Hello, my name is Peter Joseph and welcome to
'Introduction to a Resource-Based Economy'.
The goal of the following brief presentation is to outline
the basic train of thought that arrives at this new economic model
which is based not on the movement of money
but rather the intelligent management of the Earth's resources
drawing inference from the physical world
as to the most efficient, strategic and sustainable method
for meeting the needs of the human population.
In the world today, societal decisions are essentially
the responsibility of individuals or groups
within the arena of politics or business;
in fact, one could note that politics and business
are the governing group entities of the social order as we know it.
And as history has shown
whenever anything goes wrong on the societal level
the tendency is for one group or a sub-group
to simply impose blame on another.
The left will blame the right, the Conservatives will blame the Liberals
a new administration will blame an old administration, etc.
Yet rarely do we hear any criticism
of the foundation of the social operation itself;
it appears to simply be presupposed by most.
In other words, the culture seems to unconditionally accept
the socioeconomic paradigm without question
and politics and business are assumed to be
a natural human state of affairs.
Even in a world of growing unemployment, growing poverty
growing mental health disorders, drug abuse, raw resource depletion
overall environmental degradation, violence and war propensities
systemic global debt defaults
accelerated inflation, atmospheric destabilization
and many other social and ecological problems
- too numerous to name at this stage -
there still exists a general refusal to consider that
maybe the socioeconomic system itself could be at fault.
What if the very game we play is really the problem?
What if the very nature of the dominant institutions
and methods of our time are actually creating
and reinforcing certain behavioral tendencies
which are (to put it simply) unsustainable and destructive
yet we simply don't see it?
As time has moved forward with the
exponential increase of human knowledge
we've seen a natural erosion of various forms of superstition
and provably non-progressive social practices.
We are slowly inching into a true age of reason
which recognizes that there are indeed proven governing natural laws
with direct physical reference
and that this method of thought, which we can term scientific
allows us to extrapolate viable approaches to our conduct
which almost virtually guarantee a tangible return
- if of course properly assessed.
This 'Scientific Inference'
is what has produced the vast technology we see around us
from airplanes to life-saving medicine
to even our understanding of the universe itself.
Simply put, science is an approach to our comprehension of the world
and ourselves, guiding us
to the closest approximation of reality as we could possibly have.
And of course while we all see the obvious fruits
of this method of thought and its vast applications
there is however still one area
which stands virtually untouched by the scientific methodology:
our Social System.
In this context we appear to be stuck in time
using antiquated traditionalized practices
which show clear signs of deficiency.
For instance:
we give dictatorial powers to politicians and political parties
under the guise of something we label 'Democracy'
- politicians who on average clearly have no education or training
in the technical affairs of social organization.
In a world where one child unnecessarily dies every five seconds
from poverty and deprivation
many look to government institutions for resolution
not really considering the scientific reality
that feeding and caring for the people of the world
is not a political issue.
It is a technical one
resolvable by simple resource management and allocation
and the intelligent and strategic application of technology.
Likewise, we have these things we call corporations or businesses
which are able to arbitrarily claim property
of the finite natural resources of this planet -
resources we all need.
They utilize those resources for the betterment of an isolated group
through a self-interest-based system we call free-market exchange.
In fact, when it comes down to it
the message of this system is quite clear:
either you submit to this game of differential advantage and self-interest
or you simply do not deserve the right to live.
You must earn your right to life on this planet, if you will
which, to a thinking mind, is clearly a pseudo-totalitarian construct
to perpetuate one group or class over another.
Yet again, this inhumanity goes unnoticed
for it is structurally built in.
We are born into this system and we are groomed to think
it is a natural fact, an empirical way of life...
Just as if years ago perhaps you were
born into a society as an abject slave
since you have never been exposed to anything contrary
you might even believe that you are supposed to be a slave
as though it is again a natural order of reality.
And if we couple that fact with a monetary system based explicitly on debt
which, unannounced to most, mathematically guarantees
that a subclass of the human population will always be deprived
we begin to see that we live in an
advanced variation of feudalism and nothing more.
It is technically impossible for everyone to
have their needs met in the current system.
The economic game of differential advantage
simply isn't designed to allow everyone to live and prosper.
It is a win-lose system, regardless of the state of the natural world
and what we are able to produce and technically accomplish.
