The following presentation is designed to give a basic overview of the tenets
philosophy and goals of The Zeitgeist Movement.
This orientation has been extracted from the more expansive "Activist Orientation Guide"
which is available for free PDF download at thezeitgeistmovement.com
All source references for material in this video presentation can be found in that document.
The Zeitgeist Movement - Activist Orientation www.thezeitgeistmovement.com
www.thevenusproject.com
The Zeitgeist movement is not a political movement.
It does not recognize divisionary notions such as nations
governments, races, religions, creeds or class.
Rather, we see the world as one organism
with the human species as a singular family.
Simultaneously, we acknowledge that we depend entirely on our environment,
not only in regard to the necessities of life such as food, air and water,
but also for influence and guidance in regard to life's processes.
We recognize and understand that aligning ourselves with natural processes
is the most progressive and productive disposition we can have.
The Zeitgeist movement in fact, is the activist arm of The Venus Project
an organization which constitutes the lifelong work
of industrial designer and social engineer Jacque Fresco.
Simply put, what The Venus Project represents
and what the Zeitgeist movement hence condones, could be summarized
as the application of the scientific method for social concern.
One of the greatest discoveries of humankind
which has allowed for tremendous advancement in our abilities on this planet,
has been the understanding and application of science.
Through the humane application of science and technology
to social design and decision making
we have the means to transform our environment
into something exceedingly more balanced
organized, humane, productive and most importantly, sustainable.
As many are aware at this time, both our societal integrity
and ecological integrity are in serious question.
The current economic system is falling apart at an accelerating rate
with the prospect of worldwide unemployment and destabilization
occuring possibly on the largest scale ever seen.
Simultaneously, we are courting the point of no return
in regard to the destruction of the environment.
Given the current state of affairs, many of which
will be addressed in the first part of this presentation
the viewer should find that we not only need to move in another direction
we have to.
In order to understand where we are and how we have gotten
to this point in history, we need to address those societal attributes
which have greatly affected our social conduct.
The most important observation in this regard
is our use of a monetary system.
In this section, we are going to address the mechanisms
of our world monetary system, pointing out the consequences
this type of organizational structure has produced.
These consequences include: 1. The Need for Cyclical Consumption
denoting the economic requirement that products and services
are perpetually bought and sold regardless of quality and waste.
2. The Abundance of Scarcity
denoting how resources, goods and services
are deliberately made scarce to ensure profitability
within the supply and demand equation.
3. The Priority of Profit
denoting the vast corruption commonplace in the world
due to the need to generate income.
4. Fiscal Manipulation
denoting how the central banking systems of the world
work to control the economy for the benefit of their corporate constituents
and establishment power.
1. The Need for Cyclical Consumption
The roles of people on a monetary system
are basically broken into three distinctions:
the employee, the employer and the consumer.
The employee performs tasks for the employer
in exchange for a wage, or monetary payment
while the employer sells a good or service to the consumer for a profit,
another classification of monetary payment.
In turn, both the employer and the employee function as consumers,
for the monetary payments they obtain
are used to purchase goods and services relevant to their survival.
This act of purchasing goods and services
is what allows the entire system to perpetuate
thus allowing for the employer and employee to make money
and thus continue consuming.
In other words, it is the requirement of perpetual or cyclical consumption
that keeps the entire economy going.
If consumption was ever to stop, the whole system would collapse.
This produces two severe consequences for society:
1. Nothing physically produced can ever maintain a lifespan
longer than what can be endured in order to maintain
the needed 'cyclical consumption'.
In other words, everything must break down
in a respective amount of time
in order to continue the financial circulation
needed to power the economy.
This characteristic could be defined as 'planned obsolescence'.
Planned obsolescence is essentially
the deliberate withholding of efficiency
so the product in question breaks down respectively fast.
This happens both intentionally, with manufacturers timing their products
for breakdown, often as soon as the warranty runs out;
and indirectly, where profit-based shortcuts taken in production
usually in the form of cheap materials and poor design
translates into an inferior product immediately
with the failure of the product simply a matter of time.
The second consequence is that new products and services
must be constantly introduced regardless of functional utility
generating endless waste.
The result of these two issues are nothing but unacceptable
for not only are resources being neglectfully used in products
that are designed not to last, wasting human energy and materials
the amount of frivilous waste and pollution that results is staggering.
In other words, waste is a deliberate byproduct of industry's need
to keep 'cyclical consumption' going.
The obsolete or expired product is trashed,
often to landfills, polluting the environment
while the constant multiplicity accelerates this pollution.
To express this from a different angle
imagine the economic ramifications of production methods
that strategically maximize the efficiency
and sustainability of every product, using the best known materials
and techniques available at the time.
Imagine products so well designed
that they didn't need maintenance for say, 100 years.
Imagine a house that was built from fireproof materials
where all appliances, electrical operations, plumbing and the like,
were made from the most impermeable
highest integrity resources available on Earth.
In such a saner world, where we actually created things to last
minimizing pollution and waste, a monetary system would be impossible
for cyclical consumption would slow tremendously
forever weakening the so called economic growth.
Mechanism two: The Abundance of Scarcity
In monetary economics, supply and demand
is partly how goods and services obtain value.
The more there is of something, the less it is worth in respect to itself.
If we woke up one day and for some reason, hypothetically speaking,
there were only 100 oranges left in existence
with no possibility to grow more,
the value of those oranges would skyrocket,
for they are now extremely scarce.
In other words, it is profitable for resources to be scarce.
If a company can convince the public that their product is rare
the more they can charge for that product.
This provides a strong motivation to keep items and resources scarce.
The ramifications of this are psychologically profound;
for if companies know that they can make more money
by having their items scarce, the propensity to deliberately
limit production or be dishonest about available resources is high.
This means that the monetary system rewards mechanisms
that inherently discourage abundance and equality.
Even more offensively, profit can actually be made
as a result of scarcity generated by environmental pollution,
such as what is now happening with our water supplies.
This creates a perverse reinforcement of indifference
to environmental concern by industry, for the more damage there is
the more profit that can be obtained by offering solutions.
And this leads us to: 3. The Priority of Profit.
A monetary system's foremost motivating principle
is profit, or more generally, income.
All people must seek out a strategy to acquire money.
A wage earner seeks out the best possible pay
he can get for his services, while the employer
seeks to constantly reduce costs in order to maximize their profit.
This competitive mentality extends into all facets of society,
and it should be no surprise that those who are in positions
of great wealth are often the most ruthless and indifferent.
Now, before we move any further into the negative consequences
of the profit priority, let's first consider
what many think to be the good side of this system: incentive.
As the theory goes, the need for profit provides a person or organization
with motivation to work on new ideas and products
that might sell in the market place.
In other words, the assumption is that if people were not motivated
by their need to obtain money, nothing would be invented
and little social progress would be achieved.
First of all, the most powerful contributions to society
did not come from people seeking profit.
Louis Pasteur, Charles Darwin, the Wright brothers, Albert Einstein
and Isaac Newton did not make their massive contributions
to society because of material self interest.
While it is true that useful inventions and methods
do come from the motivation for personal gain,
the intent behind those creations typically have nothing to do
with human or social concerns and everything to do
with detached self interest and blind personal gain.
The pursuit of profit almost always comes before human concern
and a simple glance at the cancer causing preservatives in our foods,
the planned obsolescence of nearly everything manufactured
along with the health care industry that charges 300 dollars
for a single antibiotic pill, will indicate
that the profit incentive is actually a detriment.
Problems in our monetary-based society will only have resolution
if money can be made from solving those problems.
Now, more specifically, to put the spectrum
of monetary derived corruption into a workable perspective,
we will divide these behaviors into three classifications:
general crime, corporate crime and government crime.
General crime in a monetary system ranges from petty theft
to illegal sales, to fraud, to violent robbery.
This by-product of the system is often not given
the thought needed to understand its source
for many tend to dismiss these so called criminals
as some kind of social anomaly.
The reality is that the stress, conflict,
poverty and thus deprivation generated by the monetary system itself
is the foundational cause.
In the 1990's, a research project
called the Merva-Fowles study was conducted
which found powerful connections between unemployment and crime.
They based their research on 30 major metropolitan areas
with a total population of over 80 million.
Their findings found that a 1% rise in unemployment resulted in:
a 6.7% increase in homicides
a 3.4% increase in violent crimes,
a 2.4% increase in property crime.
During the period from 1990 to 1992, this translated into:
1459 additional homicides,
62,607 additional violent crimes
and 223,500 additional property crimes.
This is very revealing.
A person living in a deprived environment, with little resources,
poor education and few opportunities for work
will simply do what they need to in order to survive.
While the neuroses generated from the stress of the situation
often leads to violent and socially offensive acts.
In other words, the environment is creating the behavior.
Corporate Crime
Corporate crime, which is almost exclusively profit related
takes many forms: planned obsolescence,
monopolistic collusion, market manipulation
outsourcing, price fixing, labor exploitation
and governmental collusion are just a few to note.
