[CitizensTruth] Resorce-based Society

[Daniel Stafford]

Interconnectedness in an alternative future...DS

Future by Design - William Gazecki has produced and directed a 
documentary based on him and his ideas...
http://www.futurebydesignthemovie.com/
Imagine a world where war is outdated, there is no shortage of 
resources, and every human being enjoys a high standard of living. THIS 
IS THE STORY OF JACQUE FRESCO -- A MODERN-DAY DA VINCI

Documentary on My Life Directed by William Gazecki (3 min 22 sec)
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=g3cBXHLgC7s
There is a good preview of this documentary...

From: http://www.fbdthemovie.com/fbdpresskit.pdf

Future by Design

Future by Design is a documentary film by Academy Award nominated 
filmmaker William Gazecki, sharing the life and far-reaching vision of 
Jacque Fresco, a modern day Da Vinci. Peer to Einstein and Buckminster 
Fuller, Jacque is a self-taught futurist who describes himself most 
often as a multi-disciplinarian or "generalist" -- a student of many 
inter-related fields. He is a prolific inventor, having spent his entire 
life (he is now 90 years old) conceiving of and devising inventions on 
various scales which entail the use of innovative technology. The film 
explores Fresco's world of the future, where scientific method, not 
politics, rules world operations, and all human activities and efforts 
are directed towards achieving dynamic equilibrium between man and 
nature. Future by Design is a visually and intellectually engaging 
exploration of one man's vision of a future where war is outdated, there 
is no shortage of any necessary resource, and our focus as a species is 
sustainability. But far from presenting a vision of Utopia, this 
documentary demonstrates a "possible future" -- with real and viable 
alternatives to our current paradigm of militarism and commercialism. 
Jacque Fresco is an outspoken and immediately likable character who's 
radical and sometimes irreverent ideas are sure to draw both praise and 
controversy.

In all of his dealings with the public, Jacque attempts to illuminate 
the causes of our current social ills and outline a wide range of 
constructive alternatives. He does this by presenting a redesign of our 
culture, one that would emphasize the intelligent use of science and 
technology to enhance the lives of all people. Infused within everything 
he does is his desire to share his global vision of hope for the future 
of humankind in our technological age.

CLIP

Jacque's vision of a Resource-based Economy is a society where 
automation and technology replace servitude and menial labor, and where 
resources are distributed on a whole basis according to the needs of the 
population, balanced with the carrying capacity of the natural 
environment. Much of the technology Jacque has developed over the years 
is designed to support and implement the cybernated culture he 
envisions. In Fresco's world of the future, all activities and efforts 
are directed towards productive solutions to real and physical problems. 
It is a society which utilizes energy, materials and human potential in 
the most organized and efficient manner possible. In Jacque's 
perspective, professions and industries which do not contribute to the 
physical wellbeing of the population are deemed inconsequential. He also 
feels that environmental restoration and the elimination of human-caused 
environmental decay is essential for long-term survival.

Jacque's concept of a society of the future integrates intra- and 
inter-personal needs, psychological and sociological functioning with 
the macro-scale mechanisms of governance, social stratification, 
commerce and spiritual needs. It is not a society based upon a moral 
philosophy. His long study of human and animal behavior has greatly 
influenced his thinking with regard to psychology and sociology. 
Jacque's idea is that our actions are determined by our values, and our 
values are in turn determined by our beliefs. What he has observed is 
that, in general, human social evolution throughout history has been 
cyclic -- war, poverty, aggression, territoriality, violence and crime 
are all indications of aberrant human behavior. Given that these kinds 
of behavior are consistently demonstrated over time, it is Jacque's 
consensus that there is some underlying cause. In his opinion, the 
source of all aberrant behavior is the operating belief systems with 
which we determine our values.

