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The Venus Project | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 6 April, 1985 |
| Headquarters | Venus, Florida, USA |
| Political orientation | Utopian socialism Technocracy Environmentalism |
| Website | |
| https://www.thevenusproject.com/ | |
The Venus Project is a modern Utopian Socialist and non-profit organisation located in the USA state of Florida. created in 1985 by the Statesian futurist Jacque Fresco,[1] the Venus Project seeks to create a "resource-based economy", and a socio-economic system free of war, hunger, poverty, and politics.
History[edit | edit source]
The Venus Project was founded, and its ideas and goals largely inspired by, the works of the futurist Jacque Fresco, and his associate, Roxanne Meadows. While the first prerequisite organisations that Jacque Fresco influenced were largely focused on things of a relatively more trivial nature, such as ecological protection and infrastructure, Fresco's ambitions would, by the 1970's,[2] be more concerned with things such as social engineering, and technological advancement.[3]
The foundations for the Venus Project were created when, later on in the 20th century, a small area of land was bought and turned into a reserch community near the small locality of Venus, in the USA state of Florida, hence where the Venus Project recived its name.
Goals[edit | edit source]
The Venus Project claims that they wish to create a socio-economic system that has transcended capitalism, communism, socialism, and fascism. They further claim that this socio-economic system is neither autocratic, nor democratic, yet they also claim that this system will provide freedom from violence, abuse, coercion, and other forms of opression.[4]
In a reaction to increasing socio-economic and ecological crisis, the Venus Project wishes to create a post-political society and "resource-based economy" where technologies such as automation and advance engineering are fully employed in order to achive ecological harmony as well as increase the living standard, without the usage of currency.[5][6] However, in spite of them claiming to reject both Communism and Socialism, the socio-economic system they envision is nearly identical to both those systems. They wish to create a stateless, moneyless, and classless society.[7]
Practice[edit | edit source]
The Venus Project maintains a highly Idealistic praxis. Partitioning their plans for societal tranformation into four distinct "phases", each escalating further into Utopianism. Considering themselves to have already completed the first phase - creating a research centre in the settlement of Venus, Florda - the Venus Project is presently preforming both the second and third phase of their plan; creating media, particularly documentaries, in order to popularise their ideology, and creating a "Center for Resource Management".
Their fourth phase is perhaps the most grandiose, and Utopian, wishing to create a "research city" and achive a number of other goals, which includes:
- Realizing the declaration of the world’s resources as being the common heritage of all people.
- Transcending the artificial boundaries that currently and arbitrarily separate people.
- Replacing money-based nationalistic economies with a resource-based world economy.
- Assisting in stabilizing the world’s population through education and voluntary birth control.
- Reclaiming and restoring the natural environment to the best of our ability.
- Redesigning cities, transportation systems, agricultural industries, and industrial plants so that they are energy efficient, clean, and able to conveniently serve the needs of all people.
- Gradually outgrowing corporate entities and governments, (local, national, or supra-national) as means of social management.
- Sharing and applying new technologies for the benefit of all nations.
- Developing and using clean renewable energy sources.
- Manufacturing the highest quality products for the benefit of the world’s people.
- Requiring environmental impact studies prior to construction of any mega projects.
- Encouraging the widest range of creativity and incentive toward constructive endeavor.
- Outgrowing nationalism, bigotry, and prejudice through education.
- Eliminating elitism, technical or otherwise.
- Arriving at methodologies by careful research rather than random opinions.
- Enhancing communication in schools so that our language is relevant to the physical conditions of the world.
- Providing not only the necessities of life, but also offering challenges that stimulate the mind while emphasizing individuality rather than uniformity.
- Finally, preparing people intellectually and emotionally for the changes and challenges that lie ahead.
After such aims have been met, the Venus Project seeks to then expand their existing research city into a circular city, which as it expands, they claim will bring about a "semi-cooperative money-oriented society", which they further claim will lead to the creation of a "resource-based economy".[7]
Because the Venus Project lacks any sort of complete class-based analysis, or historical analysis, its ideology and ultimate socio-economic aims can be viewed as a modern form of Utopian Socialism.