From Enron's deliberate shutting down of California's power plants
to boost its energy stocks to the Bayer Corporation's
knowing distribution of HIV-tainted drugs,
it should be clear to most people that corporate crime is constant
and oftentimes much more insidious than general crime
for the repercussions tend to affect very large groups of people.
The corporate criminal's need to secure profitability
is no different in basis than the general criminal's need to survive.
While the latter typically commits crimes to live
the former commits crimes to further secure their positions of power,
lifestyle and wealth. It is based on fear.
The notion of greed, which manifests from a perpetual insecurity
derived from the fear of losing what one has
serves as the motivating factor for most corporate crimes.
This neuroses is perpetuated and reinforced by what we could call
'the luxury stratification' that the monetary system creates;
for in this system, there is a neverending progression
of products available, as one's purchasing power increases.
And then, there's government crime.
Government crime is one of the more complex
and difficult forms of conduct to consider
for perception of goverment is highly modified
by the prevailing values this ruling class perpetuates through society.
For example, patriotism is often used to encourage support for war.
Making people feel like they have an obligation
to agree with the government's decision.
That being said, let's take an objective look at
what government within a monetary system actually is and represents.
The central role of government is basically the invention of
regulatory legislation and policies to handle the functioning of society.
Idealistically, the broad interests of the public
would be the first priority of government.
Unfortunately, as history has shown
this is not, and has rarely been the case.
Rather, government as we know it is actually a parent corporation
to all the other corporations working within the country's economy.
This, of course, makes sense; for the value of any nation
is really determined by the state of its economy.
This means that the government has a vested interest
in the economic position of its nation,
most specifically with those interests that benefit them directly.
Lobbying and contributions in America alone
constitute billions of dollars a year
and this money is given entirely under the pretense
of putting the donating party's agenda in action.
Now, while the examples of government and corporate collusion are vast
the greatest monetarily derived crime of government is its use of war
for the benefit of its corporate and financial constituents.
In the words of two-time Congressional Medal of Honor recipient,
Major General Smedley D. Butler, "War is a racket.
It always has been. It is possibly the oldest
easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious.
It is the only one international in scope.
It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars
and the losses in lives."
Accelerated industrial creation, military contracts,
reconstruction contracts, energy and resource acquisition or theft
high interest austerity-driven world bank and private bank loans
for post-war economies are just a few
of the highly profitable mediums utilized.
The true motivation for war today is actually threefold:
industrial commercial profit maximized for the elite,
resource acquisition or theft as was the case with Iraq
and Afghanistan, and strategic geopolitical alignment
to increase the ease of further industrial profit and resource theft.
War is probably the greatest sickness
caused by the desire for wealth and power.
Government, with its team of brainwashed assassins on hand
is involved in the ultimate form of self preservation
and as long as the resources of the world remain horded and restricted
for the material benefit of the few, this pattern of war will never end.
Now, these classifications of corruption are only a generalized grouping.
.
Vast nuances of human behavior in everyday life
are also very much poisoned by this mechanism for profit.
For if you look closely enough, you will see that nearly every act
of strategic monetary gain is corrupt by its very construct.
It is just accepted as normal by the conditioned culture.
And 4. Fiscal Manipulation
The currency used today is fiat
which means its value comes essentially from government decree.
Monetary value in the fiat system
is actually derived from how much money is in circulation
within an economy, generally speaking.
Just as with any natural resource, the more money that is in circulation
the less each unit of fiat currency is worth.
When less money is in circulation, it makes each unit
worth more respectively. This phenomenon could be called
inflation and deflation, generally speaking.
Now, the increase in the supply of money available in an economy
is called monetary expansion.
While a decrease in the supply of money is called monetary contraction.
Generally speaking, the expansion period
is usually associated with so called "economic growth,"
for more money is available and able to be put to use
and often more jobs are thus created.
Conversely, monetary contraction is often called
a recession or depression
for money is drying up and hence there is less money to put to use;
so jobs are lost and companies fail.
Economic growth is typically defined as:
the increase in the amount of the goods and services
produced by an economy over time.
However, let it be understood that economic growth
is really a zero sum game.
There is no such thing as true economic growth in and of itself,
for the underlying mechanism is based almost entirely
on the amount of liquidity, or money in the system.
In other words, if I counterfeit 100 million US dollars
and give it to you to start a business, and you buy and fix up
an old building, hire a team of employees
and start to produce a product that the public buys
this would be considered an expansion of the economy.
You have invested in real estate, increased the employment rate
and created new products that others buy
therefore exciting the circulation of currency
hence the consumption cycle.
Now, what if the authorities found out that all the money
you had used was actually counterfeit
and thus they shut down the whole operation?
This would be a contraction of the economy, for the money thus vanishes.
Your employees would be laid off, the building foreclosed upon
and the production halted.
One should ask, "What was the real growth?"
If the increase or expansion in the supply of money
can result in the creation of jobs and production,
while the decrease or contraction
results in the loss of jobs and production,
what exactly was gained and lost? What was the point?
Let's now consider how money is created and regulated
by the government and its central bank.
For this example, we will use the United States
and its central bank, The Federal Reserve.
The expansion and contraction of the money supply
is what really creates the so called 'business cycle'
you hear about in classic economics.
This cycle is largely controlled and manipulated
by the central bank, by way of interest rates.
An interest rate is a fee charged to a borrower
for the use of credit, or an amount of money.
All money in the U. S economy, and virtually every other economy
in the world is created out of debt, through loans.
Every dollar in someone's wallet is borrowed from the banking system.
This is important to understand: All money is created out of debt.
Thus the rate by which the money comes into existence depends on
how much a person is willing to pay in interest to acquire that loan.
The commercial banks base their interest rates
on values set by the central bank.
When the Federal Reserve lowers its interest rates
so do the commercial banks, and credit
or borrowing becomes less expensive.
When the Fed raises its rates
credit becomes more expensive, and hence borrowing slows.
The point here is that The Federal Reserve has the power
to influence the interest rates of all banks.
This translates into the power to control
the amount of money being borrowed, and hence the amount in circulation
and, to a certain degree,
control over the growth periods and recession periods
known as the business cycle.
Why does the Fed need to control this?
It basically comes down to controlling debt and inflation.
If the money supply was allowed to constantly increase or expand
it is simply a matter of time before the market becomes saturated
with excess liquidity, stifling the resulting economic growth.
This will lead to inflation
depreciating the value of the currency, raising prices.
Likewise, since outstanding debt is
directly proportional to the money supply
because money is created out of debt, the more an economy expands,
often the greater the debt that is created.
This sets up an inevitable systemic crisis
for the money needed to pay the interest charged on the loans
does not exist in the economy outright.
Therefore, there will always be
more outstanding debt than money in existence;
and once the debt grows larger than a person or a company can afford
defaults begin, loans slow and the money supply begins to contract.
This particular scenario of debt overpowering and nullifying expansion
could be termed financial failure, very simply.
And this leads us to the next section:
In this section we will discuss the nature and ramifications
of the current worldwide economic collapse
and how it has been compounded by the gross selfishness
and social irresponsibility of the government and corporate powers.
Then more profoundly
we will discuss the role technology is having in displacing workers
and the powerful changes this phenomenon is going to force
in the world economy at large.
1. Beyond Irresponsibility
The collective external debt of all the governments in the world
is now about 52 trillion dollars according to the CIA's "World Fact Book."
Of the roughly 203 countries in the world today,
only four do not owe others money.
The United States alone has over 12 trillion of this debt as of 2009,
and a study authorized by the U. S treasury in 2001
found that in order to keep servicing the debt at its current rate of growth,
by 2013, income taxes would need to be raised to 65% of one's income.
The whole world is basically bankrupt - but how?
How can the world as whole, owe money to itself?
Obviously it's all nonsense.
The monetary system is nothing more than a game.
Those in positions of social power alter the rules of the game at will.
The nature of those rules are guided by the same
competitive, distorted mentalities
that are used to compete in everyday monetary life
only this time the game is rigged at its root
to favor those who actually run the show.
For example, if you have one million dollars and
put it into a C. D at 5% interest,
you are going to generate 50,000 dollars a year simply for that deposit.
You are making money off of money itself:
no invention, no contribution to society, no nothing.
That being denoted, if you are a lower or middle class person
who is limited in funds and must use credit cards
and get interest-based loans to buy your home,
then you are paying interest to the bank
which the bank is then turning around and using, in theory
to pay the persons return with the 5% C.D.
What the bank is basically doing is
stealing from the working poor to pay the leisurely rich.
Simply put, the social stratification we see in the world today
is maintained and guaranteed
by the monetary system's underlying mechanisms.
That reality aside
let's return to the subject of the so-called business cycle.
When money is added to the money supply
that money is then typically put to use for some reason.
Very often these reasons include: starting a business, buying a home,
.
investing in the stock market, etc.
This increase in the money supply often translates into the so called
economic growth and hence the boom period of the business cycle.
Unfortunately, money can not be added to the economy indefinitely,
for the debt and inflation caused by the expansion
will eventually overcome the growth benefits.
