Biography      

Prof. Dr. Mubyarto (September 3, 1938 – May 24, 2005) was an Indonesian people’s economy (ekonomi kerakyatan) expert who taught at Gadjah Mada University and is known as the initiator of the concept of Pancasila Economics. Mubyarto was born in Sleman, Yogyakarta. His early childhood until the time of his baccalaureate was spent in Yogyakarta. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Faculty of Economics, Gajah Mada University. Once he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1959, he obtained a scholarship from the Ford Foundation to take a master of economic development degree at Vanderbilt University, United States, and finished in 1962. Three years later he earned a doctorate in agricultural economics from Iowa State University, United States. His dissertation was entitled “Elasticity of Rice Surplus that Can Be Marketed in Java-Madura”.

The economic concept of Pancasila is based on Mubyarto’s thoughts

The first root of Pancasila Economics was at the first echoed by Ir. Soekarno and Dr. Drs. H. Mohammad Hatta. Then, formally formulated by Emil Salim. However, this concept became popular when Mubyarto developed it. According to him, the Pancasila Economic Theory is an original theory based on Indonesia’s own empirical inductive data, which describes the real economy (real economic life). This theory does not deviate from the theory of a market economy, which means it is not based on government arrangements or state command or makes Indonesia’s economy socialist/communist as mainstream economic experts fear. Pancasila economy is a market economy that is oriented entirely to the people’s economy. “Pancasilais” means a good and loyal adherent of the ideology of Pancasila, who has the moral Almighty Godhead, has a just and civilized humanity, has a moral nationalism/nationality, has a people’s morality, and all are directed towards serious efforts towards the realization of social justice for all Indonesians.

The foundation of the Pancasila economic theory he developed is based on his desire to create an Indonesian economic system based on justice. This concept was proposed as the solution for the Indonesian economic system which always leaned towards the west. Where economic thinking was based on the Neo-Classical economic system. According to him in the Neoclassical Economic system, the goal of economic activity is only to achieve efficiency in the production and consumption of material goods. which is considered by observers to be more concerned with a strong economic class and less able to protect workers’ rights for the weak economic class, while the economic goal of the Pancasila Economy version is to meet the goals of efficiency as well as justice.

Referring to the economic view of Pancasila developed by him, there are 5 characteristics including: (1) the wheels of government are driven by economic, social, and moral stimuli; (2) the strong will of the whole society toward social equality (egalitarianism) according to humanitarian principles; (3) the priority of economic policy is the creation of a resilient national economy which means nationalism can implement any economic policy; (4) cooperatives are the enforcers of the economy and are the most concrete form of joint enterprise and (5) there is a clear and unequivocal balance between planning at the national level and decentralization in the implementation of economic activities to ensure social justice.

Implementation of poverty programs related to the Pancasila economy

Poverty in Indonesia is quite a concern for him as an expert in people’s economy that focuses on socio-economic justice. From his concern emerged the Inpres Desa Tertinggal (IDT) program. When he became the minister of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), he and his friends launched the Inpres Desa Tertinggal (IDT), namely Providing government funds to poor communities to be managed directly by the community by deliberation using the revolving fund concept. The IDT program as a poverty alleviation program has stopped, but the revolving fund grant concept developed by him and his friends is still used in the form of other programs in various development sectors in Indonesia.

Awards and Death

He died at the age of 67 leaving behind a wife, Sri Hartati Widajati, and four sons. He has received various service awards, including the Anugerah IPTEK (Minister of Education and Culture) in 1971, Anugerah Bintang Jasa Utama (President) in 1994, Anugerah Bintang Mahaputra Utama (President) in 1997, Anugerah Satya Lencana Pembangunan Koperasi (President) in 1998 and Hatta Award (Universitas Hatta) in 2001.

Reference

Museum, U. (2021, November 1). Prof. Mubyarto and the Idea of “Pancasila Economics”. Retrieved from Museum UGM: https://museum.ugm.ac.id/2021/11/01/3293/

Pamungkas , T. K. (2017, February 5). Mubyarto People’s Economy and Indonesian Socialism. Retrieved from LSF Cogito: https://lsfcogito.org/ekonomi_kerakyatan_mubyarto__sosialisme-indonesia/

Aktual. (2017, July 19). Mubyarto, Economic Developer of Pancasila. Retrieved from Actual: https://aktual.com/mubyarto-pengembang-ekonomi-pancasila/

Humas, U. (2005, May 26). PROF. MUBYARTO IN MEMORIES. Retrieved from Gajah Mada University: https://www.ugm.ac.id/id/berita/1097-prof-mubyarto-dalam-kenangan