Put succinctly, our economic system is completely decoupled
from natural processes of the physical world
a characteristic which can only lead to further problems
if a radical shift away from these outdated assumptions
is not commenced.
So, let's now take a large step back
putting aside everything that we might have been taught
about our social constructs and consider the following question:
What are the immutable foundations of human health and prosperity
and how do we construct a system which meets those needs
for the entire human population
- understanding of course, we live on a finite planet -
while ensuring the sustainability of this habitat
for future generations?
To answer this question we need to first consider the issue
of human need itself.
For eons now, philosophers have contemplated the nature of mankind
trying to find those 'human universals' we all share.
This of course, is an ongoing debate with many speculations
yet when it comes to the arena of human needs
we do find a virtually universal set of commonalities
amongst the entire species.
Needless to say, if we do not get proper nutrition
food, air and water we will cease to exist over time.
If we are exposed to substances which are chemically toxic to our biology
such as ingesting mercury or the like, we will likely get very sick.
If we suffer serious vitamin deficiency as a child
there is a predictable detrimental outcome for one's personal health
such as stunted growth or immunity problems.
But as human sciences have progressed we find that
human needs do not stop at this basic, commonly observed level.
Humans are bio-psycho-social organisms
meaning we are affected by our environment symbiotically
in many subtle and often complex ways.
For instance, if a mother in the late stages of pregnancy
suffers extreme emotional stress
flooding her system with cortisol (a stress hormone)
the nervous system of that unborn child
could be predictably compromised
in a negative way for the rest of his or her life
for the fetus itself technically is learning
about what the world is going to be like.
This also goes for infancy and early childhood as well
a critical developmental period where the organism is literally
being programmed or adapted
to the possible nature of the world they exist in -
an impression which has been found to carry over
for the entire life of that person in many ways.
And if that critical period is met with
negative stress, suffering and pain
that child's development could possibly evolve
into predictable tendencies of behavior
including propensities for addictions and violence in later life.
The point here with respect to human need
is that the physical, mental and emotional health of a person
can no longer be considered an isolated or temporal affair.
We are socially and environmentally connected
in a very real and multi-faceted way
and if our intent as a society is to produce
psychologically and physically balanced human beings
the whole of society must be designed to meet those needs -
not to mention adapt as our understandings change
and knowledge progresses.
So public health in the broad view
is really the ultimate measure of the performance of any social system
along with of course, the intelligent
sustainable management of the earth
which provides the core resources we need
coupled as well with a social arrangement
which is actually conducive for a healthy individual
to prosper and hence the health of society itself and its progress.
So given this basic understanding
how do go about designing a society that actually
supports the human species
while maintaining environmental balance?
This brings us to the concept of a Resource-Based Economy.
A Resource-Based Economy is a direct response
to this natural, physical, scientific understanding
inferentially derived to calculate how to best meet
the spectrum of human needs in the most efficient and sustainable way;
taking into account what actually supports us
which again, is the symbiotic relationship
of this delicate, providing biosphere we all share.
From there we are able to arrange society
with very little need for human opinion
if of course our collective goal is to maximize
our sustainability and economic efficiency.
The system that we describe is self-generating; it is self-evident
once these parameters are assumed.
There are three dominant economic considerations
which need to be considered immediately:
Resource Accounting, Dynamic Equilibrium and Strategic Design.
As far as resource accounting:
we live in a virtually closed planetary biosphere
with a set of mostly finite resources at our disposal.
Given this reality the logic becomes quite clear
as to our responsilbility
if we wish to allow our habitat to sustain itself
for future generations
and meet the needs of the current population.
We must organize and account.
Proper economic resource allocation really can not be made
unless we have a clear understanding of what we have
and where it is in a complete unified way.
Eventually this understanding will lead to what we could call
the 'Carrying Capacity of the Earth'
which is very important information.
But this accounting of course, is only the first step;
we also need to track the rates of change and regeneration
where applicable.
Here we have what we call 'Dynamic Equilibrium'.
The classic example of this issue today is deforestation.
Trees have a natural growth rate and cycle
and if our use of wood exceeds the rates of natural regeneration
- which is of course the case today unfortunately -
we have a problem. For it is, by definition, unsustainable.
Remember, the monetary market model
requires as much consumption as possible
to keep the growing population employed and the economy operational.
This is of course, simply Eco-cidal.
