IN THE BOOK

Scholar, ideologue and economist Roshan Lal Agrawal has authored a new doctrine in the economics, which is Line of Wealth. This has published in English language book “Line of Wealth.” In fact, his original work is in Hindi, “Gharibi Rekha Naheen, Amiri Rekha”. The doctrine in the book is a new addition in the disciplines of economics including development economics, fiscal economy and taxation. This book, in fact, is the important most treatises after Kark Marx and Engels doctrine of socialism. The book is an expression in a simple yet academic style and manner. This is the chapter wise review, pricy and commentary on the book, which also includes some excerpts as well.    

Chapter 1: Unfulfilled Desire of Peace

Science has changed the life styles and mode of business as well as commerce through modern technology inventions. Inventions in physics mainly communication revolution, robotics and transportation has entirely changed the active life, living patterns, and professions. Today, the capacity of production has increased and inversely the large number of laborers has become unemployed because technology has steadily replaced the human laborers. Contrarily, the opportunities to accumulate wealth by a few have increased. Until this inequality and contradiction is not solved, peace in broader terms cannot be achieved. 

Chapter 2: Survival

Human require consumables for life. The inequality begins with the competition not only on the optimum requirements for consumables for everyone but also to save them. Saving of consumables, in the beginning, started for future troubled times however this laid foundations for accumulation of consumables, which later on became accumulation of wealth. This has caused extreme poverty. Majority in the world cannot afford the food, clothing and shelter. This human socio-economic process has been main reason behind strife and wars.

Chapter 3: Economic Justice

Economic justice is when freedom and equality in terms of economy are given to all that in turn will strengthen the freedom and equality in other spheres of life. Economic justice is basically three pronged: equal rights of all on natural resources; public audit and payout on the wealth accumulation beyond certain limit; and equality amongst all haves and have-nots both as well as post scientific revolution equal economic opportunities for all.  In the absences of economic justice, slavery, unemployment, crime and violence cannot end.

Chapter 4: Line of Wealth

Majority in the world is wealthless. “In order to establish justice, all aspects of socio-political economy need to be rethought. Justice is all citizens have equal rights on natural resources in a country. Human persons have this right since the birth,” writes the author. In a bid to attain and establish economic justice, an approach change is required. World has to withdraw the much touted approach of Line of Poverty. Instead, it requires the approach Line of Wealth. Line of Wealth is simply putting a ceiling on the per capita possession of wealth that should be declared one’s fundamental right and should go untaxed. The wealth, more than the ceiling of wealth possession, should heavily be taxed; meanwhile all other forms domestic taxes should be abolished. Thereafter, the revenues generated due to wealth tax, which the author has termed ‘national income’ should be utilized for the government requirement, while the remaining revenues or net saving after government expenditures should equally distributed among the citizens, which author has termed “dividend”. 

Chapter 5: An Ideal Economy

“An ideal economy is when all means of production together meet the needs of people,” is the one sentence definition of an ideal economy by the author. The ‘surplus resources’ as author has termed, are the key so far as the impacts on the available natural resources  are concerned due to human purists for the accumulation of wealth, which in fact is unsustainable and is bound to reduces opportunities for the upcoming generation regarding their economic wellbeing. Author is of the view that there should be an uninterrupted cycle of wealth flow in all classes, sections and stratum of society, which in result will ensure the sustainable and collective outcomes for economy in general and for all. 

Chapter 6: Emancipation from Scarcity

Natural resources are scarce if seen the growing population of the world, and the worst scenario is a key challenge if viewed in the futuristic or next generations’ perspective. This further impulse to develop a new economic matrix for checking scarcity in sustainable manner for both -- the world today as well as for the upcoming generations. Therefore, the only way out to check or sustainably and permanently end the scarcity is to adopt the approach of putting ceiling on the wealth possession, and the wealth beyond that ceiling should be taxed heavily. No other tax domestically should be imposed. Putting ceiling on the possession of wealth along with introducing one-tax system based on taxing wealth more than the ceiling are two major aspects of the Line of Wealth approach doctrine by Roshan Lal Agrawal in his book, “Line of Wealth”. Besides ending scarcity, it will also end the tax burden on citizens; minimize inflation possibilities; end corruption; reduce governance expenditure, financial management as well as related expenditure both in public and private sectors; permanent and sustainable end to unemployment and poverty; reduce population pressure on cities; benefit agriculture and industry laborers; ensure old age benefits for all; and finally end the impulse for artificially injecting financial resources into various sectors of the economy.