Jacque's research has led him to the conclusion that one of the most 
harmful beliefs carried by the majority of people is the general 
assumption that there is "not enough to go around" for everyone. Jacque 
calls this tendency or belief "scarcity". The perception of scarcity on 
a mass scale throughout history has led to the accumulation of wealth, 
the gross obsession for power, and the tendency to manipulate people in 
order to protect one's resources or belongings (property). All of these 
mechanisms can be seen to function on a personal as well as an 
international scale. In Fresco's projection of a functional future, 
where each individual's needs are met, the tendency to want to 
accumulate material things or exercise power will become minimal or 
unnecessary.

In a Resource-based Economy, the use of resources is balanced with the 
needs of the population. This is done through the gathering of 
information and the use of artificial intelligence and automated 
technology to apportion resources on a fair and equitable basis based on 
physical needs rather than other factors, such as perceived threat or 
the domination of central power structures. In the Future by Design, 
governance is maintained by the cybernated system, which depends wholly 
upon information derived from the physical environment. This information 
is derived from physical measurement and the input of data by the 
general population. Beliefs, biases, prejudices, class systems, 
religions, nation-states and their priorities play no role in 
determining "who gets what" in the future. In Jacque's synthesis of 
elements, he firmly believes that equitable use of physical resources 
combined with a dramatic shift in elevating the level of education of 
the public will create a functional, equitable world capable of 
long-term sustainability. A highly educated population can articulate 
their needs intelligently, make informed decisions.

He believes that when people are born into a system where it is 
understood and assumed that all physical needs will be met and that 
access to resources will be unfettered, that the majority of individuals 
will grow up psychologically healthy. His feeling is that aberrant 
behavior which results in crime or in some kind of overt harm is not the 
result of any moral crisis or ethical violation, but is really 
determined by one's environment. If an individual's needs are met, in an 
environment of non-violence and comprehensive education, the tendency to 
explore or institute harmful behavior is eliminated.

In the Future by Design, all systems work together. The personal, 
social, economic, industrial and governance arenas are all 
interconnected and balanced into one functional system. The Future by 
Design is a true participatory democracy, where each member of the 
society has the opportunity to input their needs, opinions and 
preferences into the central computer, which then assesses and analyzes 
all information to determine the use of resources in distribution of 
goods and services.

As a futurist, Jacque is not only a conceptualist and a theoretician, 
but he is also an engineer and a designer. Each one of his concepts and 
ideas has a firm foundation in the physical world. Whether through his 
study of animal and human behavior, science and the methodologies of 
science, or physical engineering principles, everything he has conceived 
of is rooted in practical reality. The basic overall concept of the 
Future by Design is the application of the scientific method to social 
systems, wherein all processes are based upon measurable factors rather 
than beliefs and opinions. Everything Jacque has conceived of can be 
designed and built as envisioned.

Jacque is not a Utopianist. In his paradigm, all social systems are 
evolutionary. Jacque has always based his work on the processes of 
nature and how organisms and systems function in a natural eco-balance. 
In Jacque's estimation, there is no such thing as a Utopia, as Utopias 
are generally conceived of as a status-quo or end-result, never to be 
surpassed. In Jacque's estimation, once our basic needs are met and we 
have eliminated usurious and superfluous inefficient efforts (i.e., 
militarism, commercialism, etc.), we can then focus the whole of human 
effort on an endless cycle of constant improvement and endless evolution.

http://www.thevenusproject.com/intro_main/whatis_tvp.htm

The Venus Project is a educational think tank operating out of a 25-acre 
Research Center located in Venus, Florida.

When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, 
we can safely conclude that the time is long overdue for us to reexamine 
our values, and to reflect upon and evaluate some of the underlying 
issues and assumptions we have as a society. This self-analysis calls 
into question the very nature of what it means to be human, what it 
means to be a member of a "civilization," and what choices we can make 
today to ensure a prosperous future for all the world's people.

At present we are left with very few alternatives. The answers of 
yesterday are no longer relevant. Either we continue as we have been 
with our outmoded social customs and habits of thought, in which case 
our future will be threatened, or we can apply a more appropriate set of 
values that are relevant to an emergent society.