When problems begin to arise after periods of monetary expansion,
such as rising debt levels, slowing people's desire to take on new loans
the Central Bank and government regulators
have basically two choices: They can either
1. Attempt to continue the expansion by infusing even more money
often by lowering the interest rates, making credit cheaper, or
2. Let the contraction, hence the recession
run its course, raise the interest rates
and bring the economy back to some kind of equilibrium.
As far as history is concerned, the pattern has been for them to do both
basically with the idea being to ease the recession by increasing liquidity.
The reasoning is simple: It is politically unpopular
for the ruling class to have unemployed, poor citizens.
This can lead to contempt for leadership and instability.
Therefore, there is always the game of
placating the public with false security
in order to avoid the truth coming out about the inherent dysfunctionality
of the monetary system itself.
The result of this easing of the contraction simply delays the inevitable,
and since the US government has eased
virtually every contraction period since the Great Depression
by infusing more money into the system
a doomsday scenario likely awaits-- the big contraction,
and it might be happening right now.
As noted earlier, money can not be added into the economy indefinitely
for the debt and inflation caused by the expansion
will eventually overcome the growth benefits.
This is what is now happening on a massive scale
and no intervention to ease this crisis is likely to work.
.
Why? Mainly because the debt levels are way too high.
The total debt of the US government plus its citizens private debt
was about 53 trillion dollars in 2007.
This is simply an absurd amount of debt.
The total US money supply M3, was only about 12 trillion in 2007,
while the annual GDP of the US was only about 14 trillion.
Unfortunately there is very little the US government
can do to stop this large contraction
if they adhere to the tenets of the monetary system.
Even with the insertion of tens of trillions of dollars,
it can not compensate for the imbalance.
Plus, if they did this type of liquidity injection
the result would simply exaggerate the stagflation we are now seeing
where inflation and economic stagnation occur simultaneously.
2. The Ultimate Outsource
Now, in response to these issues, very often
people suggest monetary reform as the solution.
These suggestions often include:
going back to the gold standard, outlawing interest,
shutting down the Federal Reserve, giving the power
of printing money back to the government, etc.
While these reforms and others all pose logical merits
to a certain degree, they do not recognize an overshadowing
little discussed phenomenon that has accelerated
since the 20th century, nullifying the monetary system in and of itself :
the replacement of human labor with machines.
At the core of the economic system itself
is the mechanism of labor for income.
Our entire economic system is based on human beings
selling their labor as a commodity in the open market.
If humans do not have the option to work for a living,
then the monetary system as we know it, is over.
No one can buy goods if they don't earn money.
Companies can not afford to produce if the consumer
has no purchasing power to buy anything.
As John Maynard Keynes disdainfully pointed out:
"We are being afflicted by a new disease
of which some readers may not yet have heard the name
but of which they will hear a great deal in the years to come:
namely 'technological unemployment'.
This means "unemployment due to our discovery
of means of economizing the use of labor, outrunning the pace
at which we can find new uses for labor."
While politicians, business leaders and labor leaders bicker
over issues they claim are responsible
for the growing unemployment in the world
such as foreign company outsourcing or immigrant labor,
the real cause is going unaddressed in the public debate
and that is 'technological unemployment'.
Since market capitalism is built upon the logic
of reducing input costs to increase profits
the inclination to replace human labor whenever possible
by machine automation, is a natural progression of industry.
After all, a machine doesn't need to take breaks.
It doesn't require health insurance or benefits
and it isn't a part of a demanding labor union.
A simple glance at US historical labor statistics by sector
shows the pattern of machine automation replacing human labor definitively.
In the agricultural sector, almost all traditional work-flow
is now done by machine. For example
in 1949, machines did 6% of the cotton picking in the South.
By 1972, 100% of the cotton picking was done by machines.
In 1860, 60% of America worked in agriculture
while today it is less than 3%.
When automation hit the US manufacturing sector in the 1950's
1.6 million blue-collar jobs were lost in 9 years.
In 1950, 33% of all US workers worked in manufacturing
while by 2002, it was only 10%.
The US steel industry from 1982 to 2002
increased production from 77 million tons to 120 million tons
while the steel workers employed went from 289,000 to only 74,000.
In 2003, a study was done of the world's largest 20 economies
ranging from the period of 1995 to 2002
finding that 31 million manufacturing jobs were lost
while production actually rose by 30%.
This pattern of increasing productivity and profit,
coupled with decreasing employment, is a new
and powerful phenomenon with no changes in sight.
So this might beg the question: "Where have all those jobs gone?"
The Service Sector
From 1950 to 2002, the percentage of Americans employed
in the service industries went from 59% to 82%.
For the last 50 years, the service sector has been absorbing
the job losses from agriculture and manufacturing.
Unfortunately this pattern is slowing fast
as computerized automation takes hold there as well.
From 1983 to 1993, banks cut 37% of their human tellers
and by the year 2000, 90% of all bank customers
used teller machines or ATM's.
Business phone operators have almost all been replaced
by computerized voice answering systems.
Post office tellers are being replaced by self service machines,
while cashiers are being replaced by computerized kiosks.
There isn't one area of the service industry that isn't being affected
by computerized automation. Economist Stephen Roach has warned:
"The service sector has lost its role
as America's unbridled engine of job creation."
Given this reality, where is the emerging new sector
to employ all of the newly displaced workers? There isn't one.
And while economists struggle to create models
to deal with the issue of nearly unstoppable unemployment,
most refuse to consider what is really needed
in order to prevent a total breakdown of society.
The solution lies not in attempting to fix the issues that have emerged,
but rather it is time we transcend the system in its entirety.
For the system of monetary exchange, along with capitalism itself,
is now completely obsolete, in the wake of technological creativity.
If people do not have jobs they can not support the economy
by purchasing anything. This reality is the final proof
that our current system is now completely out of date, and if we want to
deter riots in the streets and poverty on a scale never before seen,
we are going to have to revise our traditionalized notions
about how society functions at a fundamental level.
We require a new social system
that is updated to present-day knowledge and modern methods.
Part 2 : What Is Relevant?
.
In this section we will discuss the idea of natural law
specifically pointing out the symbiotic and emergent nature
of the physical world; the scientific method,
which is the most affective technique of decision-making we have to date;
and the important concept of dynamic equilibrium
which expresses the most foundational ecological factor to our survival.
We will also show how, through the intelligent use of technology
and proactive resource management, we have more than enough
to go around on this planet, enabling an accessible abundance
for all the world's people.
Natural Law
There's a tremendous amount of noise in our system.
In other words, the fundamentals of life have been lost
.
in a sea of social, occupational and financial obligations
many of which are largely artificial.
For example, the need for money and income
puts the human into a position where choice is often very limited.
Usually the jobs found do not reflect the genuine interests
of that particular person, nor the true interests of society as a whole.
If we were to examine the occupations that exist today
we would tend to find that a great majority of them serve
no larger function than the perpetuation of cyclical consumption
to keep the economy going. This arbitrariness constitutes
a tremendous waste of life and resources.
Consequently, the entire educational system in the modern day
is nothing more than a cookie cutter processing plant that prepares
humans for predefined occupational roles.
This element of human life has become so traditionally ingrained,
that many falsely consider the nature of having a job
some form of human instinct. Even parents will blindly ask
their kids: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
as though there was only one thing to prefer.
Putting the traditional norms and modes of conduct in society
aside for a moment
let's stop and consider what is actually relevant.
Let's pose the question: "What are the near-empirical aspects of nature
and what do these understandings teach us about
how we should govern our conduct on this planet?"
Natural Law One
Every human needs adequate nutrition, clean air and clean water
and therefore must respect the symbiotic
environmental processes relevant to those needs.
Most people today do not understand or consider
the inter-connectivity of nature and the chain of processes
by which our food, air and water currently come about.
However if we recognize, examine and learn from these processes
a logical train of reasoning, coupled with suggestive inference,
will guide us to more appropriate human behaviors
that will help fulfill our needs.
For example, water and air are naturally abundant planetary resources
that only require that we, the human population
maintain them and preserve their sources.
Sadly, our impulsive and narrow-sighted profit system
have seen to it that usable water is now approaching crisis scarcity
for industry continues to pollute the system at every turn.
In the United States alone, about 3 million tons of toxic chemicals
are released into the environment every year
contributing to birth defects, immune system disorders
cancer, and many other serious health problems.
The symbiotic relationship of natural processes has a built-in
frame of reference, which is accessible by understanding
how the world actually works, via scientific investigation.
Very simply, our behavior should be guided by the priority
of seeking the highest optimization of circumstances
that preserve and maximize the abundance
and quality of our necessities of life.
Sadly, this is not happening.
The fact is: Our sustainability is under severe threat
by the current methods we are using.
The monetary system continues to operate with the interest
of short-term gain at the expense of long-term destruction.
As natural law denotes, we need high quality air, food and water to live.
Therefore, we must overcome any practices which disturb
or create the propensity to disturb
the symbiotic environmental processes
which keep our basic needs in order.
If we don't, the consequences of our violation of this law
could put us past the point of no return environmentally; and thus
the survival of the human race would be in question.
Natural Law Two: The only constant is change
and human understandings are always in transition.
There is no evidence to support the idea that
anything we think is true today will maintain its integrity tomorrow.