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ “The history of The Venus Project offers a unique perspective into Jacque Fresco’s life: from the early years when he worked at Wright Field to the time he and his associate, Roxanne Meadows, built the Research Center in Venus, Florida.”
"History". The Venus Project. Retrieved 2022-7-28. - ↑ “In the 1970s, Fresco began to envision smart cities where technology and energy conservation strategies were used to benefit humanity. He called the idea Sociocyberneering, and eventually incorporate a business entity under that name. He lived in South Florida at the time, and circular structures continued to dominate his designs. Sociocyberneering, Inc. purchased farm land in Venus, an unincorporated region of Highlands County near Lake Okeechobee. On that farm, Fresco conducted different types of research on futuristic dwellings with Roxanne Meadows, his closest colleague. The research would eventually grow into the Venus Project, a vision of a truly free society that operates under the principles of a resource-based economy.”
Jaime Lopez. "Floating Cities and Resource-Based Economies" The Costa Rica Star. Retrieved 2022-8-7. - ↑ "Jacque Freesco". The Venus Project. Retrieved 2022-8-7.
- ↑ “The Venus Project offers a new socio-economy system that isn't: Capitalism, Communism, Socialism, nor Fascism. It's nothing like anything tried before. It's not a dictatorship, nor is it democratic. Yet it will achive what all democracies have always tried to but never did: Freedom from violence, abuse, coercion, and restrictions that are unnecessary and only serve a small minority at the expense of the rest.”
Resource Based Economy (2013-5-19). "What is the Venus Project?" Youtube. Retrieved 2022-7-28. - ↑ “Taken as a whole, the Venus Project fills the egregious gap between the sciences and the humanities by combining a social philosophy of the future with technical knowledge applied at a global scale to solve the problems of the human condition. Our methodologies are designed to realize the full potential of science and technology to achieve social betterment for all living systems— without exception. Our approach to social organization calls for changes in governance, economics, urban planning, education, human relationships, language, and values.”
Daniel Araya (2020-9-1). "Is The Venus Project The Next Stage In Human Evolution?" Forbes. Retrieved 2022-8-6. - ↑ “Money is an interference factor between what we want and what we are able to acquire. It limits our dreams and capabilities and our individual and societal possibilities. Today we don’t have enough money to house everyone on the planet, but we do still have enough resources to accomplish that and much more if we use our resources intelligently to conserve energy and reduce waste. This is why we advocate a Resource Based Economy. This socio-economic system provides an equitable distribution of resources in an efficient manner without the use of money, barter, credit or servitude of any kind.”
Daniel Araya (2017-2-23). "The Venus Project Plans to Bring Humanity to the Next Stage of Social Evolution. Here's How." Futurism. Retrieved 2022-8-6. - ↑ 7.0 7.1 “The plans of The Venus Project offer society a broader spectrum of choices based on the scientific possibilities directed toward a new era of peace and sustainability for all. Through the implementation of a Global Resource Based Economy, and a multitude of innovative and environmentally friendly technologies directly applied to the social system, The Venus Project proposals will dramatically reduce crime, poverty, hunger, homelessness, and many other pressing problems that are common throughout the world today.
One of the cornerstones of the organization’s findings is the fact that many of the dysfunctional behaviors of today’s society stem directly from the dehumanizing environment of the monetary system. In addition, automation has resulted in the technological replacement of human labor by machines and eventually most people will not have the purchasing power to buy the goods and services turned out.
The Venus Project proposes a system in which automation and technology would be intelligently integrated into an overall holistic socio-economic design where the primary function would be to maximize the quality of life rather than profits. This project also introduces a set of workable and practical values.
This is also in perfect accord with the spiritual aspects and ideals found in most religions throughout the world. What sets The Venus Project apart, however, is that it proposes to translate these ideals into a working reality.”
"Aims and Proposals". The Venus Project. Retrieved 2022-7-28.