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

Economy of Permanence

misappropriation of pleasure and avoidance of routine. Consequently they have
perished leaving behind just their ashes of greatness to tell their tale as a
warning to us. Not heeding this, the modern industrial empires are repeating
the same effort to reserve for the manufacturing countries the benefits and
pleasures, while shifting unmitigated drudgery to raw material producing
countries. Being contrary to the order ordained by nature, such attempts are
bound to fail. In our own times we have a visible demonstration of the
devastating violence generated by such efforts to thwart nature. These
periodical global wars are the means through which the empire countries are
trying to impose their will on the rest of mankind. For a while they may appear
to succeed, but since the seed of destruction and decay is in it, any such
organization brought about by violent means will perish in due course.
We noticed, in previous chapter, how the makers of 'labour- saving-devices' by
their successful high pressure sales organization drove out household servants,
farmers and field labour, and converted them into factory 'hands' for
themselves to tend their machines. Such a transformation in England naturally
left its countryside uncultivated as there was none to attend to the farms and
fields. No country can live on coal, iron and tin. It must have food. This made it
imperative for England to hold other countries in political subjection to obtain
its food supplies and other materials, as it cannot afford to depend for such
essentials on the tender mercies of others or leave it to the vagaries of unaided
private commerce. Other countries, naturally, will not meekly submit to such
subjection, and, hence, violence has become the foundation stone of life in
England. Every alternate generation sheds its youth and talent on the battle
fields to accomplish and maintain its organization. Is this a sensible
arrangement? Generally speaking, the man in the street will acknowledge the
futility of this method which has to be sustained by periodical slaughter of the
innocents. Therefore, to confuse the issues, all the means available-advocating
a complex standard of living, a system of education giving false values,
glorifying violence-have been used to mislead the public, whose unquestioning
support is needed to maintain such an order. The devastating effects of such
propaganda are to be noticed in mothers' sacrificing the lives of their sons with

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