Chapter 7: One-Tax System, National Income and Economic Equality

The new taxation regime of one-tax system levied on the wealth exceeding the ceiling called Line of Wealth will generate extraordinarily more revenues than the existing revenue generation of the countries is. This voluminous revenue is termed by author as “national income”.  In a sample analysis of India, the author of the book proves through official and estimated independent data that after meeting government expenditures in India, and spending more on the other needs of the country and the people, the net saving if divided with the population of India, each citizen will receive INR 10000 monthly as royalty of their right on natural resources. After this all, the surplus funds can be utilized to make India a debt free country. 

Chapter 8: Wealth, Family, and State

According to author, a family consensually should select a representative of the family to the institutions of state, whenever a family or the state system wants to engage with each-other. Progressively, he suggests that an outsider can also be a member of a family through the consensus of the other family members. Such new family member’s wealth, if one does have, will be considered wealth of that family, and if someone does not have wealth, he or she will be having rights on the wealth of the family or at least of the family member who gives proposal for making someone member of the family. He also emphasis that each family unit in a country should be registered with the government. Besides, the author also focus the drawbacks of wealth confidentiality law in India, like everywhere in the world, and clearly proposes ending assets or wealth confidentiality law, which cause tax evasion, corruption and malpractices. He is of the view that a citizen should be given right to assess value of his own immoveable property, pay taxes according to that and sale of that property should also be in accordance to that value through a property sale mechanism which he also has suggested in the book. On those bases, he also suggests the property sale registration revenue methods as well. He also narrates the requirement of implementing the ceiling on the wealth, and thereby implementation of taxation on the more than that ceiling or the Line of Wealth one does possess.  

Chapter 9: A Free World

Globalization has manifestations and connotations. It is a globalization of the industry, trade, commerce, connectivity of people for business, professional and personal matters that has reduced time and cost in all these areas. At the same time, there is also globalization of crime, terrorism and violence. Besides, the global wealth and wealthy interests have started influencing greatly the electoral sovereignty of the countries; therefore, such vested globalized wealth interest in various cases has also been a factor behind the election victory of the parties to form government in a bid to facilitate such a wealth interests. He maintains that economic justice vision is the only path to get rid of these negative aspects of the globalization.

Chapter 10: On Social Disorder

The reason behind the social disorder in a society is economic, the very accumulation of wealth. According to the author, “consumption” is the central reason behind the accumulation of wealth. Since the natural resources are the basic as well as first form of wealth, all of its other forms are manifestation; therefore, the basic reason of social disorder is the natural resources’ unjust distribution, possession and accumulation. This simply is the economic and political bases of social disorder.

Chapter 11: Purpose of Economy and Importance of Justice

According to author of the book, “the fundamental purpose of the economy is to provide consumables in abundances to meet consumption requirement and avert scarcity of consumable … in a bid to avoid scarcity, human has developed science, art, structure and process of economy.” Besides, the author further writes, “contrary to the fundamentals of a cross-sectional social order, the possession and control of production and market by a few … [has caused] unjust distribution of the [benefits] in the society [because of] modern developments in the technology, production, and market.” The author has touched deeply the aspect of basic right of human on natural resources, which is due to relation of human-natural relations. According to the author the technology itself is made out of natural resources which used in today’s industrialized world.  Hence, the author in the book has extensively elaborated and proved that his theory of equal right on the natural resources is the actually hitherto almost untouched unearthing of the economics blended with sociology aspect. 

Chapter 12: Exploitation Free Market System

Market is practically determining factor behind the prices of the production for the sale and purchase; however, the producer is the basic price determining entity. The author favors the open market; however, he is against the hoarding, extraordinary price hike due to monopoly and hoarding together. He also suggests mechanisms and system to end malpractices free market that according to author is free for all – the producer, seller and buyer together. In fact, he talks about a playing field level for all these stakeholders. Besides, he also suggests education for above-mentioned stakeholders with reference to free market process.

Chapter 13: Fair Economy: A Review of Existing Ideologies

Author opines on the Capitalism, and Socialism practiced in the world after Soviet revolution led by Lenin in the Soviet Union. According to the author socialism controls all modes of production by nationalizing them on the basis of the argument that the communist parties in the government after revolution are true representatives of the poor, therefore they take control of mode of production on behalf of poor. The author disagree and criticize the socialist practices of restricting human freedom, and creation of new classes of powerful and powerless due to one party rule and bureaucratic oligarchy. These realities according to the author caused limits to economic progress; hence economic and political justice did not exist there, resultantly caused collapse of socialist system in the all socialist countries of the world. On Capitalism, his criticism is in contrast to socialism -- capitalism gives freedoms to individuals politically however does not gives freedom and equality in the field of economics. Author also writes that Socialism was unavoidable alternatives of Capitalism and relatively was pro poor. However views in this context doctrines despite classless society, a class barer free society or a class-free society is the only path in which freedom and equality together be ensured to all in the all spheres of life and society. Author sees Line of Wealth approach based ceiling on the possession of private wealth despite abolition of private property; envisions economic justice in today’s world, which according to author is based on with the equal rights of all on the natural resources in a country. This contemporary doctrine is a post-modernism doctrine to create a class-free society – a sisterly approach that is between Communism and Social Democracy; however so for as its implementation is concerned, it is near to modern democracy. It does not require revolution. It simply can be made happen through legislation.  

