Resource-based economic model

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A Resource-Based Economic Model is the theoretical socio-economic system recently proposed by the Venus Project, a social sustainability advocacy organization located in Venus, Florida. The founder and director of the Venus Project, as well as the creator of the notion of a Resource-Based Economy, is structural engineer, industrial designer, and futurist, Wikipedia:Jacque Fresco, who has advocated a revolutionary change in global socio-economic organization through a comprehensive series of lectures and public events, in addition to a number of popular films and books. Fresco was recently featured in the 2011 film Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, in which he discussed the perceived flaws in the current capitalist system and, according to him, the methods by which said perceived problems could be reasonably solved.

The concept of a Resource-Based Economic Model is based on several specific principles of social, economical, and political organization, including economic cooperation (WP), ecological sustainability, and technological automation. It aims to decrease unnecessary human Wikipedia:suffering by installing a coherent socio-economic framework based on the sharing of resources and the collaboration of nations (WP), as well as attempting to increase the chances of long-term human Wikipedia:survival (e.g., on a time-scale of 4-5 billion years) through the worldwide implementation of Wikipedia:renewable energy systems, collective hydroponic farms, and structurally efficient cities. In order to be globally realized as such, a Resource-Based Economy would require the end of unnecessary Wikipedia:violence and conflict.

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The Venus Project

The Venus Project is the social sustainability advocacy organization currently promoting the worldwide implementation of a Resource-Based Economic Model. It operates out of a 21.5 acre Research Centre located in Venus, Florida. Within the center are ten buildings, designed by Fresco, which showcase the architecture of the project. It was started in 1975 by Fresco himself, along with his research partner and former portrait artist Roxanne Meadows. Together and with the help of other volunteers and employees, the two work to manage the Venus Project's activities. As such, the Venus Project was founded on the idea that all nations are fundamentally corrupt and that this corruption comes from the use of money.Template:rp Fresco instead advocates a socio-economic system in which resources are fairly allocated by a computerized, automated system referred to as the Cybernation.Template:rp The Venus Project has also been featured in Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Addendum and Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Moving Forward.

As a socio-economic organization, the Venus Project is based on 18 fundamental proposals, which are as follows:

• 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 endeavour.
• 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.

Philosophical Foundation

As an economic theory, the concept of a Resource-Based Economic Model is based on a particular philosophy (WP) conception of reality. As expressed in the 2011 film, Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, the founder and director of the Venus Project, Jacque Fresco, subscribes to a deterministic view of the universe (WP, ultimately conceptualizing humans as bio-psycho-social products of their respective cultural context. In his view, free will only exists if human beings are not influenced in their choices; a condition he considers to be scientifically impossible. As such, a Resource-Based Economic Model is predicated on the notion that, if human needs, e.g., food, water, shelter, clothing, education, etc., are adequately fulfilled, then people will naturally behave in a peaceful manner. In accordance with this view of the human condition, the Venus Project sees the fulfillment of human needs as a permeating cultural imperative, and hence provides a socio-economic framework through which this goal can potentially be achieved.

Critique of Capitalism

Since a Resource-Based Economic Model is not predicated on a system of financial control or monetary exchange (WP), it is thus diametrically opposed to current capitalistic (WP) economies which are predominantly based on debt, wages, and competition. As such, the Venus Project has criticized capitalistic conceptions of economics (WP) for their perceived disregard for long-term socio-economic sustainability and human Wikipedia:happiness. In the view of Fresco, capitalism (particularly in its manifested forms) is based on unintelligent principles of rampant consumerism, profit maximization, insurmountable debt, environmental destruction, and systemic unemployment,Template:rp all of which, according to him, result from the intrinsic capitalist desire for the acquisition of monetary wealth at all costs. In addition to this, the Venus Project also views war as being caused primarily by conflicts between nations over resources and money,Template:rp and they therefore call for an end to the hoarding of wealth and the initiation of violent wars as such. However, the main focus of the Venus Project's critique of capitalism has been its perceived effects on societal well-being in general, including the creation of planned scarcity and the resultant Wikipedia:poverty that follows, as well as the material Wikipedia:waste which emanates from the industrially inefficient practices of many contemporary corporations. Overall, proponents of a Resource-Based Economic Model generally view capitalism as morally unethical (WP), materially inefficient, and ecologically unsustainable, and thus promote a radically different approach to socio-economic organization.