Experience tells us that human behavior can be modified, either toward 
constructive or destructive activity. This is what The Venus Project is 
all about - directing our technology and resources toward the positive, 
for the maximum benefit of people and planet and seeking out new ways of 
thinking and living that emphasize and celebrate the vast potential of 
the human spirit. We have the tools at hand to design - and build - a 
future that is worthy of the human potential. The Venus Project presents 
a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing less than the 
total redesign of our culture. What follows is not an attempt to predict 
what will be done - only what could be done. The responsibility for our 
future is in our hands, and depends on the decisions that we make today. 
The greatest resource that is available today is our own ingenuity.

While social reformers and think tanks formulate strategies that treat 
only superficial symptoms, without touching the basic social operation, 
The Venus Project approaches these problems somewhat differently. We 
feel we cannot eliminate these problems within the framework of the 
present political and monetary establishment. It would take too many 
years to accomplish any significant change. Most likely they would be 
watered down and thinned out to such an extent that the changes would be 
indistinguishable

The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new 
world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. 
Although this description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of 
study and experimental research by many, many people from many 
scientific disciplines.

The Venus Project proposes a fresh approach--one that is dedicated to 
human and environmental concerns. It is an attainable vision of a bright 
and better future, one that is appropriate to the times in which we 
live, and both practical and feasible for a positive future for all the 
world's people.

The Venus Project calls for a straightforward 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.

One of the basic premises of The Venus Project is that we work towards 
having all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of all the 
world's people. Anything less will simply result in a continuation of 
the same catalog of problems inherent in the present system.

Throughout history, change has been slow. Successive groups of 
incompetent leaders have replaced those that preceded them, but the 
underlying social and economic problems remain because the basic value 
systems have gone unaltered. The problems we are faced with today cannot 
be solved politically or financially because they are highly technical 
in nature. There may not even be enough money available to pay for the 
required changes, but there are more than enough resources. This is why 
The Venus Project advocates the transition from a monetary-based society 
to the eventual realization of a resource-based global economy.

We realize to make the transition from our present culture, which is 
politically incompetent, scarcity-oriented and obsolete, to this new, 
more humane society will require a quantum leap in both thought and action.

An Obsolete Monetary System

The money-based system evolved centuries ago. All of the world's 
economic systems - socialism, communism, fascism, and even the vaunted 
free enterprise system - perpetuate social stratification, elitism, 
nationalism, and racism, primarily based on economic disparity. As long 
as a social system uses money or barter, people and nations will seek to 
maintain the economic competitive edge or, if they cannot do so by means 
of commerce they will by military intervention. We still utilize these 
same outmoded methods.

Our current monetary system is not capable of providing a high standard 
of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the 
environment because the major motive is profit. Strategies such as 
downsizing and toxic dumping increase the profit margin. With the advent 
of automation, cybernation, artificial intelligence and out-sourcing, 
there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by machines. As a 
result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even 
though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist.

Our present, outmoded political and economic systems are unable to apply 
the real benefits of today's innovative technology to achieve the 
greatest good for all people, and to overcome the inequities imposed 
upon so many. Our technology is racing forward yet our social designs 
have remained relatively static. In other words cultural change has not 
kept pace with technological change. We now have the means to produce 
goods and services in abundance for everyone.

Unfortunately, today science and technology have been diverted from 
achieving the greatest good for reasons of self-interest and monetary 
gain through planned obsolescence sometimes referred to as the conscious 
withdrawal of efficiency. For example, the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, whose function is presumed to be conducting research into 
ways of achieving higher crop yields per acre, actually pays farmers not 
to produce at full-capacity. The monetary system tends to hold back the 
application of these methods that we know would best serve the interests 
of people and the environment.