The way word ‘socialism’ author has used in his book does mean the practices by the claimant to be Socialist countries led by Communist Parties. So far ideological perspectives is concerned, he is against the last century’s practices in the name of Proletariat Dictatorship as well as Abolition of Private Property. The author sees rich and poor equal in terms of the humanity. He writes both have equal rights on the mode of productions and natural resources; however he theorize the model of one-tax system to heavily tax rich and distribute these revenues as Dividends among all citizens equally only to those who possess wealth bellow the Line of Wealth. Besides, he believes modern democracy is the real democracy when the economy in a country is based on the authors’ doctrine of Economic Justice. Therefore, author despite favoring unelected Proletariat Dictatorship, favors elected political leadership and democratic governance. His doctrine of revolution is basically based on the revolution in the economy through electoral process implementation of ceiling on the possession of wealth, and the revenues through taxing wealth more than that ceiling to be considered a collective property which author terms ‘national income’ and suggests after governance expenditure, the revenues should to be distributed equally among those who either possess wealth bellow the ceiling or does not possess. In fact his model of revolution is through fiscal and taxation regime change.

It is important to mention here that although Socialist revolution was brought by V. I. Lenin and Leon Trotsky together in which Trotsky was Commander (Commissar) of Red Army which took hold of tsar’s Russia through war, and after revolution Lenin led the country as Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. Immediately after that revolution, which popularly is known as October Revolution, Lenin died due to brain hemorrhage. Trotsky was ousted from Soviet Union due his notions and labeled as traitor against the revolution; meanwhile other members of Politbureau of Bolshevik Party (Communist Party – Revolutionary) were found assassinated. The only remaining leader out of the Politbureau of Bolshvik Party that did revolution was Joseph Stalin, who led the country and gave the socialist system, mechanism and method, therefore the socialist practices in Soviet Union and in the rest of the world were Stalanism, neither Marxism, nor Leninism or Trotskyism. Therefore the word ‘Socialism’ in this book should be considered Stalinist model of socialist state and society practiced in the world; however later on it failed.  Thus, the collapse and fall of Soviet Union and other socialist countries was not failure or defeat of Maxism-Lenenism-Trotskyim, it was failure and defeat of Stalinsim only.    

Chapter 14: Impacts of Contemporary Economy on Environment  

“Any production which cannot be used for consumption has no importance...” writes the author. When a producer produces more than consumer and market requirement, simply more than consumers requirement, which according to author is a production with no consumption. The investors usually burn or discard today that extra production to maintain the required price of commodity in the market.  Such act of discarding the commodities cause environmental degradation, therefore, author writes that economic justice vision is the only way out to avoid such anti-environment acts by the producers both industrialist and agriculture investors.

The question is why not such extra production be used for general welfare and for the poor? 

Chapter 15: Taxation in India, Ethics and Social Transformation

According to the author, “the legal, procedural and structural drawbacks of existing taxation system cause black-money, corruption and inflation.” The author opines that existing taxation system in India is unjust, based on the favors to the wealthy. Its procedures lead to fallacious taxation including tax theft. It also leads citizens to provide inaccurate data and details while undergoing taxation process. It mentions that structural and process expenditures of tax collection in India are extra ordinarily high; therefore, the net revenues level is skewed. The author pens that taxation system even sells the property of a persons who is unable to pay the taxes due to exceptional health or similar emergencies or unforeseen expenditures. The author talks on the taxation regime change in India. It professes the implementation of one-tax system on the wealth above the ceiling decided for the wealth possession –i-e Line of Wealth. This, according to the author, will save system cost of the taxation process and structure by highly reducing the size of taxation department (s) as well as simplifying the taxation procedures. Besides, he writes that the one-tax system will ensure that no un-taxable in pure fiscal terms or fiscal-ethics terms will be taxed. Besides, author writes that one-tax system will generate more revenue in comparison with the revenues generated by current taxation processes and the procedures.