Principles of a Resource-Based Economic Model

The following is a descriptive list of the basic fundamental principles upon which a Resource-Based Economic Model operates.

Peaceful Coexistence and Economic Cooperation

The essence of a Resource-Based Economic Model is its reliance on the peaceful coexistence of culturally diverse societiesTemplate:rp through the cessation of war between all peoples and nations. This requirement is of fundamental importance to both the global implementation of an RBEM (Resource-Based Economic Model) and its long-term sustainment. In the view of TVP (The Venus Project), international conflict is simply a case of human beings having severely limited knowledge (WP) of alternative, preferable solutions, such as social Wikipedia:compromise and economic Wikipedia:collaboration. As such, a Resource-Based Economic Model calls for an abrupt end to all unnecessary Wikipedia:wars throughout the world in order to focus societal energies on more positive methods of anthropic growth. Furthermore, since a RBE is socially predicated upon serious collaboration between varying nations, the notion of economic cooperation - especially on the global scale - is also of principal importance to the goals of the Venus Project as well. As such, the Venus Project calls for the elimination of theoretically unnecessary competition between countries and the abandonment of economically restrictive technological patents, so that, according to them, the world may have a sufficient opportunity to focus on the realization of a fully optimized socio-economic system. In following with this, a Resource-Based Economic Model would entail a worldwide concentration of industrial capacities on the scientifically guided construction of novel, structurally efficient cities, as well as an intelligent, ecologically motivated societal effort to optimally restore the natural environment to its highest potential.Template:rp

Dynamic Equilibrium and Strategic Efficiency

As explained previously, the conservation of natural ecosystems is one of the primary concerns of a Resource-Based Economic Model.Template:rp In accordance with this, the worldwide establishment of a dynamic equilibrium between human beings and nature is of serious significance to the aims and proposals of TVP. In the view of Jacque Fresco, dynamic equilibrium means "operating [all socio-economic systems] at the highest potential without environmental neglect". According to him, the practical application of a society based on dynamic equilibrium would involve compliance with several fundamental principles, including the conduction of environmental impact studies prior to the construction of any mega-projects, the conservation of physical resources in proportion to their respective rates of renewability, and the avoidance of unnecessary environmental destruction. In the view of the Venus Project, dynamic equilibrium is essential to the long-term sustainability of both humanity and the planet upon which it is located. In order to avoid waste and preserve resources, the Venus Project also proposes a production system based primarily on strategic efficiency, or the intelligent avoidance of unnecessary waste through industrially efficient practices. The notion of strategic efficiency as such is fundamentally predicated upon a single economic principle: goods produced must be as long-lasting as possible in order to maintain socio-ecological sustainability. In practice, this would essentially involve the production of socially required materials in an environmentally efficient way. For example, in the framework of an RBEM, if a fuel-efficient car can be made to last 20-30 years, and if doing so would not require an untenable amount of resources, then the car should be built. Hence, rather than creating cheap products for the sole purpose of privately maximizing profit (as is often done in capitalistic economies) a Resource-Based Economy would be predicated on the creation of efficient, long-lasting goods.

Technological Automation and Collective Farming

One of the key differences between previous systems of social organization and a Resource-Based Economic Model, is that the latter is primarily based on the replacement of unnecessary human labour by technological automation. From the viewpoint of the Venus Project, harsh, oftentimes monotonous labour is not needed in a society that is predicated on the full utilization of its technological and scientific capabilities, and, it therefore calls for the long-term cessation of the majority of jobs through the implementation of cybernetically automated machines in both industry and agriculture. In addition to this goal, however, TVP also calls for the installment of a global, technologically inter-connected transportation system composed primarily of automated trains and other types of advanced vehicles. In this framework, technology would be used not only for the purpose of societal convenience, but also for the enhancement of human life in general. Additionally, since a Resource-Based Economic Model is founded on principles of both ecological sustainability and societal cooperation, the notion of collective hydroponic farming, or the agricultural use of waterless mediums in a socially collective manner, is also of fundamental significance. Within a Resource-Based Economy, the agricultural sections of constructed cities would contain numerous hydroponic farming systems. Each of these would be utilized in order to grow food for the respective community of people for which the farm was built. After the food is produced as such, it would then be transferred to the strategic access centers located within the city (see below) in which it would be retrieved accordingly by citizens. In addition to the goal of indoor hydroponic farming, however, the Venus Project has also proposed the installation of outdoor agricultural belts that would not be based on the use of pesticides, in order to prevent human disease.

