The Venus Project
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[edit] About
"The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any socio-economic system that has gone before. It calls for a straightforward redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war, poverty, hunger, debt, and unnecessary human suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable."[1]
The Venus Project (TVP) is an organisation co-founded by self-educated structural engineer, industrial designer, and futurist Jacque Fresco[2]. Fresco's project aims to restructure society through worldwide utilisation of a theoretical design that he calls a Resource-Based Economy. Those ideas use a version of sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural resource management and advanced automation with a global socio-economic system based on social cooperation and scientific methodology.[3]
The Venus Project was started around 1975 by Jacque Fresco[4] and by former portrait artist Roxanne Meadows in Venus, Florida, United States[3].
[edit] Definition of a Resource-Based Economy
The concept was developed by Jacque Fresco and explained most extensively in his book The Best that Money Can't Buy[5], in which he describes various notions of a RBE. The Venus Project's website also has abundant material with notions about meaning and workings of RBE.
[edit] Transition to RBE plans
The Venus Project's website's heading includes the following statement: "The Venus Project offers a comprehensive plan for social reclamation in which human beings, technology and nature will be able to coexist in a long term, sustainable state of dynamic equilibrium"[1].
The Venus Project is working on its transition through a team of volunteer activists[citation needed], who are selected by team managers[who?] according to their individual abilities and degree of commitment[citation needed]. In some of the teams handling sensitive information, applicants to volunteer are requested the signing of a NDA agreement[citation needed].
[edit] Notable notions
[edit] Criticism
Many of the critics from activists of The Zeitgeist Movement who are not committed activists of The Venus Project[who?] criticise TVP's transition model as authoritarian, since it is strongly directed in a top-down approach, with Fresco at the top making ultimate decisions[neutrality is disputed]. TZM activists[who?] consider this is in stark contrast to the principles and values of a Resource-Based Economy, and that all decisions should either be arrived at or consensuated democratically[vague].
Ziggy, a voluntarist and founder of The RBE10K Project, criticises The Venus Project in his own user page.
Other common critics include[vague][who?][neutrality is disputed]:
- Design and presentation is overly and unnecessarily futuristic, with very little emphasis in the psychology and social values of such arrangement[citation needed].
- The practicality of many of the designs has been criticised by formal experts on the relevant fields, such as architects and engineers.
- Fresco has introduced himself publicly and privately with credentials he doesn't possess, such as in an interview with Larry King where he claimed to have a PhD in Ergonomics[citation needed], or running a psychology clinic without recognised psychology studies[citation needed].
- Highly exaggerated or even deceiving affirmations, such as his claim of having dismantled Florida's Ku-Klux-Klan[citation needed].
- The aesthetics of designs are too influenced by anachronic aesthetic notions of the 60s and 70s.
- Despite TVP's plans for the transition, there is no evidence that such plans exist, and TVP keeps very secretive and protective of its ideas, which are in contrast with the open nature of a RBE
- TVP is overly dependent on the person of Jacque Fresco, whose advanced age places the whole project at risk, having not trained anyone else to take his post, other than Roxanne Meadows
- Jacque Fresco is personally protective of his intellectual property, including the term Resource-Based Economy, which is inconsistent with the principles and values of a RBE
- Many activists[who?] from TVP often suggest to read the materials and watch the videos until becoming knowledgeable, and seem to be content with the fragmented and poor academic quality information, without working on nor demanding greater emphasis in the quality of the information
[edit] Criticism in blogs, videos, and other online sources
- Chemazdamundi (in Spanish). He's an economist, social activist and blogger, and member of the Sceptic Movement and the Spanish Atheist Association. His writing style is highly disrespectful, opinionated, arrogant, mocking and negatively biased. Many of his critics include references, and rely on the help from experts in architecture, engineering and physics, and his research is generally thorough and detailed.
- http://chemazdamundi.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/el-proyecto-venus-contrastado-i-introduccion-a-una-critica-y-analisis-del-proyecto-venus-los-porques-de-analizar-y-criticar-el-proyecto-venus-de-jacque-fresco/
- http://chemazdamundi.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/el-proyecto-venus-contrastado-i-que-es-el-proyecto-venus-pv-el-project-venus-research-center-y-sus-conexiones-con-los-visionarios-organizacion-regimen-fiscal-y-beneficios/
- http://chemazdamundi.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/el-proyecto-venus-contrastado-3a-parte-analisis-profesional-y-tecnico-de-las-caracteristicas-arquitectonicas-de-el-proyecto-venus-pv-y-de-la-economia-basada-en-recursos-ebr-son-ciertas/
[edit] References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Venus Project website frontpage
- ↑ Reading List The Venus Project. Retrieved: 07 February 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Venus Project Wikipedia entry
- ↑ Durrani, Noni (2007-10-15). The Future: Jacque Fresco on the Future Forbes.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ↑ The Best that Money Can't Buy: Beyond Politics, Poverty & War. Venus, Fla.: Global Cyber-Visions. (2002). ISBN 0-9648806-7-9. OCLC 49931422. http://books.google.com/books?id=JhzxAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