While certain observed natural phenomenon may seem near empirical
based on current scientific evidence,
the specifics of each notion will always be altered
for our tools and methods of analysis are always changing
and hopefully, improving.
In the words of C.J Keyser:
"Absolute certainty is a privilege of uneducated minds and fanatics."
A cursory glance at widely defended historical notions
from the earth being flat, to the sun revolving around the earth
teaches us that intellectual change is constant;
and in turn, humans must keep as open a mind as possible to new information
even if it challenges that person's sense of identity.
Everything we think and know are only probabilities
and with modern methods of analysis which have proven
to have proactive benefits to society over long periods of time
we can now weigh our understandings and beliefs on a revolving
sliding scale, ranging from the least probable, to most probable.
This is based not on human opinion or subjectivity
but on concrete feedback responses from the natural world.
And this point brings us to the scientific method.
Nature itself, has its own set of rules
and it doesn't have the capacity to recognize or care
about what you or anyone else wants to believe is true.
Given this reality, it is in our best interest
to learn, and align with nature as best as we can.
The best known method for the discovery and application
of the laws of nature is termed: The Scientific Method.
The scientific method basically has three steps:
recognizing a new idea or problem that needs to be solved,
the use of logical reasoning to create a hypothesis
considering all information available,
and the testing of that hypothesis
in the physical world through observation.
The scientific method of inquiry is what has allowed the human species
to gain comprehension of themselves and the physical world.
For better or for worse, it is what's behind virtually every advancement
that has improved the lives of the human species.
However, most in our romanticized world still tend to
view science as a cold, heartless medium
while citing distorted human value abominations
such as the atomic bomb in refutation of the scientific perspective.
In reality, science and technology are only tools and like anything else
they can be used for productive or destructive purposes.
That is our choice.
Dynamic Equilibrium
A dynamic equilibrium occurs when
two or more opposing processes proceed at the same rate.
There is an equilibrium that exists in the physical world which
dictates on some level what the possibilities are
for those organisms that utilize the available resources for survival.
With respect to our planet, we would call this
the "carrying capacity" of the Earth.
The human management of dynamic equilibrium on this planet
which is the most important initial variable regarding the
management of society itself can only come from first understanding
what the carrying capacity of the Earth actually is.
The needs of the human population must be in balance
with resources of the planet.
That being said, let's now examine what we know
or can infer about the planetary resources available.
The fundamental building blocks of society consist of the following:
Energy; Industrial and technological raw materials
Food, Air and Water.
Energy is the cornerstone of society today.
It is one of the most critical factors to all social functionality.
The age of oil and fossil fuels
along with all the resulting pollution, is coming to a close.
There is no reason to burn fossil fuels at all anymore
other than the profit-orientated, vested interest
that keeps new clean energy prospects at bay.
Remember, the last thing the energy industry wants is abundance
for that translates into a loss of profit in the monetary system.
One of the important sources of energy to recognize today
is geothermal power.
According to a 2006 MIT report,
about 2000 zettajoules of power is currently tappable worldwide.
The total energy consumption of all the countries on the planet
is only half of a zettajoule a year.
This means about 4000 years of planetary power
could be harnessed immediately, in this medium alone.
As far as wind energy, a 2005 Stanford University study
published in the journal of geophysical research found that
if only 20% of the wind potential on the planet was harnessed
it would cover all of the world's energy needs.
As far as solar energy
the sun's radiation striking the Earth's surface each year
is more than 10,000 times the world's annual energy usage.
From simple photovoltaic panels
that can capture energy into storage batteries for private use
to full scale solar power plants
new technology is constantly emerging
which is vastly improving this potential.
Lesser known is tidal power
which is derived from tidal shifts in the ocean.
Installing turbines which capture this movement generates energy.
In the United Kingdom, 42 sites are currently noted as available
forecasting that 34% of all the UK's energy
could come from tidal power alone.
However, more effectively, wave power
which extracts energy from the surface motions of the ocean
is estimated to have a global potential
of up to 80,000 terawatt hours a year.
This means that 50% of the entire planet's energy usage
could be produced from this single medium.
In view of all of these options
energy is nothing but abundant on this planet.
The only reason people today think it might be scarce
is because of the monetary system's strategic propensity
to create the scarcity.
The next question is: What about industrial raw materials?
Can the Earth's supply of raw physical materials
such as wood, iron, or aluminum and such
support the needs of the world's population?
Global mineral reserves are currently measured
by commercial output production.
Sadly, this does not give a clear picture of what is actually available.
While some elements and minerals are vast and abundant
such as silicon, aluminum and iron
others are seemingly growing scarce
such as copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver.
As far as we know, there has never been a complete geological survey
of the Earth's minerals and elements, only regional ones.
This must be done in the future for us to have an understanding
of the dynamic equilibrium inherent.
Regardless, there are basically three components
to understanding of the carrying capacity of the Earth:
knowing exactly what the Earth has
as far as component elements and materials
where technology is in regard to creating synthetic substitutions
for certain elements and materials
and how society organizes and manages its use of these resources.
The first thing we need to do is
have a full survey of all of the planetary resources.
This will give us key information on how to proceed with our operations.
For example, if we have an acre of land that we want to grow food with
the first thing would be to test the soil
to understand what type of propensities it has.
This information would have a direct relationship to what can be grown.
This would illuminate the carrying capacity of the land, so to speak.
In regard to scarce materials
finding substitutions is always an important pursuit.
Many scarce industrial materials today
now have synthetic counterparts
and the focus of scientific problem solving in this regard
is very important. With this understood
we should realize that the scarcity of most raw materials
are only as relevant as the amount of work being invested
into finding a substitute or workaround.
More important than substitutes and workarounds
is the varied nature of the usage of our planetary resources.
Production output today is staggering compared to the past.
With the use of technology we are able to produce more
with far less people, faster than any other time in history.
However, due to the profit system
there are tons of manufacturers producing the same things
as they compete for market share.
As noted before, the world's people function within a monetary system
that rewards scarcity, planned obsolescence
waste, pollution and multiplicity.
The true cause of scarcity on the planet
has less to do with the available resources
and more to do with our wasteful and exploitive modes of conduct.
Virtually no regard is given to conservation
or strategic use until it is too late.
In a saner society, the raw materials of the planet would be assessed
industry would be organized as a whole
to produce in relationship to what was available
and each item produced would be designed to last as long as possible
causing reduced industrial output and hence resource preservation.
Now, when it comes to food production and water preservation
the same monetary system problems of pollution
cost-cutting processes and scarcity come into play.
Water covers 70% of the Earth's surface.
Technological advancements such as desalinization processes
can make fresh drinking water
both from sea water and even brackish sources using reverse osmosis.
This is yet another example of how technology is just as much a part
of resource management as resources themselves.
The idea that usable water is scarce is true only in relationship
with the limited methods we are currently using, coupled of course
with the gross industrial pollution that goes on daily.
Food production is also expanding within the technological spectrum
creating vast new methods of cultivation.
For instance, the Earth's surface is indeed being abused
with its precious topsoil being corrupted by indifferent agricultural methods.
According to some reports, we are losing topsoil at a rate of 1% a year.
While the national academy of sciences has determined
that the cropland in the US is being eroded at least 10 times faster
than the time it takes for the lost soil to be replaced.
Fortunately, scientists have devised a new form of soil-less agriculture
called hydroponics.
This powerful new medium leaves a sea of options for the human population;
for not only in compensating for the damage we have caused
but also by expanding the possibility of when and where food can be grown.
With hydroponic agriculture we could theoretically
grow food in the middle of the desert with proper irrigation
or by tapping down to the water table.
The bottom line is that food, air and water are only as scarce
as we decide they are. If we choose to become intelligent
and strategic with our production and preservation methods
while taking full advantage of scientific inventions that maximize
our production capabilities, reducing waste and inefficiency
we can provide for the planet's people many times over.
The starving children of the world are not so because of a lack
of available food. It is their lack of purchasing power
not scarcity, which causes the needless deaths of millions a year.
The Means for Social Evolution
In this section, we are going to consider more specifically
what it is we actually want and need in this world.
What do we value in life?
While there are many broad opinions in this regard
most people would prefer that they have: clean air and water
nutritious food, material abundance, fast clean and efficient transportation
a relevant education, public health care, the end of war
an environment that enables us to constantly improve our abilities
human extensionality, reduced stress and reduced crime.
We would consider these necessities and aspirations our goals.
With our basic goals denoted, we must then think about
the methods to be used in order to accomplish those goals.
Unequivocally, the scientific method is the most powerful tool we know.
Observation, logic and testing have long since trumped
superstition, intuition and metaphysics. In the words of Karl Pearson:
"There is no shortcut to truth, no way to gain knowledge
of the universe except through the gateway of the scientific method."
The intelligent use of the methods of science is what has brought us
nearly everything that helps us in our daily lives.
The application of science to social organization as a whole
is the next step in our evolution.
Furthermore, to fully utilize the scientific method
we will need physical tools that can make our material needs possible.
These material tools come in the form of technology
from a simple hammer, to a high-tech, fully-automated production plant.
