance they will be duly discussed in the upper house. Small countries which cannot send a single representative to the lower house will have the opportunity to discuss the merits and demerits of proposed acts with other countries in the upper house.
Human beings are rapidly conquering space and time. The boundary of the world government will go on increasing, and one day it may extend throughout the entire planetary world. One language – that is, the common vishva bháśá [universal language] – is a necessary device for the exchange of ideas among different linguistic groups. Today the English language has all the qualities to be the vishva bháśá, but this is subject to change according to changes in time.
From: PROUT in a Nutshell Part 4, 18 October 1959, Jamalpur
Charter of Rights
The formation of a World Government will require a world constitution. A charter of principles or bill of rights should be included in such a constitution and encompass at least the following four areas. First, complete security should be guaranteed to all the plants and animals on the planet. Secondly, each country must guarantee purchasing power to all its citizens. Thirdly, the constitution should guarantee four fundamental rights – spiritual practice or Dharma; cultural legacy; education; and indigenous linguistic expression. Fourthly, if the practice of any of these rights conflicts with cardinal human values then that practice should be immediately curtailed. That is, cardinal human values must take precedence over all other rights. All the constitutions of the world suffer from numerous defects. The above points may be adopted by the framers of different constitutions to overcome these defects.
From: PROUT in a Nutshell Part 12, 22 September 1986, Calcutta
Same Constitutional Structure
Despite these obstacles, a social blending of humanity is in progress and needs a common constitutional structure to be evolved to cement the solidarity of the world. A world government is also very essential for exercising full control in certain spheres; for example, there should be only one world militia.
The world government should form certain autonomous units, not necessarily national (based on problems of education, food supply, flood control, public sentiment), which should look after mundane and supramundane problems. The boundaries of these units may be readjusted to suit any change in the environment – for instance, development in the techniques of communication. Development in the means of communication brings the different remote parts of the world nearer, and the world, therefore, grows smaller. With this well-developed swifter means of communication, units with bigger areas can work smoothly and efficiently.
A language must also be evolved as the lingua franca of the world. (At present English is most suitable for the purpose and no national sentiment should be encouraged to go against it.) But the local languages must be encouraged to help the indigenous literatures develop and contribute towards world progress, and thereby contribute to the common brotherhood of humanity.
Common Penal Code
A common penal code must be evolved. Legislation must be progressive and capable of gradual adjustment with the prevalent conditions. Any theory which does not hold a parallelism with the ever-changing conditions of time, place and person, is sure to decay and be lost in oblivion. Hence, there must be a never-ending effort for amendment with a view to rectification. Crimes are acts forbidden by the law of the government concerned, and virtue and vice (puńya and pápa) are the outcome of traditional customs. The sentiments of the lawmakers are very much influenced by the prevalent traditions and customs regarding the concept of virtue and vice of the locality or of the people concerned. The sense of crime, therefore, has a parallelism with the concept of virtue and vice. The idea of virtue and vice is different in different countries. The aspirants of world fraternity should try to lessen the difference and reduce the gap amongst cardinal, moral and human laws. All those actions which help in the growth of the spiritual, mental and physical aspects of human beings in general should come under the category of virtuous deeds, and those actions which go against humanity in its spiritual, mental and physical development must come under “vice”. This conception of virtue and vice applies commonly to humanity in general.
From: The Cosmic Brotherhood, Idea and Ideology, 5 June 1959, Jamalpur
Many people say that divergent national interests are the only impediments to the formation of a world organization, or a world government. But I say this is not the only obstacle, rather it is just a minor impediment. The main obstacle is the apprehension of local leaders that they will lose their leadership. With the establishment of a world government, the total domination which they exercise today in their respective countries, societies and nations will cease to exist.
Divergent national interests and popular scepticism may stand in the way of the formation of a world government. To allay baseless fears from the minds of the people, this task should be carried out step by step. Obstacles will have to be negotiated with an open mind, and the world government will have to be strengthened gradually, not suddenly. For example, to run the world government, two houses may be maintained for an indefinite period. The lower house will be composed of representatives from various parts [countries] of the world, elected on the basis of population. The members of the upper house will be elected country-wise. This will provide opportunities to those countries which cannot send even a single representative to the lower house due to their small population, because they will be able to express their opinions before the people of the world by sending their representatives to the upper house. The upper house will not adopt any bill unless it has been passed by the lower house, but the upper house will reserve the right to reject the decisions of the lower house.
Initially the world government should go on working merely as a law-framing body. The world government should also have the right to make decisions regarding the application or non-application of any law, for a limited period, in any particular region.
In the first phase of the establishment of the world government, the governments of different countries will have only administrative power. As they will not have the authority to frame laws, it will be somewhat difficult for them to arbitrarily inflict atrocities on their linguistic, religious or political minorities.
From: Problems of the Day, 26 January 1958 RU, Trimohan, Bhagalpur