In a monetary system purchasing power is not related to our capacity to 
produce goods and services. For example, during a depression, there are 
computers and DVD's on store shelves and automobiles in car lots, but 
most people do not have the purchasing power to buy them. The earth is 
still the same place; it is just the rules of the game that are obsolete 
and create strife, deprivation and unnecessary human suffering.

A monetary system developed years ago as a device to control human 
behavior in an environment with limited resources. Today money is used 
to regulate the economy not for the benefit of the general populace, but 
for those who control the financial wealth of nations.

Resource Based Economy

All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious 
beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources, 
i.e. clean air and water, arable land and the necessary technology and 
personnel to maintain a high standard of living.

Simply stated, a Resource-Based Economy utilizes existing resources 
rather than money and provides an equitable method of distributing these 
resources in the most efficient manner for the entire population. It is 
a system in which all goods and services are available without the use 
of money, credits, barter, or any other form of debt or servitude.

Earth is abundant with plentiful resources; today our practice of 
rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter 
productive to our survival. Modern society has access to highly advanced 
technologies and can make available food, clothing, housing, medical 
care, a relevant educational system, and develop a limitless supply of 
renewable, non-contaminating energy such as geothermal, solar, wind, 
tidal, etc. It is now possible to have everyone enjoy a very high 
standard of living with all of the amenities that a prosperous 
civilization can provide. This can be accomplished through the 
intelligent and humane application of science and technology.

A Resource-Based Economy would make it possible to use technology to 
overcome scarce resources by applying renewable sources of energy, 
computerizing and automating manufacturing and inventory, designing safe 
energy-efficient cities and advanced transportation systems, providing 
universal health care and more relevant education, and most of all by 
generating a new incentive system based on human and environmental concern.

Many people believe that there is too much technology in the world 
today, and that technology is the major cause of our environmental 
pollution. This is not the case. It is the abuse and misuse of 
technology that should be our major concern. In a more humane 
civilization, instead of machines displacing people they would shorten 
the workday, increase the availability of goods and services, and 
lengthen vacation time. If we utilize new technology to raise the 
standard of living for all people, then the infusion of machine 
technology would no longer be a threat.

To better understand the meaning of a Resource Based Economy consider 
this: if all the money in the world were destroyed, as long as topsoil, 
factories, and other resources were left intact, we could build anything 
we choose to build and fulfill any human need. It is not money that 
people need; rather, it is free access to the necessities of life. In a 
Resource Based Economy , money would be irrelevant. All that would be 
required are the resources and the manufacturing and distribution of the 
products.

When education and resources are made available to all people without a 
price tag, there would be no limit to the human potential. Although this 
is difficult to imagine, even the wealthiest person today would be far 
better off in a resource based society as proposed by The Venus Project. 
Today the middle classes live better than kings of times past. In a 
Resource Based Economy everyone would live better than the wealthiest of 
today.

In such a society, the measure of success would be based on the 
fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of 
wealth, property and power.

The Choice Is Ours To Make

Human behavior is subject to the same laws as any other natural 
phenomenon. Our customs, behaviors, and values are byproducts of our 
culture. No one is born with greed, prejudice, bigotry, patriotism and 
hatred; these are all learned behavior patterns. If the environment is 
unaltered, similar behavior will reoccur.

Today, much of the technology needed to bring about a global 
Resource-Based Economy exists. If we choose to conform to the 
limitations of our present monetary-based economy, then it is likely 
that we will continue to live with its inevitable results: war, poverty, 
hunger, deprivation, crime, ignorance, stress, fear, and inequity. On 
the other hand, if we embrace the concept of a global Resource Based 
Economy, learn more about it, and share our understanding with our 
friends, this will help humanity evolve out of its present state.

The only limitations are those we impose upon ourselves. The Venus 
Project is neither utopian nor Orwellian, nor does it reflect the dreams 
of impractical idealists. Instead, it presents attainable goals 
requiring only the intelligent application of what we already know.

CLIP
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