The Economy of Permanence: A Quest for a Social Order Based on Non-violence (स्थायी अर्थतन्त्र)

Economy of Permanence
VII. NATIONAL INDUSTRIES
We come to the question of organisation and method to be followed by
industries. We have to bear in mind two main principles in economics. These
are, concentration of wealth and distribution of wealth.
Centralised industries generally act like centrifugal machines. These
concentrate wealth in a few hands. Concentration may be eighter of wealth or
of power. The decentralised industries have the natural tendency of
distributing wealth. Therefore, if we do not want, in our society, concentration
of wealth, then we must take out the centralised industries. Since what we
want is distribution of wealth especially in a poor country like India, we must
decentralise the industries.
There is another way of doing it. Russia has done it. They say that they will
produce wealth in a concentrated form and then distribute it through
government. The danger there lies in the concentration of power, and not in
the concentration of wealth, as in our country. When wealth has been produced
the people who have to redistribute it have the power in their hands. Therefore
it is concentration of power or concentration of wealth, both are evils. In
Russia there is concentration of power, as against concentration of wealth in
America and England. India is a poor country where we have got to produce
wealth, and in the process of production of wealth we have to distribute it. So,
where we want to produce consumpt on goods, we should put centralised
method of production out of court completely.
Place of Centralised Industries: There should be centralised industries only
where they can be in the hands of people who will not have any profit motives
or who will not concentrate the wealth. We shall have to sterilise the
centralised industries of their power of concentrating wealth. How shall we do
that? It must be on a service basis. Electricity, transport, communications, post
and telegraphs, roads all these must be on a service basis and must be run by
government composed of selfless workers. If we want motor cars or aeroplanes,
they must be produced by government. It may be said that such industries, as
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