The Venus Project

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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]

Transition to RBE plans

The Venus Project claims on its website, at the header of every page, that 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], however a well established and detailed plan is not yet available for public access, and it is not clear if it exists at all in any format at this time. For example, in their website they claim that in a Resource-Based Economy All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants[5] however there is no mention of how this can happen, or in which way will individuals' private property be transitioned to common heritage.

Unlike other Resource-Based Economy advocates like The Zeitgeist Movement, who consider that raising awareness and reaching critical mass is essential before starting to work on transition plans[citation needed], The Venus Project is working on its transition through a team of volunteer activists, who are selected by team managers[who?] according to their individual abilities and degree of commitment[citation needed]. TVP Team Members are requested to sign a NDA agreement[citation needed], and therefore no information about their progress or any other details can be obtained by means other than contacting their Media Team directly, or relying on the information disclosed in their website.

In general terms and for what can be assumed by the information published[vague], TVP aims at constructing high-tech, fully functional cities, already automated in terms of social organisation, production and distribution[examples needed]. It is expected that such mega-projects will be funded by billionaires and/or governments[according to whom?], but it is not clear when or where these cities will be built, or the selection criteria for their first citizens[neutrality is disputed]. It is also not clear to what degree the general public will be involved in the design of the systems that govern the city, both in terms of social organisation, production or distribution.[neutrality is disputed]

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, is critical of The Venus Project transition style, which would require collusion of nations and great power structures to implement a global RBE, imposing the new socio-economic system on unwilling minorities. Although imposition of socio-economic systems on minorities is the current norm, Ziggy reasons that a RBE would be dysfunctional in the existence of opposing minorities, mostly as a result of the RBE's expected lack of authority and government.

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.
  • 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, who 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

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Venus Project website frontpage
  2. Reading List The Venus Project. Retrieved: 07 February 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 The Venus Project Wikipedia entry
  4. Durrani, Noni (2007-10-15). The Future: Jacque Fresco on the Future Forbes.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
  5. Resource Based Economy page in The Venus Project's website
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