Technological invention continues to ease production methods
while also consistently making what was once deemed impossible, possible.
The history of technology has shown tremendous accelerating development.
Coupled with the scientific methodof thought
the technological tools currently at our disposal have the ability
to dramatically change humanity in ways
most would find too fantastic to be true.
For instance, if you showed a cellphone to a man from the 12th century, he would
probably be shocked beyond comprehension at the magical instrument.
Science and technology has continued to defy prior assumptions
of possibility and will continue to do so.
It can safely be assumed that whatever the future holds
from a technological standpoint, it will likely seem impossible
and ridiculous from the standpoint of today's understandings and methods.
Now, coming back to our larger point : The three attributes
of personal and social evolution are thus:
our goals, the method of thought, and the tools to get it done.
We define our goals based on what we value.
We utilize the scientific method to solve problems and create hypotheses
and we harness technology to make the goal a reality.
Part 3: A Resource-Based Economy
In this section we are going to address The Venus Project
and its advocation of a new social system called
'A Resource-Based Economy'.
We will describe its basis in regard to industry and labor
specifically discussing the role of technology and automation
while isolating the five most important steps to achieving
the most efficient and effective production methods possible.
Then we will address the role of so- called government in this new system
explaining the arcane nature of the institution as it exists today
and how through the use of advanced decision-making methods
we will be able to remove the dangerous subjectivity
and self-interest currently at work;
and rather, we will arrive at decisions based on the scientific method
with the use of computer technology.
A Resource-Based Economy utilizes existing resources
rather than commerce. All goods and services are available without
the use of currency, credit, barter or any other form of debt or servitude.
The aim of this new social design is to free humanity
from the repetitive, mundane and arbitrary occupational roles
which hold no true relevance to social development
while encouraging a new incentive system that is focused on
self-fulfillment, education, social awareness and creativity
as opposed to the shallow and self-centered goals of wealth
property and power which are dominant today.
The Venus Project recognizes that the Earth is abundant with resources
and that our outdated methods of rationing resources
through monetary control are no longer relevant.
In fact, they are very counter productive to our survival.
The monetary system was created thousands of years ago
during periods of great scarcity. Its initial purpose was as a method
of distributing goods and services based on labor contributions.
It is not at all related to our true capacity
to produce goods and services on this planet.
The bottom line is that physical survival and quality of life
is based solely on our use, management
and preservation of the Earth's resources.
Now, with our ever-growing scientific ingenuity
to utilize those resources in the most humane
technologically contructive and strategic ways
the tradition of labor for money, and money for resources
now has no legitimate basis.
Industry and Labor
As expressed previously, statistics have shown that humans beings
are increasingly being replaced by automated machines
in the workforce, causing unemployment and hence
a reduction in the purchasing power of the citizenry
slowing so-called economic growth.
Consequently, we are now seeing a deliberate stifling and withholding
of technological development for the sake of keeping people employed.
It is like having an electric drill available during a job, but instead
you use a manual drill because you want to get paid for more hours.
It is nothing but absurd and irresponsible to slow and ignore
technological development, in order to preserve an outdated social system.
We need a social design that focuses on maximizing
our technological abilities, for the sake of freeing humanity
from drudgery and increasing productivity to its highest potential.
Anything less is really unacceptable.
Now, for the sake of argument let’s completely forget about
our current monetary-based social system
and take a fresh look at modern industrial production methods
as would be implemented in a Resource-Based Economy.
The question to consider is: How do we design a production system
that maximizes high quality output, reduces waste
considers the dynamic equilibrium of the earth
and reduces repetitive and mechanical human labor?
Based on the Scientific Method, here is how the logical reasoning
for industrial production methods would unfold:
Step 1: Survey the planetary resources.
Step 2: Decide on what needs to be produced, oriented by priority
ranging from bare necessities such as food, water, shelter
to utility-based production items such as raw materials
automation machines and technological development
to production items used for non-utility based purposes
such as entertainment media, radios, musical instruments, etc.
Step 3: Optimization of production methods
while maximizing the product's lifespan.
Step 4: Distribution methods for human access.
Step 5: Optimized recycling
of the products that become outdated or inoperable.
Step 1: Survey the planetary resources. As denoted before
it is critical that we know what we have on this planet
for that translates into what the possibilities are.
With this information, industrial production is always adjusted
to compensate for any emerging scarcity
along with the most mathematically appropriate raw material distribution
based on availability and most relevant application.
Any scarce resource is thus immediately addressed
by seeking alternatives and substitutions.
This awareness can be obtained by real-time electronic feedback
coming from all resource sectors of the planet
fed into a central computer database that monitors any growing scarcity
or problem. This idea of resource monitoring
is not at all far fetched, even if it might sound complex.
This point will be addressed more so a little later in this presentation.
Step 2: Decide on what production is required.
What do we need? This is a very powerful question for
besides the obvious food, water and shelter
most people today have no idea what they really want or need;
for they have never been informed as to the true state of technology.
What we think we need is directly a result
of the state of technological development.
Someone who has dust in his or her home might think
"I need a vacuum cleaner. " Are they sure?
Perhaps what they actually need is a household pressure system
that does not enable dust to enter or is equipped with
electrostatic air filters that eliminate what dust there is.
If we think very critically about what we think we need in a material sense
we can begin to see that needs are always in transition.
Science and technology are barometers of utilitarian human need;
and therefore, all products made should be as advanced
as that period of time makes possible. Our current monetary system
which generates wasteful, outdated products constantly
just to keep the companies and the economy going
does not have the ability or the desire
to produce the most advanced tools for our use.
This is because the majority of the products produced today
would not exist if society focused
on what would best serve the needs of society itself.
Step 3: Optimization of production methods; maximizing product lifespan
If I was going to build myself a desk, I would try to make sure
that desk would last as long as possible. That makes sense, right?
If the desk breaks, that means I would have to build
another one at the cost of more labor.
It would seem logical that everything produced in society
would have the longest possible life span that is technically possible.
Sadly, the exact opposite occurs in our current system
for as previously discussed, the monetary system thrives
on multiplicity and planned obsolescence.
Without it, the whole economy would collapse.
In a saner world, we would make things that last.
The optimization of production methods is about using
the most powerful materials and methods
while outputting the most long-lasting and effective products.
Furthermore, human labor is not only currently
being replaced by machines because it is more cost effective
in the profit system, machine labor is actually much better
than human labor, and output statistics have shown this continually.
This, of course, should be of no surprise
for a machine does not get tired and it is always more accurate
and consistent than a human, mechanically.
High-efficiency labor automation, coupled with
the scientifically managed resource abundance
will allow for a fluid, near scarcity-less environment
which could be operated by only a small fraction of the population.
Step 4: Distribution methods for human access.
Distribution methods would also depend on the state of technology.
For instance, production could theoretically become so streamlined
that a product is only created when the request is actually made.
Regardless, warehouse-like distribution centers
along with automated delivery, would be the most simplistic way for now.
Also, since there is no money used in this system
there is little need for a person to hoard their items
and there is also no reason for a person to steal something
that is available to everyone, and they certainly couldn’t sell it.
Also, in light of the fact that all goods in a Resource-Based Economy
are designed to last as long as possible, the consumer culture values
that exist today would also be outgrown
not to mention all the other value distortions
imposed by advertising today
which make people feel greedy, inferior or inept.
Advertising would not exist in this new system
outside of general product information available
to a person who thinks they might need it.
To obtain a product, a person would likely just go online
search for the item’s functionality, select the item and request it.
It would be available for pickup or delivery soon after.
Step 5: Optimized recycling of the products
that become outdated or inoperable.
This step actually begins at the production stage
for each product designed has had incorporated into it
the consideration of recycling. Nothing ever used in production
would be unsustainable, or unrecyclable in some way.
This is strategically considered to make sure that all older products
are reused to the maximum amount enabled by known methods
reducing waste.
Now, one of the more confusing and difficult components
for many to consider has to do with the deliberate focus
of using machines to replace human labor whenever possible.
The question is always, “Who will maintain the machines?”
Machinery today is now being combined with computerization.
Essentially, the computer is the brain of the machine
and it instructs the machine what to do.
This combination of machine and computer intelligence
could be termed "cybernation".
Cybernated machines today are probably the most powerful
and influential invention humanity has ever created.
The possibilities of these tools are on pace to changing
the entire fabric of society, beginning first
with the freeing of the human labor force.
In the words of Albert Einstein, "Ultimate automation
will make our modern industry as primitive and outdated
as the stone age man looks to us today".
This reality is not something we should fight.
We should embrace it emphatically.
Cybernation is the emancipation proclamation for humankind,
freeing us from the drudgery of common labor
opening new horizons for human creativity and exploration.
These cybernated machines far exceed the physical accuracy
and endurance of the human body, while also being able
to compute at incredible rates, also far exceeding
the computational speed and capacity of the human brain.
As far as application, the first step is to ensure
that the cybernated machines we devise
are the highest quality components and programming.
In order to do this we would have to outgrow the monetary system
for it perpetuates inferior products for the sake of cyclical consumption.
