“Nature enlists and ensures the co-operation of all its units, each working for itself and in the process helping other units to get along their own too -- the mobile helping the immobile, and the sentient the insentient. Thus all nature is dovetailed together in a common cause. Nothing exists for itself. When this works out harmoniously and violence does not break the chain, we have an economy of permanence.” – J.C.Kumarappa

Over the last three decades there has been an upsurge of technological innovations, and business models, aimed at making production systems more ‘sustainable’. However, innovations within the existing model of economy are not enough. The multiple crises of the 21st century cannot be addressed without radical departures from the prevailing understanding of ‘economy’ which is fundamentally alienated from the biosphere and nature’s economy. Therefore the concept of an ‘economy of permanence’ is central to our quest for radical departures from the prevailing definitions of growth and what constitutes value.

One possible starting point for this exploration is the articulation of the concept of ‘economy of permanence’ by J. C. Kumarappa (1892 – 1960) who worked extensively in rural areas during India’s freedom struggle in the first half of the 20th century. Like his mentor, M.K. Gandhi (1869 – 1948), Kumarappa was convinced that political freedom from British rule was a secondary goal of the India’s struggle for independence. It was far more important to challenge the dominant economic model and forge alternatives that would actually foster social, material and spiritual well-being of not just humans but the entire bio-sphere.

Kumarappa, a chartered accountant and economist trained at Columbia University, devoted himself to finding both a practical and theoretical basis for an economics that would enable societies everywhere to strive for well being of all – rather than the maximum good of the maximum number.

This quest led Kumarappa into a close observation of nature and how its various creatures coexist. Every being, Kumarappa found, fulfills its necessary role in the cycle of life by performing its own primary function. He identified five kinds of economies in nature: parasitic, predatory, enterprise, ‘gregation’ and service.

In the parasitic economy one unit lives off the host and kills the latter, such as the tiger and its prey. In a predatory economy some units benefit themselves without conferring a corresponding advantage on another unit, such as a monkey enjoying fruits off the trees. In an economy of enterprise there is a more or less reciprocal relation between two units, such as the honey bee and the flower. In an economy of gregation individual units work not for their own gain but for the common benefit, such as bees in a bee-hive. In an economy of service, one unit serves other units not to serve its own direct personal needs but for the sake of future generations, such as the mother bird nurturing her chicks.

In Kumarappa’s frame the economy of service is the highest form of economy in nature. Thus today’s world with its endless striving for economic growth, accompanied by worldwide environmental devastation and social turmoil is an economy of transience -- the exact opposite of an economy of permanence.

Kumarappa’s main aim was to connect the spiritual with every day material life so that “the daily routine of mundane existence may be regulated in accordance with the dictates of our better self...” Kumarappa’s key insight was about dangers inherent in the predominant economic culture:

"An economy that is based purely on monetary or material standards of value, does not take in a realistic perspective in Time and Space. This shortcoming leads to a blind alley of violence and destruction from which there is no escape... To lead to any degree of permanence, the standard of value itself must be based on something apart from the person valuing, who is after all perishable. Such a basis, detached and independent of personal feelings, controlled by ideals which have their roots in the permanent order of things, are objective and so are true and reliable guides."

Kumarappa’s work illustrated how the idea of economic man is peculiar to capitalist societies and far from universal. Though his theoretical work remained incomplete, since he devoted most of his energies to empirical work on village industries, Kumarappa’s work continues to inspire activists who are resisting the devastating impacts of relentless growth as measured in terms of gross domestic product.

For more, read Economy of Permanence (Kumarappa), Economics of Ahimsa and Environment (Amit Basole), Economics for Well Being (Rajni Bakshi), Building a Creative Freedom (Govindu, Malghan)