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

Economy of Permanence
he wants and then directs those around him to produce it. In this way, the life
and thought of the consumer is closely entwined with the life and creative
faculty of the producer, each attempting to solve the problems formulated by
the other. Our lives are not independent entities but are closely one with
another. A proper standard of life will then be the silken strand which strings
together the goodly pearls of life-individual members of society. Such is the
Dewan's standard of living in that it connected up his life not only with those of
the spinners, weavers, mat-makers, chamars, mochis etc., but also with his
dumb fellow creatures such as the goat that fed on his dining leaf. No man
liveth unto himself. When factory made articles are used there is no such living
touch with the people around. Then the standard of living is coupled to lifeless
machines which are producers without any creative faculty that can be
developed.
Hence, our norm of life must be such as to bring together as a living organizm
the various sections of society in healthy cooperation. Such a norm will not be
calculated to be of use to isolated and segregated individual only but will
function as a binding cement of society as a whole. There will then be mutual
trust, unity and happiness which will be a source of strength and not of discord,
n that society.
The Nude cult and ill-clad poverty
The staple of raw cotton taken by itself is flimsy and weak. But when thousands
are spun together and the strands are twisted into a cabled rope it will be
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