Scientific Resource Accounting and Management

As expressed on their website's FAQ, the Venus Project's view on the question of government in a RBE is as follows: "Only during the transition from a monetary based society to a cybernated high-technological resource based economy of common heritage would it be necessary to utilize the services of systems analysts, engineers, computer programmers, etc. They will not dictate the policies or have any more advantage than other people. Their job will be to carry out the restoration of the environment to near natural conditions as possible on land and in the sea. They will also economically layout the most efficient way to manage transportation, agriculture, city planning, and production."Template:rp In this framework, the use of government would only be needed in the transitional phase between the current monetary-market system and a Resource-Based Economy. Thereafter, cybernetically operated machines would control most of the tracking, production, and distribution processes involved in resource allocation. In accordance with this principle, the Venus Project advocates the construction of four specific technological systems: 1) a Global Resource Tracking System to identify resource localities, 2) a Global Demand and Distribution System to clarify and fulfill current socio-economic needs, 3) a Global Production System to efficiently create required resources, and 4) a computationally-based mathematical program to conduct statistical projections of resource renewability rates. According to the Venus Project, such a comprehensive systems approach to economic planning would be exponentially beneficial to both societal well-being and the tracking of resources in general.Template:rp In defense of this system, the Venus Project has argued that the current method of resource allocation, i.e., through capitalistic enterprise and conventional politics is unethical and inefficient, and can easily be replaced by an automated system based on scientific methodology.Template:rp

Renewable Energy Systems and Sustainable City Structures

Being that a Resource-Based Economic Model entails the establishment of societal sustainability, the use of renewable energy sources is therefore imperative. As such, an RBEM would involve the global utilization of several types of renewable energy systems, including, but not limited to, wind, solar, geothermal, tidal, and electric energies. According to TVP, the reason for this is twofold. Firstly, renewable energy systems are clean and therefore environmentally friendly. Secondly, they can be used continuously over long periods of time, whereas a finite substance such as oil, for example, cannot. This would allow humanity to create a dynamic equilibrium between itself and the natural world, while also increasing its ability to survive in the long-term as well. In addition to the use of renewable energies, however, the Venus Project also promotes the creation of novel, sustainable cities, and contends that the construction of new, technologically advanced urban centers is much more preferable to the materially wasteful redesign of currently extant inefficient ones. Regarding the development of these cities, the Venus Project's website states that, "It would be far easier and would require less energy to build new, efficient cities than to attempt to update and solve the problems of the old ones." In accordance with this principle, TVP has proposed that humanity mine the geological resources of contemporary cities in order to use them for the construction of new, more efficient ones.Template:rp However, they have also suggested that some cities may be set aside as architectural museums.Template:rp Concerning the arrangement of the cities themselves, Fresco believes their structural design to be materially efficient and architecturally simplistic. As such, each city would be geometrically circular in shape, with each compositional ring of the circle representing a different section. Specifically, the cities within a Resource-Based Economy would contain agricultural, industrial, educational, energetical, social, transportational, and recreational sections, respectively. As explained below from TVP's website, each section would serve multiple socio-economic functions:

• The central dome or theme center will house the core of the cybernated system, educational facilities, access center, computerized communications, networking systems, health and child care facilities.
• The buildings surrounding the central dome provide the community with centers for cultural activities such as the arts, theater, exhibitions, concerts, access centers, and various forms of entertainment.
• Next is the design and development complex for this research and planning city. The design centers are beautifully landscaped in natural surroundings.
• Adjacent the research facilities are dining and other amenities.
• The eight residential districts have a variety of free form unique architecture to fulfil the various needs of the occupant. Each home is immersed in lovely gardens isolating one from another with lush landscaping.
• Areas are set aside for renewable clean sources of energy such as wind generators, solar, heat concentrating systems, geothermal, photovoltaic and others.
• Next are the indoor hydroponic facilities and outdoor agricultural belts which will be used to grow a wide variety of organic plants without the use of pesticides.
• A circular waterway for irrigation and filtration surrounds the agricultural belt.
• The outermost perimeter is utilized for recreational activities such as biking, golfing, hiking and riding, etc.

