Raveendra Nath "Ravi" Batra (born June 27, 1943)[2] is an Indian-American economist, author, and professor at Southern Methodist University.
Batra is the author of six bestselling books, two of which appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, with one (The Great Depression of 1990) reaching No.
[3] In his works, Batra proposes an equitable distribution system known as Progressive Utilization Theory (PROUT) as a means to not only ensure material welfare but also to secure the ability of all to develop a full personality.
[4] Batra's writings should be considered in terms of the philosophy of his mentor, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, who has had a profound influence on him.
In the book Batra promoted the Social cycle theory of his spiritual mentor, Sarkar, based on an analysis of four distinct classes with different psychological preferences or endowments.
[10] He popularised the concept of the "share of wealth held by richest 1%", as an indicator of inequality and an important determinant of depressions.
As anarchy was not a normal state of affairs, the class of military leaders would step in the breach and reestablish order and thereby usher in a new age of "commanders".
Batra thinks such a scenario in the future will refocus the social motivity, away from acquisition of money to a mastery of technology and physical bravery including the conquest of space, heralding a new age of commanders in the West.
These ideas contrast starkly with those of thinkers like Francis Fukuyama who argues in The End of History and the Last Man that capitalism, as it is based on democracy and freedom, represents the pinnacle of human social development.
In 1980 he published Muslim Civilization and the Crisis in Iran where he predicted the fall of the Shah and the rise of a class of intellectuals, or Mullahs, followed by a drawn out war with Iraq.
A central theme of this book was that the mal-distribution of wealth, which Batra found to be the cause of past episodes of financial speculative manias that were followed by a crash and depression.
[13] Batra's reputation rose in Europe on account of his correct prediction for the downfall of communism when he was awarded the Medal of the Italian Senate in 1990.
He urged the breakup of large firms, a raise in tariffs, and a drastic cut in defense spending to turn the country around.
America's revolutionary ideas will quickly captivate the globe; they will spread like wildfire and eradicate poverty within a generation.