- [Narrator] As we were drafting the finale
for our money series something very important came up
to be explored on the subject of resource based economies
which is the usage of resources in the world today.
Scientists studying how many resources people consume
have found that individually the higher the overall income
of a region, the more the people there tend to consume
in excess of resources, something especially prevalent
in the middle classes.
To top it all off, these consumption rates are growing
but instead of being concerned about the growing population
these researchers are worried that the growing demands
of our current population are a much bigger threat.
For the most part, some of these resources include things
like transport and industrial costs like fuel and water.
Further household consumption is seemingly giving rise
to more than 60% of global emissions.
To put that in perspective,
that's between 50 and 80% of the total resources
that we use.
Not only are resources being used unnecessarily,
but according to the journal of industrial ecology
the growing consumption rate on food and international goods
and households has significant environmental impacts
that are just not sustainable.
It's thought that one of the main reasons
behind this excess spending,
is the increasing levels of disposable income
in our society, enabling consumers to soak up resources
far past what is needed for them to survive.
Though, at first, this may be a depressing thought,
it's also an exciting opportunity.
More and more people around the world
are waking up to issues like our vulnerable environment
and social inequality.
And actually it's middle-class citizens
who can do the most about it.
If a cultural and mindset shift occurred,
where people agreed to consume less
of what they didn't need,
a significant amount of pressure could be relieved
from our environment.
This would hugely free up more resources
and help to promote our collective welfare.
Now, one of the most important steps we could take
to sustain everyone in our current population,
as well as growing populations and protect our environment
is to collectively make the decision to consume
less unnecessary goods.
We know the world though, and that is much easier
said than done.
Bake into many of our modern cultures
is the importance and glamor of living a materialist life.
One that is ultimately based on consumption.
Many people are misguided by their desire
to be materially wealthy so much so
that they don't even know what they would do
with the money if they had it,
maybe buy a mansion, or a nice car or some other quick fixes
to the illusion of poverty.
But even though most people don't become wealthy in this way
the mindset has trickled down into what is basically
a consumer culture.
Today, there is always an exciting new version
of the thing that you already have that works
completely fine.
And many people are convinced that the status of owning
such things is so important to their lives
and their wellbeing.
Seriously, I remember in high school
that when you got a new pair of shoes,
it was like the thing that everyone talked about for a day,
everyone you saw, even people didn't really know
would compliment you on your new shoes,
and then the next day, nobody cared.
But there was some sort of status associated
with getting new shoes.
In reality, the addiction to consumption
is an ever present issue that functions much in the same way
as any other kind of addiction.
Many people can relate to the dopamine release
of buying something, even if you never actually
get your money's worth out of it.
There really is an effect in your brain
that feels good to own the newest things
before your friends.
In this kind of situation,
it's important to be honest and open
and approach it from a position of compassion.
If buying and spending is something people do to relieve
stress, then shaming people for consuming more
will only make them feel more stressed
and ultimately make the problem worse.
What we really need to help them ourselves conscious
of our consumption is shifting our sources of satisfaction
to something else.
Such as doing good work, helping others
and making connections.
This isn't a simple issue of course,
but like any problem, the first step to solving it
is looking at it without judgment,
curbing consumption and freeing up resources
is something everyone can work on right now.
And maybe this is the first step to living in this new kind
of world when we're no one is starving or in poverty.
It's not all doom and gloom though.
While on average, most middle and upper-class areas
are consuming and polluting more,
there are some cities thriving today
which live a much more environmentally friendly ideal.
Copenhagen in Denmark and Porto Allegra in Brazil
are both middle or upper-class cities.
And yet Copenhagen has experienced both economic growth
and emissions reductions by working with local planning
programs to make the move towards renewable energy sources,
way easier.
These cities are demonstrations that if a city collectively
sets an intention to do something, it can be done.
Because as we already know from many new emerging
scientific explorationist today,
intention and observation steers reality.
Are there even enough resources in the world
to allow everyone to thrive?
The answer to this is as you might've guessed
not so necessarily a simple answer
because human life is very complex.
And as you attempt to answer one question,
it opens up many more.
Yet with almost every initial complex problem,
it is possible to create solutions.
For example, food production can be completely transformed
if we were to invest in something like vertical farming
which would lead to a whole new slew of innovations
on how we could make something like that possible.
