Resource-Based Economic Model

In short...

A Resource-Based Economy (RBE) can be defined as the Scientific Method, or Methods of Science, applied for human concern.

According to The Venus Project, it is a "holistic socio-economic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money".

According to The Zeitgeist Movement, it is "is about taking a direct technical approach to social management as opposed to a Monetary or even Political one".

Definitions

Definitions by Jacque Fresco

The concept was developed by Jacque Fresco and explained most extensively in his book The Best that Money Can't Buy, in which he describes various notions of a RBE allowing the reader make interpretations of this idea, however the book lacks a clear definition for the term or the concept in a form that clearly delineates what a RBE is and what it is not.

Despite the lack of a clear definition for what a RBE is, Fresco gives the following clues in a presentation video:

• What a RBE is NOT
  • It is entirely different than anything that has ever existed in the past [0:07-0:14]
  • It is not a technocracy [02:56-03:12]]
• Premises of a RBE
  • A principle of sustainability of the natural environment (extravagance of the island) [0:23-0:41]
  • Production based on the best technical advice to achieve sustainability [01:16-01:27]
  • Arriving at decisions using technical methods as opposed to making decisions by consensus [01:27-01:41]
  • Decisions are made by people with technical competence instead of political or democratic means [02:00-02:16] (needs to expand on his mention of areas you wish to excel in: how are these areas decided or arrived at?)
  • In order to avoid conflicts around sharing resources, a RBE has to be global [03:37-04:02]
  • The needs of the people in a city must be met by the city itself using nearby resources (systems operations) [04:16-04:44]
  • Public access to information about current and future availability of goods and services [04:45-05:00] (needs to expand on the open nature of this information)
  • Open access to goods and services as (opposed to ownership) [04:55-05:10]
  • Conservative use of energy (and resources?); availability to all people [05:11-05:36]
  • Use of automation instead of labour; freedom for all to pursuit personal interests without the need for work [05:42-06:14]
  • In a RBE there is no need for money [07:15-07:24]
  • All resources are declared the common heritage of all the world's people; bring all the separate nations together in one unified system [07:51-08:23]

Definitions by Peter Joseph

The documentarist Peter Joseph met Jacque Fresco in Fresco's research centre in Venus, Florida. In order to communicate Fresco's ideas, and due to the lack of accurate definitions for this subject, Peter Joseph was required to make and communicate those interpretations, which may or may not align with Fresco's train of thought. Peter Joseph's documentaries Zeitgeist: Addendum and Zeitgeist Moving Forward had a major impact in the world, rapidly causing the formation of chapters around the world to raise awareness about this notion. The dissolution of TZM and TVP can be seen as the result of differences of interpretation of this idea, and preferences for the actions required to make.

At the time of this writing [October 2012], The Zeitgeist Movement's website states that The 2012 revised orientation is still in development. We suggest you read our FAQ linked below for basic information and then follow-up with the lectures. We also recommend our quick start guide for new members. The following extensions or differences in those notions, as compared with the Fresco's stated above, can be derived from such information and lectures:

• An Intro. to a Resource-Based Economy [ TEDx - Peter Joseph ]
  • It is based on the Intelligent Management of the Earth's Resources, rather than money [00:08-00:18] (see also pp. 73 & 123)
  • Meet the needs of the human population (assumed to be all of it) through the most efficient strategic and sustainable method drawn from the physical world [00:18-00:26]

History

Jacque Fresco began using the term Resource-Based Economy, claiming also having originated it, as a name for a socio-economic system he devised and developed as part of his research for The Venus Project.

Development of the concept

Jaque Fresco has mentioned in a number of opportunities that his work is based on the work of a multitude of thinkers, including works by Buckminster Fuller from the [Buckminster Fuller Institute]

Jacque Fresco communicated general ideas about his idea of a RBE throughout many years, expressing them to visitors showing up at his Research Centre in Venus, Florida, and on a number of interviews in shows like Larry King.

Jacque Fresco, his idea of a Resource-Based Economy and the Circular City became more accessible to the public through a documentary film by the documentarist William Gazecki in 2006.

The concept was massively popularised through the films Zeitgeist: Addendum and Zeitgeist Moving Forward by The Zeitgeist Movement founder Peter Joseph, in which the concept was explained in much greater detail. As a result of differences in Peter Joseph's situated knowledge differences with Fresco's, the films included elements that were not fully aligned with TVP's mentality and objectives, causing their movements to dissociate in April 2011.

As a result of the popularity of the concepts through the various agents that popularised the idea, many movements took elements and understandings of the orignal concept and created a variety of similar notions, mostly maintaining the original name Resource-Based Economy, or similar names like Resource-Based Economic Model (RBEM).

Different idiosyncrasies about notions of Resource-Based Economy

There doesn't seem to be a concerted understanding or description of a Resource-Based Economy. It is the main objective of this Wiki to provide a space for such concerted description, even one that includes the various notions or understandings between or even within advocates of the general notions of a RBE.

Although, according to The Zeitgeist Movement's website, The Venus Project sought Copyright for the term "Resource-Based Economy" (and hence also its definition) in 2010, at the time of this writing a search for the term in the US Copyright query database renders no matches. Despite this, out of respect for the origins of the term, The Zeitgeist Movement prefers to refer to it as Resource-Based Economic Model, or RBEM.

Given the The RBE10K Project's involvement in the development of this website is quite significant as it uses it as its main resource for a knowledge-base, there may be biases in some of the understandings about a Resource-Based Economy. In order to alleviate the possibility of bias, it is very important that people from a variety of movements and projects participate actively of the compilation of relevant information about this central topic.

Fundamental values

1. Sustainability
2. The Earth and all of its resources are considered the common heritage of all of the world's people
3. Authority can be given, but only at the personal level, and never taken, imposed, or delegated
4. An assumption of shared responsibility for having all the world's people's needs met
5. Agreement that society as a whole is causal and responsible for any aberrant behaviour an any individual
6. A preference for a supportive rather than punitive attitude towards those who manifest aberrant behaviours
7. A preference for access rather than property
8. A reliance on abundant resources only
9. A reliance on automation for current processes that can be automated