There is no reason why everything in your home
from your refrigerator to your stove to your television to your computer
could not last your lifetime without physical repair.
How can that be said with confidence? Because the best materials
available on this planet such as titanium, have sustainable properties
that far exceed the life of a person by thousands of years.
The cybernated machines would not be bought and sold.
They would be built and designed to last.
Not only would they have extreme durability and long lifespans
these advanced machines will eventually be able to repair themselves.
In cars today, there are often warning lights on the dashboard
that will alert you to a problem with a particular part of the car.
This idea can be expanded in all machinery, to the degree where
not only is the machine's onboard computer aware of a problem
supplemental machines can be thereby directed
to replace the broken part in real time.
As fanciful as it may seem, self-repairing machines
structures and even circuits are growing realities.
The problem is that the production of such efficiency
is not rewarded in the monetary system
so most people in society have no idea of what is actually possible.
Furthermore, the role humans will play within this automated system
will be that of supervisors and nothing more.
Once a fully-integrated, autonomous, cybernated
industrial system is set up, it is simply a matter of
updating the system and making sure the system is in order.
As time moves forward, we can only expect that the rate
of our technological capabilities will continue to increase
perfecting this system.
Now, while most people today recognize society's use
of machine automation in manufacturing and the like
many have a very difficult time seeing how automation can be applied
to complex jobs such as doctors, architects and the like.
In order to consider this, we first have to ask ourselves
what the true nature of our occupational roles really are.
What exactly is a doctor, a carpenter, a plumber or an architect?
What are they actually doing?
They recognize and react to observed patterns.
When a doctor examines you, all he or she is doing
is mentally referencing what has been learned.
If you go to a dermatologist because you think you might have cancer
on your arm, the doctor is going to examine the skin
and mentally reference the patterns he or she has been taught.
Then they might take a sample of the skin to be tested
by machine analysis.
It is a technical process.
There is no reason why, say, an optical scanner
connected to a computer database could not be invented
which could scan your arm and immediately understand what problem exists.
Even surgery, as sensitive as it may seem
is a purely technical process. It is simply a matter of time
before extremely advanced machines replace surgeons.
The same goes for every other utilitarian occupation in existence.
And this brings us to a very critical realization, one that will have
a very profound affect on our progress on this planet.
The conscious delegation of decision-making to computers
is the next phase of social evolution.
The utilitarian roles that humans assume in society today
are fundamentally technical by nature
while this seems obvious in regard to physical labor
our mental labor can now be delegated to computers as well.
If this sounds foreign to you, please note
that if you have ever used a calculator
you have delegated your decision making to a machine.
We must remember that logical reasoning
which is our cognitive ability to think out solutions to problems
from a cause and effect standpoint, is entirely a technical process
based on the amount of information we have at any one time.
For example, if we have a problem with our car
we would go to a mechanic and he would use
his pattern recognition abilities and associative memory
to consider the possibilities that might have caused the problem
along with the possibilities for solving the problem
based on reasoning. It is an objective, technical process.
However, a mechanics human brain is only capable
of a certain amount of memory and intellectual processing power.
A modern programmed computer, on the other hand
can store tremendously more data than a human
and can consistently and rapidly process information
without getting lazy or tired.
For instance, let's assume we have programmed a computer
with the data set consisting of the car in question.
The computer has been programmed to know every component
every weld, and every electronic pathway etc. , of that vehicle.
It has also been programmed with the application of physics
so that it can relate to the actual cause and effect functionality
and operation of the car, not just its parts.
When the car is taken in for repair, the mechanic will simply go over
to his computer and input a description of the problem.
He might input: "Left headlight not working."
The computer would then immediately present a list
of all relevant issues related to the headlight
and then present a series of framed questions to the mechanic
which logically attempt to locate the cause of the problem.
The computer might say, "Check the connection of cable 15B,"
and then show a diagram of where the component is located in the car.
If the mechanic finds that isn't the problem, he inputs
that new information back into the computer and the computer
which goes to the next logical possibility.
The computer is really making the decisions.
The mechanic is just orienting its focus, just like a calculator.
The bottom line is that there is really no area of human operation
that can not be extremely perfected by delegating
decision-making processes to computer intelligence.
The fact is the only thing that now separates us from machines
on a cognitive, utilitarian level
is our ability to create complex associations in our mind.
No computer today has yet to respond effectively to being asked
a complex question in the English language or any language.
It requires that the language be transformed into one
that it is programmed to understand such as mathematics.
However, new technological fields such as artificial intelligence
are beginning to grow with incredible possibilities
for this kind of awareness.
In time, complex thought processes once thought
could only be accomplished by the human mind
will eventually be achieved by computers.
With this understood, we will now describe how this new possibility
of delegating labor and decision making to a multi-faceted
highly efficient, computerized system, is what will constitute
the replacement of the institution we know of as traditional government.
In the words of Dr. Ralph Linton:
"The tremendous and still accelerating development
of science and technology has not been accompanied
by an equal development in social, economic, and political patterns.
It is safe to predict that such social inventions
as modern-type Capitalism, Fascism, and Communism
will be regarded as primitive experiments directed toward
the adjustment of modern society to modern methods."
First of all, government as we know it is a by-product
of environmental scarcity. They're really monetary system creations.
Sadly due to the very nature of their power,
history is one constant chain of governmental corruption
from the genocidal slaughter of people in opposing nations
to the deliberate oppression of a country's own people
in order to maintain the established order.
Now, government decisions today are based on
self-interest just like the corporations.
There will never be such a thing as an ethical government
as long as money can be used to influence
the decisions of political participants.
When we understand that everything in regard to social organization
is a technical process, we then see that there is little reason
for traditional opinions in the solving of any problem.
If a person reads one page of a book and closes it
he or she can easily have an opinion on that book as a whole.
If another reads the whole book, they might also have an opinion.
Whose opinion would you value more? The person
who read the full book or the person who only read one page?
In other words, the more information taken into account in the process
of decision making, the more accurate that decision will be.
As discussed earlier, computers can now access
trillions of bits of information a second
across vast informational databases
and compute output results near the speed of light.
The transfer of decision making to computers
is the next phase of social evolution.
It greatly reduces human error and removes dangerous biases,
subjectivity and erroneous opinion.
Because of the limitations of the sensory and cortical equipment
in our body and mind, no one can know
everything there is to know in the world.
Our senses are limited in range. Our eyes can only see
a fraction of the electromagnetic field;
therefore, it is a logical progression that we delegate decision making
to machines, for they do not have these restrictions.
Computers used as tools can and will be able
to solve problems which humans simply can not
due to our physical and mental limitations.
It is no different than a person who uses a pair glasses to see
or a calculator to do math. Glasses are a technological tool
an extension of a human being that helps a person
see better than they would normally.
Cybernated machines are nothing different; they are nothing more
than extensional tools that expand our abilities.
The human species has the powerful ability
to improve itself through technological invention
and we must realize this and maximize its potential.
In a Resource-Based Economy, people do not make decisions.
They arrive at them through the use of advanced technological tools
that incorporate the scientific method.
There is no Republican or liberal way to design an airplane.
So why do we use these outdated world views to operate society today?
When we recognize society as a technological invention
with its component variables really no different
than the component variables of an airplane
we then see that our orientation towards so-called government
should purely scientific. Politics is outdated
for its processes are largely subjective, highly influenced
by money and virtually without scientific reference.
Government and the concept of the State will eventually be outgrown
entirely and replaced by an objective system
of global resource management and technological organization.
Government thus becomes a cybernated system
which is intimately combined with industry
and is only responsible for the production and distribution of goods
along with resource and environmental management.
Generally speaking, the components of this new system would be as follows:
1. A central computerized database containing catalogs
of every known material and every known technical understanding.
As noted previously, computers have the ability to catalog information
and logically compute it on a scale much larger than any human can.
As stated before, the most efficient decisions we can make
are decisions that take into account all known relevant variables.
Only computers will be able to handle the integration
of all known earthly knowledge and come up with decisions
that would be logically based on the full known range of data.
Just as with our previous example of our car mechanic
who had his tailored database program for solving mechanical problems
this central computerized database contains all known knowledge
ranging from the properties, combinations and applications
of every element on the periodic table
to the complete known history of technological invention.
Once the associative system emerges which will allow computers to
contextually cross-relate all the known disciplines
we will have at our grasp a tool of immeasurable possibilities
for the new method of problem solving and invention
will be an interaction with this database program.
In fact, it will likely come in the form of a simple website on the internet.
You would pose a problem or a question to the database
and it will give the best feedback that is possible
based on the current state of knowledge at that period in time.
It is no different than interfacing with a calculator
but this new calculator has a powerful associative system
and an extensive database of knowledge that
can not just understand and compute math.
it can integrate physics, biology, astronomy
and every field of science into a concentrated tool.
If this sounds like science fiction
you can rest assured that the US military's Pentagon
likely already has similar database and decision-making programs
which it uses for war strategies.
However, in order for this system to be effective
it must also have real-time feedback input from the planet
in order to understand what resources we have
so we can account for dynamic equilibrium.
