Comenius as Economist

Economic Equity in the Panorthosia

By John Taylor; 2009 July 04, Rahmat 10, 166 BE


So far in this series of essays on the Badi' Blog we have looked at how Comenius's Universal Reform treats each of the first several Baha'i principles, search for truth, oneness of humanity, harmony of science and religion, and elimination of prejudice. The next Baha'i principle to tick off our list is economic equity. Comenius was by no means an economist. The bulk of his work is on reform, religion and education. However, as we shall see he did recognize the necessity for the reformer to better the lot of the poor. Iniquity in economic relations, he points out, is not only a waste of human potential but it also amounts to a kind of latent violence.


"The third evil derived from ignorant handling of things is that in the midst of the great abundance which God most generously promised to all who should inhabit his own dwelling-place of the world, most of mankind are either toiling in poverty or encountering trouble instead
of pleasure, disease instead of good health, and early death instead of long life. If this violence, active or passive, is not stopped, it will be impossible for our affairs to be fully reformed." (Panorthosia II, Ch. 9, para 9, p. 146)

Following certain Biblical passages, Comenius adds that the elimination of extreme poverty is tied to the lack of peace among nations. The elimination of war would also result in removal of warlike habits of speech, such as backbiting, gossip, swearing and execration.

"All the means should be available and anything else that could contribute towards peace and tranquillity, establishing all things in such perfect peace that not even a Dog moves his tongue against anyone (as it is told in the Epistle of Jude, 2 and 15) and fulfilling the
saying about the abundance of peace in the kingdom of Christ." (Ch. 12, para 7, pp. 188-189)


Works of charity and maintaining moral uprightness are special tasks of the religious wing of the world government (the other two are science and politics). Comenius envisioned in Panorthosia a world-embracing interfaith body whose franchises are called "consistories." Consistories should be established on every level of society, from world, continental to the neighborhood levels. As we have seen, he even imagined a room set aside in each family household for a small church. The consistories would have as their mandate looking over and providing for the poor.


"Also since the poor are the treasure of the Church, deposited with us by Christ, the Consistories will see that they are rightly cared for everywhere, by keeping a watchful eye on the provision and orderly maintenance of poorhouses, the chastity of lodging-houses, and general respectability among the common people." (Panorthosia, Ch. 18, para 14, p. 243)

Like Abdu'l-Baha, Comenius saw the futuristic potential of the storehouse invented in the Biblical story of Joseph and his interpretation of Pharaoh's dream. Instituting such a storehouse at every level of government would eliminate famine, penury and tend to
even out the worst economic imbalances among rich and poor.


"There should be one common food-supply for one family within one household, and a public supply in the same village or town should be drawn upon in such a way as to ensure fair distribution, meaning that there should not be some who have enough to make them sick while others are going hungry." (Ch. 24, para 1, p. 118-119)


This aims even closer to home than the "hundred-mile diet" advocated by the recent local food and slow food movements. Comenius would have the control of food production in public hands, not in that of anonymous private corporations, as now.

The advantage of centering food storage and distribution on the town and village level is that it encourages urban agriculture, while the focus on the household storehouse would make small kitchen gardens a source of fresh leafy greens and other vegetables. Comenius also suggests here that the family household is the best place to assure not only that the poor eat sufficiently, but also that there would be no more tolerance of overeating than there is of under-eating. Under such a food distribution system it is unlikely that obesity would be ubiquitous as it is now in rich lands, and even in poor ones.


Studies have found that in maintaining health how and when we eat our meals is almost as important as what or how much we consume. For example cultures like France where mealtimes are also social occasions tend to have less obesity, perhaps because the focus is more on conversation and less on stuffing one's face.

Comenius seems to have been aware of this when he suggested strong control of diet by the family household.


"A convenient way of arranging this is 1. by some agreed definition of meal-times; everyone should have lunch and supper at exactly the same hours, barring accidents. 2. by seeing that no one has more than three
or four courses served, and 3. by assisting necessitous cases. There should be public prefects who visit nearly every house once a week to see whether everyone is doing a proper day's work, and what kind of living they earn for it. Otherwise (in the event of sickness or for
some other reason) provision should be made from the public supply, so that no one is altogether neglected, or else steps should be taken quickly to have food sent to him by a neighbour." (Panorthosia, Ch. 24, para 1, p. 118-119)


This prefect system Comenius took from the Roman model, but something very similar is still being used in parts of China today. I have been advocating this system of invigilators, which I call "neighborhood
helpers," for many years. Because it deals in face-to-face contact rather than impersonal statistics it would allow for quicker response to economic dislocation, such as job losses and economic emergencies.






If police and doctors worked with prefects or neighborhood helpers, and all worked on a capitation basis, it would be possible to all but eliminate not only poverty but disease and crime as well.


Next time we will look at Comenius's other ideas for reforming trades and professions.




John Taylor
email: badijet@gmail.com
blog: http://badiblog.blogspot.com/


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