|
sadefasefaefaes
|
The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change, one that works towards a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are no longer paper proclamations but a way of life.
We operate out of a 21.5-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 was 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.
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 term and meaning of a Resource-Based Economy was originated by Jacque Fresco. It is a system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude. All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival.
Modern society has access to highly advanced technology and can make available food, clothing, housing and medical care; update our educational system; and develop a limitless supply of renewable, non-contaminating energy. By supplying an efficiently designed economy, everyone can enjoy a very high standard of living with all of the amenities of a high technological society.
A resource-based economy would utilize existing resources from the land and sea, physical equipment, industrial plants, etc. to enhance the lives of the total population. In an economy based on resources rather than money, we could easily produce all of the necessities of life and provide a high standard of living for all.
Consider the following examples: At the beginning of World War II the US had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was no, we did not have enough money, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war.
In a resource-based economy all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of Earth's people, thus eventually outgrowing the need for the artificial boundaries that separate people. This is the unifying imperative.
We must emphasize that this approach to global governance has nothing whatever in common with the present aims of an elite to form a world government with themselves and large corporations at the helm, and the vast majority of the world's population subservient to them. Our vision of globalization empowers each and every person on the planet to be the best they can be, not to live in abject subjugation to a corporate governing body.
Our proposals would not only add to the well being of people, but they would also provide the necessary information that would enable them to participate in any area of their competence. The measure of success would be based on the fulfilment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property and power.
At present, we have enough material resources to provide a very high standard of living for all of Earth's inhabitants. Only when population exceeds the carrying capacity of the land do many problems such as greed, crime and violence emerge. By overcoming scarcity, most of the crimes and even the prisons of today's society would no longer be necessary.
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.
A resource-based world economy would also involve all-out efforts to develop new, clean, and renewable sources of energy: geothermal; controlled fusion; solar; photovoltaic; wind, wave, and tidal power; and even fuel from the oceans. We would eventually be able to have energy in unlimited quantity that could propel civilization for thousands of years. A resource-based economy must also be committed to the redesign of our cities, transportation systems, and industrial plants, allowing them to be energy efficient, clean, and conveniently serve the needs of all people.
What else would a resource-based economy mean? Technology intelligently and efficiently applied, conserves energy, reduces waste, and provides more leisure time. With automated inventory on a global scale, we can maintain a balance between production and distribution. Only nutritious and healthy food would be available and planned obsolescence would be unnecessary and non-existent in a resource-based economy.
As we outgrow the need for professions based on the monetary system, for instance lawyers, bankers, insurance agents, marketing and advertising personnel, salespersons, and stockbrokers, a considerable amount of waste will be eliminated. Considerable amounts of energy would also be saved by eliminating the duplication of competitive products such as tools, eating utensils, pots, pans and vacuum cleaners. Choice is good. But instead of hundreds of different manufacturing plants and all the paperwork and personnel required to turn out similar products, only a few of the highest quality would be needed to serve the entire population. Our only shortage is the lack of creative thought and intelligence in ourselves and our elected leaders to solve these problems. The most valuable, untapped resource today is human ingenuity.
With the elimination of debt, the fear of losing one's job will no longer be a threat This assurance, combined with education on how to relate to one another in a much more meaningful way, could considerably reduce both mental and physical stress and leave us free to explore and develop our abilities.
If the thought of eliminating money still troubles you, consider this: If a group of people with gold, diamonds and money were stranded on an island that had no resources such as food, clean air and water, their wealth would be irrelevant to their survival. It is only when resources are scarce that money can be used to control their distribution. One could not, for example, sell the air we breathe or water abundantly flowing down from a mountain stream. Although air and water are valuable, in abundance they cannot be sold.
Money is only important in a society when certain resources for survival must be rationed and the people accept money as an exchange medium for the scarce resources. Money is a social convention, an agreement if you will. It is neither a natural resource nor does it represent one. It is not necessary for survival unless we have been conditioned to accept it as such.
Mr. Fresco's background includes industrial design and social engineering, as well as being a forerunner in the field of Human Factors. Mr. Fresco has worked as both designer and inventor in a wide range of fields spanning from biomedical innovations to totally integrated social systems.
The Venus Project reflects the culmination of Jacque Fresco's life work: the integration of the best of science and technology into a comprehensive plan for a new society based on human and environmental concern. It is a global vision of hope for the future of humankind in our technological age.