Therefore, the central computerized database would lock into an
earth-wide autonomic sensor system
with environmental sensors in all relevant areas of the planet
generating industrial electronic feedback regarding resources
operations, and other environmental issues.
This holistic system keeps track of all the resources on the planet
while also monitoring the Earth for environmental disturbances
which humanity should be alerted to.
This will not happen overnight, but
if we begin with constructing regional systems
and over time interlink all the regional structures
it could be created sooner than we think.
The interaction of this sensor system will inform
the central database program of what is available and what is scarce
while the database will in turn, constantly adjust industrial methods
based around the dynamic equilibrium on the planet
along with improved technology.
Now, even with our understanding of the profound labor-relieving affect
computerized automation will have on society
when we finally decide to outgrow our scarcity-based monetary system
and focus on the maximization of technological invention
and abundance for all the world's people
there will still, of course, be the necessity
for human technicians to work within the system,
updating it and overseeing its operations
We can consider them interdisciplinary teams.
Interdisciplinary teams of technicians
oversee the system and help orient research projects
to continue growth, efficiency, and social evolution.
In an optimized version of the system, no more than 5%
of the world's population would likely be needed to run the show.
The more optimized and powerful our technology and methods become
the more that number decreases.
They would simply work in scientific fields
relevant to the functionality of society.
Of course, many who hear this often ask: "What about democracy?"
"How do I participate in the system?"
"Do we elect the interdisciplinary teams?"
In a resource-based global economy, the traditional concept of politics
elections and the like, has no relevance or basis.
While this notion scares a lot of traditionally-minded people
it must be reiterated that our problems in life are technical
and are relative only to humanity as a whole.
We must also face the fact that so called "democracy" in today's world
is a complete illusion. It always was.
People think they have choice in our current system
because they can press a button on a voting machine
and put some pre-selected person into power.
Once that person is in power, the public then has no say.
Did you vote for the space program?
Did you vote for the cabinet of the new President?
Did you vote for the tax cut?
Did you vote for where highways or power grids go?
Did you vote for the war in Iraq? No, you didn’t.
The traditional concept of a “participatory democracy” is a cruel joke.
The game has been used to give the public the
illusion of control for countless generations,
while the distorted monetary powers at the top
continue to do whatever they please.
There never was a true democracy in any country in history
and there never will be
as long as the monetary system is in operation
and scarcity is perpetuated.
So then, how would a person participate within a Resource-Based Economy?
Well, how would you define participation?
True participation in society would entail
understanding how society technically worked
and then constructively proposing ideas or innovations
to be implemented, created or altered.
The first thing a person would do is interact with the Central Database.
Which, as denoted before, would come in the form of an Internet web page
that every person on the planet has access to.
They would then input their proposal.
The Central Database, with its historical knowledge
and full integration of all scientific fields
would then analyze the concept for its scientific and technical integrity
.
along with optimizing the materials required if necessary
based on current understandings and availabilities.
If the proposal is initially accepted by the Central Database
after it examines it for its basic integrity
it would either immediately be put into production
such as would be the case for a desired invention
or it would be turned over to the interdisciplinary teams
that oversee the implementation of a new proposal
and orient it into the system.
The person who submitted the proposal would then
become a part of the interdisciplinary team relevant to the idea.
.
These teams would not be fixed
but constantly revolving based on who wants to participate
in a given field and what they have to contribute.
This is a true election
based on what a person has done, not what they say they will do.
Furthermore, the public's fear of traditional corruption
will have little basis for there is no reward for it.
The interdisciplinary teams do not get paid in any way
for their worldviews have been expanded
to realize that their reward is, in fact
the fruits of the society as a whole
and they contribute because it benefits them directly.
While this might sound difficult for those
who have been fully indoctrinated into the monetary-based reward system
and feel that money is the only incentive there is
let it be known that every day, all over the world
millions of humans volunteer for the greater good.
In a 1992-released Gallop poll, more than 50% of American adults
volunteered with no pay for social causes
at an average of 4.2 hours a week, for a total of 20.5 billion hours.
This is an incredible triumph for the collective human spirit.
For even with the sickness of narrow self-interest
generated by the monetary system
humans still strive to help each other and give to society without reward.
.
In the future, those who choose to work
in the cybernated industrial system, will do so
because it is an honor to serve humanity.
They will understand that it is in their self-interest
in the broadest way, to see to it
that humanity lives and works together for the greater good.
The reward in a resource-based economy
would be the continual improvement of society for all.
So, participation is open to everyone
because all issues are fundamentally recognized as technical.
The degree to which a person contributes
is based simply on that person's education
and the ability to create and problem solve.
This is why expanded relevant education is critical.
In society today, the public is always kept uninformed
and as dumbed down as possible.
This way the government can maintain control.
In a resource-based economy, the goal of the educational system
is to produce the most intelligent and aware human beings as possible.
Why? Because everyone then has a greater possibility of contributing
greatly affecting our collective social evolution for the better
and improving the lives of all.
Now, due to the importance of this section
let's recap what we have discussed:
Who makes the decisions in a resource-based economy?
No-one does. Decisions are arrived at
by the use of the scientific method,
utilizing computers that gain realtime feedback from the environment
along with a central, historical database
of all known technical information
and maintained by revolving interdisciplinary teams.
The goal is to increase objective decision-making as much as possible
and when we fully accept that our problems in life are actually technical
the merit of this approach is without parallel.
In the end, the only real issues for society and natural world are:
1. The production of goods and services that are equally available to all.
2. Research projects and educational systems to expand our knowledge,
understandings and applications; and
3. The constant monitoring of the Earth's resources and atmosphere
for feedback and possible environmental problems.
We could address true threats to humanity
such as unforeseen variables like tsunamis, earthquakes and disease.
The only real problems in life are the problems
that are common to all humans.
Cities and Lifestyle
In this section we are going to extend the tenets
of the Resource-Based Economy (RBE)
into one of our most fundamental social inventions: the city,
specifically, The Venus Project's circular city.
We will also discuss how people's lifestyle will change
in a Resource-Based Economy (RBE), likely with values and goals
that are profoundly different from what we see today.
In a RBE, the cities are designed to be
extremely flexible allowing for constant upgrades and changes.
They are emergent, fully-integrated systems
designed to evolve like a living organism.
Jacque Fresco's innovative, multidimensional
and circular city designs would use the most sophisticated resources
and construction techniques available.
However, it requires a fresh start.
Trying to fix our current cities
are not worth the time, material or effort.
It is much less problematic and effective to build newer cities
from the ground up, than to restore the old ones.
The circular city permits the most efficient use of resources
travel techniques, and general functionality
with a minimum expenditure of energy.
The geometrically elegant, circular arrangement
is designed to allow for the highest standard of living
and the most productive, and efficient ways possible.
For instance, the outermost perimeter of the city
is for nature-oriented recreation, including lush gardens
and parks for hiking and any other outdoor activity.
The next inner section is the agricultural belt
using outdoor and indoor agricultural methods
so food can be grown all year round.
Continuing in, eight green areas provide
clean renewable energy sources for the entire city.
While these energy sources would be region-specific
often these methods would include: geothermal, wind and solar
while those cities close to water will extend to wave and tidal power.
The largest of these green areas is also the residential belt.
The residence are constructed by extrusion technology
and other methods of high tech prefabrication.
The days of bricks and wood being stuck together are no more.
Structures of the future will be near-solid units extruded as a whole.
All homes and apartment complexes
are also virtually self-contained systems.
For instance, the outer surfaces of these new structures
serve as photovoltaic generators
converting solar radiation directly into electricity.
The homes are fire resistant, require little maintenance
and are impervious to water and other environmental influences.
Moving in past the residential district, are education, science
and research centers, along with production and distribution centers.
Automated inventory systems would integrate the distribution centers
and manufacturing facilities in a highly coordinated and efficient way.
In the center of the city there is a large dome
that contains the central cybernated system
which is the brain and nervous system of the entire city.
The core dome electrically controls and monitors
the production and distribution of products
while also controlling environmental factors within the system.
For example, in regard to the agricultural belt
electronic probes monitor and maintain the soil conditions
including the water table, nutrient allocation, and other attributes.
This method of environmental feedback
is applied to the entire city complex.
This way, a balanced-load economy can be maintained
with overruns and waste eliminated.
Waste recycling and other needs are located beneath the surface of the city
always utilizing the most advanced, and clean technology.
Other city designs would include various land-city configurations:
total enclosure cities, along with cities in the sea.
Regardless, the cities on Earth in whatever form they take
are all tightly interconnected within a worldwide system.
Just as each city has a central organizational dome
which functions as the brain, along with its nervous system,
consisting of computerized, environmental monitoring
via satellite and electronic probes, the larger world complex absorbs
each city and monitors the broad spectrum of the environment,
making sure that there isn't a problem or material resource
needed in any of the individual cities while also regulating
larger order processes for all cities and the environment as a whole.
Lifestyle
It's important to point out that in our current system
the traditional family is broken with both parents
having to work in order to survive.
Monetary economics undermines family cohesion and childcare.