As long as we remain open and flexible to new ideas
and are willing to invest in ourselves in the long-term
there's really no problem we can solve,
but you see this does take a shift in mindset
from thinking of short term profits
to long-term lasting solutions.
This is where the whole resource-based economy
thing comes in.
Which is essentially a different kind of economy
than capitalism.
A system in which all goods and services
are available without the use of any system of debt
or servitude like money, credits or barter.
All resources become the common heritage of all people
not just a select few.
The challenge with this kind of system
is that what happens when some individuals
create tremendous value for society
and others do the bare minimum.
Yet they both have access to all of the exact
same resources.
The question rises is that fair or harmonious?
The way we overcome this challenge
is with a collective shift in consciousness.
And this is something we'll talk about more soon.
Now along the journey to creating a resource-based economy
is where central planning systems
seemingly enter the conversation.
In the face of the logistical challenges
of getting separate industries to work together
and provide for all people efficiently and effectively.
Central planning also known as planned economies
seek to unify and harmonize,
the control of certain industries.
In a nutshell, it's an economic system
where a central planning group,
such as a government controls and regulates production,
distribution and prices among other things,
as opposed to the current model
where prices allocate resources.
This type of system is naturally pretty large scale
and ambitious and gets a very bad reputation
with certain people in the world,
for being socialist in nature.
Due to the interlocking nature and dependence
of the industries which supply necessary goods though,
planned economic systems aim to increase efficiency
by managing and coordinating multiple masks industries
to achieve a single charitable goal.
Just getting a system like this off the ground
can seem like an impossible task.
It's no wonder so many communists throughout history
sought change so aggressively.
Now one serious option to achieve a planned economy
seeks to do so by more harmonious means though,
something known as the Venus project
is a central planning system with plans to start small
and make use of advanced technology to organize societies
and distribute resources intelligently.
But their vision goes even further, for in their own words,
they say "We call it straight forward approach
to the redesign of a culture
in which the age old inadequacies of war, poverty,
hunger, debt, environmental degradation
and unnecessary human suffering
are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable."
Reflecting on that I feel it is important
that as we move forward collectively,
we take ideas like this,
and build them into the framework of new developing systems.
The plan to transition to this kind of system
exists with the awareness of the failures
of more extreme and aggressive pushes
to radically transform the capitalist economy,
which it's coming from.
Instead, these guys are focused on how they can grow
organically from inside our current system
and have plans to transition from a semi capitalist
starting point to a fully centrally planned city
in the long run.
The cities and the planning are designed to be universal
and scalable.
So a small community with merit and interest,
could easily be grown to accommodate more and more citizens.
And in the end game, one without Thanos,
new cities like this could be initiated around the world.
To some, this may seem like a pipe dream
or even a complete impossibility.
And it's okay to have your own opinions and feelings
on the matter, don't get me wrong.
What almost everyone can agree on though
regarding the Venus project are its end goals.
No one logically wants to live in a world with war
hazardous environment, poverty or unsustainable
resource production.
What the Venus project is doing uniquely
is stating that actually we don't have to.
In fact, we should strive to create an earth
without these issues, without any call to destabilize
our current systems or societies,
the Venus project aims to show what progress
can be made and allow people to hop on with their success
or learn from their mistakes.
To learn more about the Venus project,
you can visit their website which we'll link
in the description.
Whether you believe global suffering is best solved
by central planning or by just everyone doing their part
or everything in between, I hope this video
has helped an exploration that we all have a role to play.
And that we can all make changes today and move forward
to reduce waste and excess in our own lives,
paving away for a future with freer resources,
to share with those less privileged,
and support for expanding education across the board
so that everyone has access not just to resources,
but knowledge and wisdom that we can use to make the world
a better place, and if you ever feel like the future
is hopeless remember that there's always something
you personally can do to make a difference.
And then if you make a genuine difference in your own life
it will ripple out.
People around will sense the change,
and if enough people do this,
amazing things can be accomplished, one step at a time.
And speaking of steps, if you're someone who wants
to rapidly shift their financial paradigm,
we are excited to share with you the brand new
spiritual money masterclass that we've launched
a nine hour event called Spiritual Money Mastery,
which encompasses everything we've learned
about creating value in the world by being in service
and generating wealth in the process
to be used towards making the world a better place.
You can click the link below in the description
and jump in right now.
(gentle music)