A major documentary, titled Future By Design, on the life, designs and philosophy of Jacque Fresco in now available. This is produced by Academy Award Nominated and Emmy Winning filmmaker, William Gazecki. The film Zeitgeist Addendum featuring Jacque Fresco and The Venus Project produced by Peter Joseph was recently released. It can be viewed at www.ZeitgeistMovie.com
Professional Positions
Design consultant for Rotor Craft Helicopter Company
Served in the Army Design and Development Unit, Wright Field Dayton, Ohio
Research Engineer. Raymond De-Icer Corp., Los Angeles, California
Technical Consultant to the Motion Picture Industry, including Technical Advisor to Camera Eye Pictures, Inc., and the film, The Magic Eye, which won the Robert J. Flaherty Award for creative film documentary.
Colleague and work associate of Donald Powell Wilson of Los Angeles, the noted psychologist who wrote My Six Convicts.
Industrial Design Instructor at the Art Center School in Hollywood, California
Creator of Revel Plastics Company
Books authored
Looking Forward co-authored with Kenneth Keyes, 1969, A.S. Barnes & Company
Introduction to Sociocyberneering, 1977
Sociocyberneering Presents Cities in Transition, 1978
Sociocyberneering Presents the Determinants of Behavior, 1978
Structural Systems and Systems of Structure, 1979
The Venus Project: The Redesign of a Culture, 1995 *World Future Society best seller
And The World Will Be One 1997
The Best That Money Can't Buy: Beyond Politics, Poverty & War, 2002
Designing the Future, 2007
Videos produced and filmed
The Venus Project: The Redesign of a Culture, 1994
Welcome To The Future, 2001
Cities In The Sea, 2002
Self-erecting Structures, 2002
Designing the Future, 2006
Inventions and Designs- many of which have been patented and have had wide commercial acceptance.
Systems for noiseless and pollution free aircraft
A new aircraft wing structural system, patented by the US Air Force
An electrostatic system for the elimination of sonic boom for Raymond DeIcer
Boundary layer control and electrodynamic methods for aircraft control that dispenses with ailerons, elevators, rudders, and flaps
A three-wheel automobile consisting of only 32 parts
"The Aluminum Trend House," a prefabricated house designed and developed for Mike Shore and Earl Muntz, 1945
Designed and developed another prefabricated aluminum house for Major Realty Corporation in collaboration with Aluminum Company of America
Developed numerous components and systems for architectural construction
Developed equipment ranging from 3-dimensional x-ray units to electronic surgical instruments for the medical field
Developed a technique for viewing 3-dimensional motion pictures without the use of glasses
Designed and built a wide variety of reinforced concrete structures
Periodicals, books, newspapers and magazines that have contained articles written by Mr. Fresco or written about Mr. Fresco:
Feature contributing author to the book In the Shadow of War edited by Arthur Shostak Ph.D. 2004
Feature contributing author to the book Viable Utopian Ideas: Shaping A Better World edited by Arthur Shostak Ph.D. 2003
Wrote the preface and was featured in the book Transforming The Global Biosphere: Twelve Futuristic Strategies by Elliott Maynard, Ph.D. 2003
Feature article in the 2002 January - February issue of The Futurist
Feature contributing author in Utopian Thinking in Sociology: Creating the Good Society, an instructional text book published by the American Sociological Association 2001
Feature article in the 1994 May - June issue of the World Future Society's magazine, The Futurist, where the editors compared his work with R. Buckminster Fuller and Paolo Soleri.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA), The Miami Herald (Miami, FL,) News-Sun (Sebring, Fl) Houston Chronicle (Houston, TX) , New-Press (Ft Myers, Fl), North Port Sun (North Port, FL), The Indianapolis Star (Indianapolis, IN), El Nuevo Herald (Miami, FL), Record (Hackensack, NJ), De Soto Sun (Arcadia, FL), Englewood Sun (Englewood, FL), West County Times (Pinole, CA), Standard Esquire Examiner (Ogden, UT), Valley Times (Pleasanton, CA), Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek, CA), San Ramon Valley Times (Danville, CA), FL Citizen, (Key West, FL), News & Record (Greensboro, NC), The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH).
Western Flying, The Architectural Forum, Popular Mechanics, Saturday Review, Variety, Feedback Magazine, Gulf Shore Life, Lee Living, Predictions, Weekly Reader, Media Wave, Shift, Detour, UK's FX Design, Business and Society, UK's Locum Destination Review, Spain's leading news magazine EPOCA, The Sun, National Hotel Executive, Exxon Mobil's corporate magazine The Compass, GQ Magazine of Italy, Janas Magazine of France. Mare Magazine of Germany, Gantthead.mag Magazine, IE Industrial Engineering Magazine, The Irish Entrepreneur Magazine, Gallery of Spain, Photoshop Magazine of Turkey, 944, Amusement of France.