Remember, a core requirement of a true economy is to economize
or be strategically efficient and conservative.
Today we live in what could be called an 'anti-economy'
and this leads us to Strategic Design.
Efficiently meeting the spectrum of human needs
on a finite planet in a sustainable way
means resource allocation must be optimized strategically
and of course, conservatively.
Today this is, not done - or you could say, 'haphazardly done'
through arbitrary monetary realizations.
It is about what could be afforded by the producer and hence the consumer
not what the most scientifically efficient and strategic usage actually is.
Not to mention the issue of longevity of a given good
and the method to be used for its eventual breakdown, hence recycling.
All of these elements need to be considered in the initial design
without the interference of the market system and cost efficiency
which serve as inhibitors to sustainable design.
Again, an economy is about increasing efficiency at all times.
It is about doing what is most scientifically correct
not what some company can afford in order to
remain competitive in the market model.
We need strategic accounting, allocation and design
as derived from proven technical parameters
that assure maximum efficiency and sustainability.
Anything less is simply negligence.
So, Resource Accounting, Dynamic Equilibrium, Strategic Design
set the basic underlay for this resource-based economic model.
So let's now continue this inference...
Building upon these we can then arrive at the following
more specific organizational points:
1 - We need to move from a growth to a steady-state economy.
Dynamic Equilibrium simply cannot be maintained in a growth economy
for constant growth is literally impossible on a finite planet.
2 - We need a collaborative system, not a competitive one.
Strategic design cannot be fulfilled
when cost efficiency is in play.
In fact quite simply, monetary efficiency is inverse
to technological efficiency.
3 - We need a planned, designed system.
a system designed to take into account resource allocation
Dynamic Equilibrium and Strategic Design explicitly.
The dispersed, haphazard corporate system does not even come close
and the lack of efficiency and waste is simply, unacceptable.
4 - Automation is put before human labor on all levels.
This falls under the component of Strategic Design once again.
Not only do we design consumer goods to be as efficient as they can be
but the very design of the production methods themselves
to produce these goods, needs to be equally as strategic
to maximize accuracy and output.
Unannounced to many, productivity is now
inverse to employment in most sectors studied
which means it is socially irresponsible not to automate
for it can help us generate an abundance.
And 5 - We move from a system of property to a system of access
and hence the removal of monetary exchange itself.
There is a very large difference between
the current state of affairs today and
the scarcity that was intrinsic in the past.
We have advanced production technology now
which can enable what you could term an access abundance
or a system of resource allocation
which could enable universal free access to goods and services
without the need for anyone to use currency.
Rather than having a property-based investment approach
value approach, which requires hoarding and protection
we design a system of interchangeable access
like a rental or library system as we might see today.
In a society where I, for example
might drive my car for only a few hours a week at most
does it really make efficient sense
for me personally to store this vehicle
where it will sit unused for probably 90% of the month?
And if you extend that idea to the whole of the goods sector
the realization is that we can actually reduce production
create more efficiency, reduce the use of resources while
counter-intuitively, simultaneously enabling more access
of goods to the population when they need it.
The term would be 'Strategic Access'.
Now I know for many it's very difficult to think about
an access-based society rather than a property-based one
given the materialism we have been groomed into
which serves to support the conspicuous consumption that
perpetuates the market system and hence
the demand for labor and everything else
but the efficiency of this concept
when all of those other requirements are removed
- those false requirements of the monetary system -
if done correctly, the efficiency of this approach
is simply unparalleled.
Demand could be dynamically tracked
to avoid access shortages and overruns
and using the most advanced forms of automation and distribution technology
the convenience could far exceed anything
what 99% of the world knows today
- not to mention a reduction in crime as we know it, by at least 90%.
The bottom line is that money is no longer needed in a world
that has an access abundance.
Now this concludes the basic summarization of
the core attributes of the resource-based economic model.
Is it perfect? Is it Utopia? No -
But it would be cataclysmically better than anything we have today
which is continuing to damage ourselves, our environment
and shows all signs of getting much worse.
If you would like to learn more about a Resource-Based Economy
along with the global organizations working to make it happen
please visit TheZeitgeistMovement.com and TheVenusProject.com
for more information. I thank you for your time.
[TheZeitgeistMovement.com] [TheVenusProject.com] Voluntary Transcription by Linguistic Team International