Chapter 16: Origin and Ownership of Interest

Author terms interests in the academic expression “the interest can be said a kind of opportunity cost, which lender takes from the borrower.” The author is of the opinion since the business entrepreneur mostly takes loan on interest, and includes the interest on the loan in the price of commodity; therefore, consumers pay the interest on the loan taken by the investor. Therefore, the interest on the loan should also be considered public property and should have a mechanism to distribute fairly among all stakeholders.

Chapter 17: Private Wealth Rights

Author writes that all the citizens of a country have unalienable fundamental equal rights on the natural resources. Besides, author elaborates why the ceiling on the possession of wealth is required in the contemporary economy. The author writes that wealth in any of its forms, if exceeds the ceiling on the wealth possession, should be heavily taxed, and this one-tax should be levied. All the other existing taxes should be abolished. While writing this, author regarding fiscal aspects of economic justice, only talks and sees the things in the book and whole ideology until now with the perspective of Gross Domestic Production (GDP). It has not penned in the book, the economic justice aspects regarding Gross National Production (GNP) both in terms of wealth possession, import-export and other aspects of GNP. Therefore, the fiscal regime change, which author calls one-tax system and national revenues, is based on only fundamental and larger part of the economy of a country domestically; however in the reality of globalization of trade and commerce, a GNP as well as global economy perspective doctrine on the economic justice is required as well.

Chapter 19: State, Politics & Minimal Government

What exactly the democracy is? Is vote right and electing a government and the elected representatives enough to accomplish or claim a system democracy. An essential democracy is when economic democracy is imbibed in the society along with the equal vote rights. In a society that already have economic democracy, a voter votes properly. The very much economic democracy combined with political democracy is the economic justice provided that inalienable equal right to natural resources is given to all. When equal taxation system will be implemented in a country, based on one-tax system – a heavy tax on wealth one possesses beyond the certain limit – the size of government will reduce and a minimal government will properly provide maximum governance to the people.  

Chapter 20: Questions & Answers on Economic Justice

Common, touchy and ifs as well as buts by the people are replied in simple language in a bid to further make the doctrine of economic justice understandable.

End of the Line

Author in fact combine Stalinist socialist practices without abolition of private property and one party rule and blend it with the modern democracy along with his own doctrine of Line of Wealth and one-tax system which is based on the foundation that natural resources and their consumption is the bases for accumulation of wealth therefore all citizens in a country have equal rights on the natural resources. Author has coined terms ‘private wealth’ by replacing term Marxist term ‘private property’ because contemporary outlook of economies. Besides, author terms haves and have-nots equally in the eye of human person approach; however when he is against the abolition of privet wealth and property, he clearly writes in the book that the all forms of wealth that are beyond the ceiling on the wealth possession are property of the collective, the holder of excessive wealth is only a rent-payee possessor on the excessive wealth. He mentions the collective has royalty on excessive wealth which wealthy, although keeping ownership documents and possessions, has to pay royalty to the collective – the citizens together, the people. He also talks about Citizen’s Tax on the excessive wealth possession, which his doctrine professes that Citizen Tax (in Hindi - Nagrik Bhata) payment to the citizen. He has chosen and analyzed India as a sample economy for his discourse of economic justice in his book Line of Wealth, and has estimated INR 10000 Citizen Tax can be paid if his doctrine is materialized.          

Simply, the book Line of Wealth by author Roshan Lal Agrawal is the post-Soviet Union collapse doctrine which is economic and democratic equality of all through reforms. His book Line of Wealth can be said a part of series that began with Karl Marx and Engels and includes scholars and philosophers like Lenin, Trotsky, M.N. Roy, Rosa Luxemburg; Antonio Gramci and George Lucas. 

Author has a claim that even investors and wealthier will not oppose this doctrine, which is quite understandable. When author talks about one-tax system, a heavy tax on the excessive wealth possession, he also talks about the abolition of the other domestic taxes.  Besides, as author writes in the book, one-tax will reduce the financial control and management cost of the investors in the form of use of papers, printers, computers, use of electricity, salary of the extra human resources and charter accounts charges. Besides, the investors will not have a separate team for General Tax revenues on the sold comedies / consumables that are required for transferring such revenues to the governments.

Finally, this is a truth that this doctrine is in accordance with Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam concepts of taxes, Zakat and other similar things. At the same times, this doctrine is in the spirit of Marxism and is in fact Modern Social Democracy that has both Communist economy and Social Democratic currents. It also can be said Southasian doctrine equivalent to neo-socialism for the world!

About the book:

Book: Line of the Wealth

Author: Roshan Lal Agrawal

Pages: 130

Price: INR 199

Publisher:  White Falcon Publishers

Available: In Indian & the World

Book expected in the market:

This review and summary of the book is by Zulfiqar Shah, a writer, economist and activist. Twitter: @shahzulf