From David Schweickart

About After Capitalism: Economic Democracy in Action --
"This is an amazing book, breathtaking in its range and ambition: an uncompromising critique of capitalism, an outline of new world economy centered on cooperatives and local, sustainable production, a theory of history, a compelling philosophical/spiritual vision, specific information about movements and experiments going on today all over the world, guidelines for getting involved, becoming a social activist and “spiritual revolutionary,” even slogans to write on your protest banners. And more. One need not agree with everything here to find this book a treasure-trove. Congratulations on a fine piece of work." - David Schweickart, Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, author of (another book entitled) After Capitalism

"Economic Freedom"?

A clever trick of neoliberal economists has been to call the license of individuals and corporations to amass wealth beyond measure “economic freedom,” as though it were equal to human rights. They claim the right to maximize one's wealth.

The idea of “economic freedom” conflicts with the reality that the world’s resources are limited and that some actions limit the opportunities of others. In law, we grant individual rights only to the extent that they do not harm others. Prout includes this idea in economics.

excerpted from After Capitalism: Economic Democracy in Action by Dada Maheshvarananda (Puerto Rico: Innerworld Publications, 2012).

The chart below shows what percentage of jobs — about 1 in 4 in the United States — pay low wages and do not offer employment benefits like health insurance, retirement savings accounts, paid sick days or family leave. These low-wage jobs are replacing jobs that have historically supported a broad middle class.

What others are saying about "After Capitalism: Economic Democracy in Action"

"After Capitalism is a crucial contribution towards figuring out where we want to go, not only after capitalism, but now, as we try to build the new world within the old. It is so important not only because of the thoroughly considered vision it presents, but also because it incorporates a spiritual dimension that is missing from most post-capitalist visioning." - Gregory Wilpert, author of Changing Venezuela by Taking Power

"The world is in urgent need of new ideas on how to house, feed and shelter us all, without destroying the planet we are on. After Capitalism is a rich and varied warehouse of new ideas and new thinking that will do much to contribute to a better humanity and a better world." - Kevin Cahill, author of Who Owns the World

“I enthusiastically recommend this book for a college classroom and for those who are organizing for economic and social justice.” - Peter Bohmer, activist and faculty in Economics and Political Economy, The Evergreen State College

"The search is on for new ways to inhabit a strained earth. There are plenty of interesting leads in these pages that will get you thinking!" - Bill McKibben, author Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet

“The constitutional proposals of Prout are the ethical summary of everything that humanity needs to accomplish universal fraternity. The importance of Prout is that its vision of a new world is not just concerned with political, social and economic relationships, but also with education, gender relationships and spirituality.” – Frei Betto, activist and author of the bestseller Fidel and Religion

"From Caracas, where the author is putting his ideas into practice, comes this accessible guide to the spiritual socialism of P.R. Sarkar. Activists working on contemporary issues from local food production to economic inequality will find much of value in this innovative volume." Jeffery M. Paige, author of Agrarian Revolution

“The very concept of After Capitalism is liberating. This book is a must for those of us who are striving for a more equitable, ethical and just world–one which views society and the environment holistically and ethically.” - Frank Emspak, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin; CEO and Executive Producer of Workers Independent News

“Dada Maheshvarananda’s book enriches the paradigm of P.R. Sarkar, who proposes that human development in its highest sense should be the goal of economic development. It has the power to construct itself in a post-capitalist project.” – Marcos Arruda, author of External Debt: Brazil and the International Financial Crisis

Launching a new book, After Capitalism: Economic Democracy in Action

Dear friends,

In 2003 I published After Capitalism: Prout's Vision for a New World. It was subsequently translated into nine other languages and sold a total of about 15,000 copies with no distribution or marketing. However, when I undertook to update it, both the world and the development of Prout had changed so much that I wrote 80 percent new content in the 390 pages. Economic democracy, a fundamental demand of Prout, is also starting to resonate with the indignados movement of Spain and Portugal, the global Occupy Movement and with many other progressive activists.

I am finally emerging from nearly a year of living like a hermit on this project. Next week, After Capitalism: Economic Democracy in Action will be available for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. A Kindle version, an audio book and an electronic version will quickly follow; the latter two will also be for sale at Apple iTunes.

What's new in this book? There are six new essays by Prout activists and two revised ones, a conversation with Noam Chomsky, many more examples of successful cooperatives and Prout projects, a number of resource tools and practical techniques to effectively present Prout to the public, and a deeper analysis of the fundamental principles and how to apply them. The book has new sections on leadership training, Sadvipra governance, guerrilla street theater, a greatly expanded and improved section on the exploitation and liberation of women, a block-level planning exercise with detailed questions, instructions for the popular Sarkar Game, and much more. At the end are discussion questions for each chapter so the book can be used as a study guide; Appendices B and C are tools to design your own Prout Study/Action Circle.

