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

Economy of Permanence
serve their fellow beings, will have to be directed towards devising such plans
of free life for the people.
At this place we have confined ourselves to a consideration of the function of
the plan and the field to be devoted to it. In the following chapter we shall
take up the requisites of a norm of life which will form the basis of a
satisfactory plan.
The House of Sublimaton: In the Economy of Service, to which section the
House of Sublimation belongs, personal rights fade away yielding place to
duties that assume the regulation of life. Freewill is used to control the animal
side of man and his selfish bodily inclinations directing his activities rationally
into certain well chosen channels. The scale of values is designed to measure
the welfare of others rather than one's own pleasure. Hence, the perspective is
a long range one, as the immediate personal gain is not the desired end.
Therefore, for one in this House to be creative it is essential to realise in
oneself the defects and needs of society before any reform or plan can be
suggested. Mere intellectual appreciation or criticism will not serve the
purpose. A laboratory is called for to carry out experiments on a limited scale
and then only the remedy that has been proved efficacious can be
recommended to others. A nutrition expert first carries on experiments by
feeding guinea pigs or white mice, pigeons, monkeys etc., on different types of
articles of food and observes the effects produced on these creatures. Only
after this he is in a position to suggest the constituent parts of a well-balanced
diet for human beings. Similarly, in all socio-economic innovations it would be
necessary to try out the new ideas on human beings. The ones in this House,
therefore, are volunteer guinea pigs and scientific experts rolled into one.
We saw that those of the last house had to plan for the masses. But the plan
can be drawn up only on tried principles. This opens the field for the House of
Sublimation. Necessity is said to be the mother of invention. If we feel in our
own selves the needs of others, and if we are endowed with creative faculties,
we should be able to devise ways and means of solving those difficulties. One
belonging to this House will suffer or live vicariously in the lives of others. He
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