Stress is always high due to medical bills, insurance,
education costs, employment insecurity and living costs.
In a Resource-Based Economy (RBE), the integrity of the family will be returned.
Beyond that, the cultural values of society as a whole
would undergo profound change,
with the monetary system outgrown and the world working together
to produce abundance for all the citizens of the planet.
Activities we appreciate will expand greatly
for the amount of human freedom will be unlike anything we know today.
Consequently, one of the more in depth changes in lifestyle and values
will be the way people think about property.
In most of the world today, property is a powerful concept
with people often associating their social status to what they own.
As stated before, the monetary system
requires cyclical consumption to function.
This naturally leads to people being manipulated
into thinking they want or need a particular good or service.
With the powerful tactics of modern advertising,
most in the world support an artificial, materialistic value system
that entails wanting more and more goods and services
often regardless of the necessity or utility.
In a Resource-Based Economy (RBE), the monetary system will no longer pollute
the human mind via its manipulative arm: advertising.
The endless sea of billboards, media commercials, magazines
and the like, will no longer poison the landscape, or our perceptions.
This will cause a dramatic shift in what we find important
and hence change our lifestyles.
More to the point, in a Resource-Based Economy (RBE)
there is no reason for property.
Property is an outgrowth of scarcity.
People who had to work very hard
to create or obtain a product or resource
in turn, protected it because it had immense value
relative to the labor entailed, along with the scarcity associated.
Property is not an American or a capitalist idea.
It is a primitive mental perspective
generated from generations of scarcity.
People only claim ownership because it is a legal form of protection.
In a system of abundance without the need for money,
the idea of ownership becomes irrelevant.
In this new system no-one owns anything;
instead, everyone has unrestricted access to everything.
Ownership is a massive burden;
no longer will a person need to live in one place;
one could travel the world constantly.
Anything needed is obtained without restriction.
There is no reason for abuse for there is nothing to gain.
You can't steal things that no-one owns and you certainly couldn't sell them.
Household items would be obtained through central distribution in the cities
while recreational items are available on call or near the location of interest.
For example, if you go to a golf course you would select, on site,
your clubs from the most effectively designed models available.
You use them and then you return them.
If you decide to keep the clubs, go ahead; that's your burden
for why would a person want to transport, maintain
and store golf clubs, when they can always have access
to them and return them on site?
Our homes today are full of stuff that we hold on to
because of the supposed value they maintain.
This waste will no longer be needed.
In this economic model, the city, or in fact
the entire world is really your home.
If you require an automobile for whatever reason
the car is made available for you.
When you get to your destination
the satellite-based driving system will automatically
make the car available for others to use
as opposed to sitting in some parking lot, wasting space and time.
In society today, the need for property
results in extreme product overlap and redundant waste.
It is much more intelligent to create a universal shared system,
for it dramatically reduces waste, redundancy
and increases space and efficiency.
Human Behavior
In this section, we are going to discuss the issue of human behavior
and its relationship to the environment
while also addressing the legal system and its extremely despotic
backwards basis for influencing human conduct.
Some people who consider the tenets of a Resource-Based Economy (RBE)
tend to think that the system would be difficult
due to something called 'human nature'.
The argument is that humans are inherently competitive
greedy, and blindly self-serving
implying that no matter how technically good things are in society
there will always be corrupt people who want
to abuse others and seek dominance.
Human nature is defined as: the shared psychological attributes
of humankind that are assumed to be shared by all human beings.
Therefore, the implication of the term is that certain psychological
hence, mental behaviors are in some way, hard-wired into a person.
We are thus supposedly born with some preset
psychological inclinations.
It is easy to see how this kind of assumption has manifest
for if you look at the historical record for the human species thus far
we see an endless series of wars
genocides, conquests and power abuses.
Given that this is the pattern we recognize
it is easy to assume that it must be some set human nature
to behave in ways that are historically recurring.
Furthermore, so-called criminal behavior
has been a focus of psychologists for some time.
Is it the responsibility of an individual's genetic make up
that makes them a so-called criminal, or is it the environment
in which they are raised that determines this?
This is the age-old question of nature versus nurture.
First, what exactly is criminal behavior?
How do we qualify behavioral distinctions
that have been invented by man and changed with time?
The entire concept of criminality is temporal
and relative to a culture's values and concepts of morality.
Only 600 years ago, certain indigenous cultures around Mexico
engaged in mass human sacrifice, often killing thousands at a time.
Was this criminal activity? To us, perhaps
but to them it was accepted social custom.
What about the generations and generations of accepted slavery?
Is a criminal someone who steals food
in order to feed his or her starving family?
The bottom line is that there is no concrete scientific evidence
that really supports the notion that any of our behaviors
are strictly the result of our genetics.
The notion of human nature is largely mythological.
It stems from primitive, religious dualities
that the human is good or evil inherently.
The pursuit of people who seek the gene or the like,
which is supposedly the cause of a particular behavior
is essentially a form of superstition.
It is like a person being possessed by demons which control their actions.
The fact is, while neurochemicals and physiological traits
set propensities for a person's reactions and social gravitation
it is the environment that really creates our values and behavior.
There is no fixed, predetermined 'human nature'.
Our values, methods and actions are developed
and derived from experiences.
A Chinese baby, taken at birth and raised by a British family in England
will develop the language, dialect, mannerisms
traditions and accent of the British culture.
The bottom line is that our behavior is based upon what we learn,
coupled with the bio-social pressures that we must deal with
in order to survive.
As far as society today, the most fundamental condition
for offensive behavior is derived from the monetary system.
As expressed before, the monetary system perpetuates corruption,
stratification, scarcity, and insufficiency.
So-called "decency" can not exist in a world of competition,
wealth imbalance, poverty and deprivation.
The despotic behavior we see in the world today
is not the result of ingrained, genetic forces.
It is essentially a result of years of scarcity and competition.
The Legal System
In response to this, society today attempts to control people
by way of threat, using laws.
Laws are nothing more than "patches" which do not address
the root causes of behavior.
If a person is arrested for stealing
very little thought is given as to why
that person chose to steal to begin with.
Rather than consider the root causes
society today takes the easy way out
and often removes the so-called “criminal” via prisons.
The source of any so-called crime is really society itself.
There is no such thing as a “criminal”.
As repeatedly expressed, the monetary system
generates corruption by its very construct.
As the Merva-Fowles study presented previously clearly shows
socially offensive behavior is directly related
to the socioeconomic circumstances.
The great majority of people in prisons come from
deprived socioeconomic positions.
Therefore, if we want to alter the behavior of people
we have to alter the social conditions.
We want to "design out" the flaws.
We don't put up a sign that says "Speed Limit 55 mph" for safety.
You design the system technically so safety is built in
and human error is either greatly reduced or not an option.
If you don’t want a person to steal
you make what they need readily available to them
without the need for debt
subservience or competition.
With the progress of technology today, we have the ability
to create a new social system that can allow all people access
to the necessities of life without a price tag, debt or servitude.
This will have a profound effect on the way
people treat each other and interact in society.
A staggering drop in crime would be the result,
for most crimes are monetary related.
Furthermore, for those crimes that might occur
such as a person who kills another out of jealousy
they would not be treated as a criminal, but rather as a sick patient.
Society will understand that people are products of their environment
and rather than condemn the person to a cold concrete cell
social scientists, psychologists and sociologists will heavily research
the cultural causes that generated the killer’s behavior
and consider those conditions that need to be altered
often through education.
In Conclusion
since antiquity, great religious and secular philosophers alike
have constantly advocated peaceful, unified ideals for humanity.
From Christianity to Hinduism, the idea of seeing others as yourself
is a long-standing disposition.
Sadly, one glance at society today makes one wonder
why the idea of universally valuing and respecting
your fellow human being, and working together, has never taken root.
Today’s self-interested, money-oriented society
creates an environment that refuses to allow
for the universal caring and account of another.
This system is based on the perpetuation of oneself
at the expense of others;
and therefore, it will never allow for a world of balance and harmony.
The fact is, it is time to stop praying
stop wishing and stop blindly talking about our supposed
humanistic and religious ideals and actually work to make them happen!
A Resource-Based Economy (RBE) puts into practice everything
the great religious and philosophic teachers have always talked about
in regard to humans embracing each other as their own
and working together in mutual respect as a single human family.
The use of science and The Scientific Method
while often deemed cold and heartless, actually presents
one of the most profound spiritual unfoldings we have ever seen.
While many people look with great awe and respect
upon figures like Mother Teresa and her selfless nature,
few tend to see Alexander Fleming, the man who discovered penicillin
in the same romanticized way.
Penicillin has saved countless more lives today
than any charitable idea or organization.
The point is that science and technology are divinity in action.
We cannot wait for some divine revelation
or some “great man” to guide us.
We must realize that we are on our own on this planet
and it is up to us to change the world for the better.
It is time we stopped pontificating and providing lip service
to those spiritual values which religious and secular philosophers
have been discussing for millennia, and finally put them into practice.
Science is the tool for this functional spirituality,
and if we work to apply its methods for the betterment
of civilization itself, we can reach
the spiritual goals we have sought since antiquity.
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