The cover photo is provocative, showing an Occupy protest in San Francisco with a veteran holding a U.S. flag upside down, which symbolizes distress. The book is written for activists, progressives and the majority of people who want a better world. Mirra Price in Asheville will start a strong marketing campaign, sending the book to progressive magazines and newspapers, setting up radio interviews by telephone and eventually organizing a book promotion tour. I will be going to the United States to attend the Economic Democracy Conference in Madison, Wisconsin on October 11-14 and plan to tour for about a month. If you have any suggestions or contacts for this marketing campaign, please contact her at: mirraprice[at]gmail.com.

Please go to the paypal Donate button on the right menu. It works with a credit card even if you don't have a paypal account:
For $25: we'll ship you one book as soon as it comes off the press (in about two weeks).
For $75: we'll ship you a box of five books
For $125: we'll ship you a box of 10 books
For $200: we'll ship you a box of 20 books (all amounts include shipping)
If you want to make a donation of another size to support this project, we'll send you as many books as you want at these prices plus the pdf file of the book.

I have often said that the best part of the previous book was the acknowledgements, and it is even more true of this book. More than 70 friends, including economists, ecologists, activists, agriculturalists, and some very good writers have generously given their time to review, correct and improve the text. The book is much better because of them.

With your generous support, this book can effectively spread the empowering messages of economic democracy and Prout to many people, including some whose voices are seldom heard, connecting us to make the world a better place for the good and happiness of all.

Economic Democracy Conference, Madison, WI, Oct. 11-14, 2012

Advanced Prout training in Portugal

An intensive Prout training course took place in Sintra, Portugal from October 28 to November 1, 2010. More than 45 Margiis from Portugal and Spain attended the four-day program which included an in depth analysis of the five fundamental principles of Prout, a review of the global economic crisis and the euro debacle, and two-days of small group planning. The three groups braistormed: 1) how to educate people about Prout, 2) how to create popular campaigns for the masses with immediate demands, and 3) how to develop practical models of Prout through master units, cooperatives and block-level planning. The PROUTugal Movement presented their successful campaigns during the previous six months and planned exactly what and how they would continue these initiatives during the next year. See www.proutugal.org

Listen to and Read Venezuela Prout Conference Presentations

Dear friends, Namaskar.

We at the Prout Research Institute of Venezuela are just completing 2 months of tedious work to package the presentations made at the recent conference, “Building a Solidarity Economy based on Ethics and Ecology” we organized in Caracas in July 2011. We have:
1. Put all the audio recordings on www.youmicro.com
2. Transcribed all the 21 presentations and the question and answer sessions for each of the five panels, and uploaded them on our Spanish web page: www.priven.org.
3. Translated to English all the 21 presentations and five question and answer sessions and uploaded them on our English web page: www.priven.org.
4. We have nearly finished audio recording all the English translations and posting them on www.youmicro.com

THE GOALS OF THE CONFERENCE:
1. To popularize cooperatives, ecology and ethics.
2. To unite some of the best experts on cooperatives, ecology and ethics from Venezuela and other countries.
3. To share their presentations and ideas with the widest possible audience.
4. To share and explain what is the Prout model, which is based on cooperatives, ecology and ethics, and highlight its projects in Venezuela.

Personally, I find a profound depth of ideas and experiences in these talks about the solidarity eEconomy, ecology, community health, indigenous rights, cooperatives, women’s rights, and spiritual wisdom.

Today I am especially happy because the very popular and progressive web site, www.venezuelanalysis.com, posted the talk by Elvy Monzant about cooperatives. Their hardworking staff wrote, "We plan to review the other translations and post in the coming days/weeks."

Whereas about 400 people came to the conference at some point over the three days, many more around the world are now listening to it and reading about it.

In the struggle for Peace and Justice,
Dada Maheshvarananda

Global Prout Conference poster

Amazing speakers at Prout Conference in Caracas July 7-9 2011

"Building a Solidarity Economy based on Ethics and Ecology"