Walden Three a book written about Mr. Fresco by Jack Catran.
Radio and Television Shows
Feature interview for REDES a public television show of Spain 2003
Discovery Channel's two hour special Engineering the Impossible, 2002
It's Your Call with Lynn Doyle, Philadelphia
A Touch of Grey, nationally syndicated radio
Several appearances on The Larry King Show radio and television
Prime Time Weekend, Philadelphia, PA
CHRW-CFM, "Science Girl, Ontario, Canada
National Public Radio, WGCU, Fort Myers, FL
National Public Radio, KGPR-FM, Great Falls, MT
JudiWorld with Judi Paparelli, New Orleans, LA
KFMK-FM 105.9 Austin, TX
KVON-AM, San Francisco
WCUB-AM, Manitowoc, WI
WLW-AM, Cincinnati, OH
WLW-AM, Midday with Mike McConnell
Long John's Journal, WINK, Channel 11 Fort Myers, Florida
In The Wild, Award winning children's TV series
Fox Television, Tampa, Florida
All Things Considered, Public Radio, Tampa, Florida
Free Speech TV, Boulder, Colorado
N3TV, Space Channel, Canada
Television Special in Japan, France, and England
Chilean Public Television Special
Talk show presentation in Brazil.
WPBT Educational Television, Channel 2
WPLG, ABC Network Television, Channel 10
WIOD Radio, Feature Guest of Art Merrill
WKAT Radio Feature Guest of Bill Smith Show
Art Baker nationwide program, You Asked For It, as "The Man Of Tomorrow"
Mr. Fresco has been a guest lecturer at many institutions of higher learning. He was an active participant in discussions at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions in Santa Barbara, California. Mr. Fresco has addressed students at the University of Miami, Princeton University, University of Southern California, Dade Junior College, Queens College, Presbyterian College, University of Southern Florida, Nichols College, Columbia University, Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, Institute of Technology, Vienna, Austria, Penn State Greater Allegheny, and others. He and Ralph Nader were featured guest lecturers at the University of South Florida. At Princeton University, Mr. Fresco addressed the Department of Sociology. His subject was Sociology of the Future. Along with the well- known scientist Margaret Mead, Mr. Fresco was extended an invitation to address the college environment conference in Washington, DC. He was a guest speaker for the Tenth Symposium for the Civil Engineering Department of TEC de Monterrey University in Monterrey, Mexico, Latin America's top rated college. Mr. Fresco was a guest speaker at The Utopian Studies Conference in Orlando, FL and lectured at several World Future Society Conferences. He was a guest lecturer on future planning in Dubai, Untied Arab Emirates. Mr. Fresco was a speaker at the Technical University in Vienna. He was a guest speaker at the conference at Dalian, China for the Development of N.E. China. He was also guest speaker at a conference in Iceland and the guest of honor at The Futurists Summit 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey.
We have all heard lectures that downgrade the present state of affairs. They speak of such social problems as lawlessness, poverty, racial tension and divorce. But how many of us can recall any of these lectures offering creative solutions to these problems? Mr. Fresco's presentations reflect a serious attempt to illuminate the causes 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 while protecting our environment. His subjects range from "New Dimensions in Human Stupidity" to "Imagineering The Future." A video often accompanies the lectures where his ideas are vividly brought to life through animated models, illustrations and computer animation.
His particular lecture technique enables uninformed audiences to grasp the significance of complex social and technical innovations He speaks dramatically and brilliantly about the urgent transitional problems facing our contemporary society. His audiences find their attention focused intensely and they closely follow his presentation from beginning to end. Mr. Fresco's lectures have been consistently praised and enthusiastically received.
Jacque Fresco is the founder of Sociocyberneering, Inc., now known as The Venus Project. With his associate Roxanne Meadows, he has designed and built the entire twenty-five acre research facility. The function of this project is to prepare approaches and solutions to the major problems that confront the world today. Television and magazine coverage on the project has been worldwide.
Mr. Fresco is available for lectures. For more information fax, call or write to:
Mr. Jacque Fresco
21 Valley Lane
Venus, Florida 33960
Ph: 863-465-0321
- information borrowed from www.TheVenusProject.com
- link to www.thevenusproject.com
|
110906
|