Criticism

The Austrian economist Robert P. Murphy, in his article "Venus Needs Some Austrians", argued that several of TVP's foundational premises, such as the notion that human productivity is not dependent on monetary wealth or property rights, are fundamentally flawed. He writes, "these idealists are wrong to blame our current, dysfunctional world on capitalism or money per se. On the contrary, if everyone respected each other's property rights — meaning there would be no more petty crime, but also no more taxation, military conscription, or drug prohibition — then humanity would become fantastically wealthy, in material terms." As such, his basic thesis is that unjustified governmental imposition into the economic freedom of democratic citizens results in decreased productivity and diminished prosperity, and that only a capitalistically predicated, free market economy based on libertarian principles of individual freedom will result in improved products and an enhanced society.

In addition to this contention, Alex Newman, a writer for The New American, an online news website, has also argued that the Venus Project's plans for a global socio-economic system based on social cooperation and scientific methodology are totalitarian in nature. He writes, "Countless critics have drawn parallels between Fresco’s vision and totalitarian systems that have wreaked havoc and death in the past such as communism, socialism, Marxism, and fascism," later concluding that, "No matter the brainwashing done, self-interest will reduce any such plan to failure..." As expressed, Newman believes that a Resource-Based Economy is actually a form of central economic planning, in which government organizations and scientific bureaucracies control the resources and products upon which society operates, and, as such, he therefore rejects the Venus Project's proposals.

Economists such as Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and Brink Lindsey have also argued that if the market is eliminated along with property, prices, and wages, then the mode of information transmission is eliminated and what will result is a highly inefficient system for transmitting the value, supply, and demand of goods, services, and resources, along with an elimination of the most efficient modes of effective market transactions. Opinions as to what would follow range from the total collapse of civilization and mass starvation to mere inefficient allocation. Market abolitionists may reply that whilst advocates of the Austrian school recognize equilibrium prices do not exist, they nonetheless claim that these prices can be used as a rational basis, and that markets are hence not efficient.

In response to the criticism involving property rights, supporters of a Resource-Based Economic Model may also reply that they are making a clear distinction between private property and public property; while they are calling for the abolition of private property and its transformation into the commons/public property, they nonetheless retain respect for personal property rights.

Other critics of a Resource-Based Economic Model, such as Mike Thomas of the Orlando Sentinel, have suggested that Fresco is a utopian dreamer with too optimistic of a philosophy. As expressed in Thomas' article on Fresco, titled "He's A Dreamer From Venus", the concept of a near-perfect society is a difficult one to imagine, given the numerous conflicts and disagreements which permeate human society. In following with this, Thomas writes, "Jacque is 78, brilliant by his own account, eccentric by mine," later writing that "I am skeptical [regarding TVP]."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times, in commenting on a theatrical showing of Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, writes: "The evening, which began at 7 with a two-hour critique of monetary economics, became by midnight a utopian presentation of a money-free and computer-driven vision of the future, a wholesale reimagination of civilization, as if Karl Marx and Carl Sagan had hired John Lennon from his “Imagine” days to do no less than redesign the underlying structures of planetary life. In other words, a not entirely inappropriate response to the zeitgeist itself..."

See also

• Wikipedia:Criticism of capitalism
• Wikipedia:Cybernetics
• Wikipedia:Determinism
• Wikipedia:Ecology
• Wikipedia:Economics
• Wikipedia:Engineering
• Wikipedia:Environmentalism
• Wikipedia:Free Will
• Wikipedia:Futurism
• Wikipedia:Humanism
• Wikipedia:Jacque Fresco
• Wikipedia:Peter Joseph
• Wikipedia:Sustainability
• Wikipedia:Systems theory
• Wikipedia:Technology
• Wikipedia:The Venus Project
• Wikipedia:The Zeitgeist Movement
• Wikipedia:Utopianism
• Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Addendum
• Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Moving Forward

External links

• http://thevenusproject.com/
• http://thezeitgeistmovement.com/