Confirmed speakers:
Nora Castañeda, president of Banmujer, the Women's Bank
Claudio Nascimento,(Brazil) Historian, activist, popular educator, author of several essays on self-management and the Solidarity Economy. Cabinet member of President Lula da Silva, member of the National Secretariat for Solidarity Economy of President Dilma Rousseff: "The Solidarity Economy and Self-Management: Principle of People's Power."
Luis Delgado Bello, former National Superintendent of Cooperatives and former project director of UNDP and ILO: “Diagnosis and Perspectives of the Social and Solidarity Economy of Venezuela: Where are we and where are we going?”
Frank Bracho, former Ambassador of Venezuela in India, ecologist and author: "Environment, Health and Happiness."
Prof. Carlos Molina Camacho, former National Superintendent of Cooperatives and Savings Banks, professor of cooperative law at UCV: "Simón Bolívar and Cooperativism."
Camila Piñeiro Harnecker: (Chile-Cuba) researcher and professor at the Center of Studies on the Cuban Economy, University of Havana: "Potentials and Risks of Cooperatives in Socialist Construction."
Lizeth Vargas and Dario Gonzalez, CECOSESOLA - Lara State Central Cooperative: “Building Here and Now the World that We Want.”
Dr. Benito Diaz, Editor of CAYAPA (Venezuelan Journal of Social Economy), Venezuela Board of CIRIEC, Professor at the Universidad de Los Andes - Trujillo: "Innovation in Organizations of the Social Economy."
Leopoldo Cook, former telecommunications chief of PDVSA, author and columnist: "The Awakening of Consciousness: Prout and Socialism, Face-to-face."
Adalberto Barreto, (Brazil) psychiatrist, anthropologist, theologian: "Community Therapy: Social Solidarity Networks for Life."
Jody Wright (Acharya Devanistha) (USA), Prout activist for 35 years, studied under P.R. Sarkar: "Sadvipra: Prout's vision of enlightened leaders."
Víctor "Vyasa" Landa, (Peru) founder of the School of Life, Shanti Yoga Center for Harmony in Bethesda, Maryland, USA: "Aparigraha: A New Economic Paradigm for a Culture of Peace."
Chelo Nogueira, architect, founder of the Turtle Foundation: “Objective Earth.”
Juan Sarmiento, psychologist, lecturer, business consultant, founder of the Will of Excellence Foundation: "The Importance of Ethics in Social Transformation."
Manuel Barroso, author of 10 books, business consultant in planning and strategic management and transformation of organizational cultures and change processes.
Simón Rondón, Coordinator of the ecological movement "Bolívar en Martí": “The Struggle Against Pesticides and the Construction of the Experimental Ecovillage Augusto Cesar Sandino.”
Dada Jinanananda, (Congo-Brazil) Yoga monk: "Spirituality and Social Change."
Didi Ananda Sadhana, (Netherlands-Venezuela) Director, Centro Madre, Barlovento, Venezuela: “The Importance of Cultural Identity to Empower People: The Example of Barlovento.”
Belkys Urbina, Ecologist, Masters in Tecnology Management and Risk Control, and Masters in Industrial Maintenance: “The Planet and Consciousness.”
Sandra Castillo Castro Delegada UCV to the Organization of American States, and member of the Economic Advisory Committee of AnimaNaturalis Internacional, and Luís Verdú Brito president of the Student Center of Economic Faculty of UCV: “Economic Tendencies Towards the Ethical Treatment of Animals.”
Roy Madron, (UK-Brazil) Resarcher, business consultant, Coauthor of Gaian Democracies: Redefining Globalisation and People-Power: “Can Latin America Save the World?”
Maya Shita, General Coordinator of the Warao Tribe, leader of the El Moriche indigenous community: "Living Together in One Single World."

Bringing Prout to the people in Venezuela

Something very different is planned for the Global Prout Convention in Venezuela this July. Baba indicated that our duty is to inform the world about Prout, so that is the goal of this program.

First we are organizing a free public conference July 7, 8 and 9 in a major auditorium in the center of Caracas that seats 650 people. The title is "Building a Solidarity Economy based on Ethics and Ecology," so the focus will be cooperative enterprises, environmental protection and moral leadership. Each morning we host panels with prominent speakers on these different themes. Simultaneous workshops will take place each afternoon with music and theater performances. Approximately 20 speakers are confirmed, and though several are very sympathetic to our cause, we still need a few more good speakers to explain different aspects of Prout.

Unfortunately Venezuela is polarized between supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chávez, and the lack of dialog between the two groups is a tragic loss in the public debate. The opposition generally refuses to accept the positive social achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution, while chavistas generally refuse to admit the seriousness of problems such as corruption and crime. Our conference is not about this political argument, rather it aims to be constructive and positive, so we include speakers of both persuasions.

In the lead-up to the conference, we are also doing a publicity campaign throughout Caracas and some other cities. Prout posters, leaflets, bumper stickers, shopping bags and T-shirts are designed to raise awareness among the public. Interviews with conference speakers that will appear on radio, TV and in newspapers are designed to build momentum and share ideas about Prout.

The day after the public conference, Sunday July 10, is a free day for sightseeing and collective meditation in the botanical garden that Baba visited in 1979.

Then on July 11, 12 and 13 we host an intensive Prout seminar in the Prout Research Institute office for approximately 100 Proutists from Venezuela and overseas. The focus is how to create organizational networks, design appropriate Prout materials and do publicity campaigns in each city and country so that our support base grows. Our aim is practical capacity building and sharing to bring Prout's message to the world.

On July 14 we will visit the successful Master Unit, Centro Madre, and on July 15 the most successful cooperative network in the country.

When Baba visited Venezuela, he said “Prout will be accepted like hotcakes in Latin America.” We are trying to make that happen. We hope you can come.

For further information about the conference, visit: www.priven.org. For those willing to help as volunteers during the conference, we offer a big discount in the price.