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The Zeitgeist Movement

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The Zeitgeist Movement
Zeitgeist Movement globe.jpg
Movement logo
AbbreviationTZM or ZM
FormationAugust 18, 2008
TypeWikipedia:Social movement
Region servedGlobal
Key peopleWikipedia:Peter Joseph, Ben McLeish
Websitehttp://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com , http://www.youtube.com/user/TZMOfficialChannel


See Zeitgeist Movement: Views

The Zeitgeist Movement (Zeitgeist (WP) means "the spirit of the times" in German) is a global, nonprofit, nonviolent sustainability (WP) and social equality (WP) advocacy organization.

The fundamental principle of TZM, and the basis from which all other TZM ideas/ positions are developed, is a global system in which all resources become the equal and common heritage (WP) of all the inhabitants of the planet."[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Founded in 2008, the movement is a Sustainability Advocacy Organization which conducts community based activism and awareness actions through a network of Global/Regional Chapters, Project Teams, Annual Events, Media and Charity Work.

The Movement's principle focus includes the recognition that the majority of the social problems which plague the human species at this time are not the sole result of some institutional corruption, scarcity, a political policy, a flaw of "human nature" or other commonly held assumptions of causality.

Rather, The Movement recognizes that issues such as poverty, corruption, collapse, homelessness, war, starvation and the like appear to be "Symptoms" born out of an outdated social structure. While intermediate Reform steps and temporal Community Support are of interest to The Movement, the defining goal here is the installation of a new socioeconomic model based upon technically responsible Resource Management, Allocation and Distribution through what would be considered The Scientific Method of reasoning problems and finding optimized solutions.

This "Resource-Based Economic Model" is about taking a direct technical approach to social management as opposed to a Monetary or even Political one. It is about updating the workings of society to the most advanced and proven methods Science has to offer, leaving behind the damaging consequences and limiting inhibitions which are generated by our current system of monetary exchange, profits, corporations and other structural and motivational components.

The Movement is loyal to a train of thought, not figures or institutions. In other words, the view held is that through the use of socially targeted research and tested understandings in Science and Technology, we are now able to logically arrive at societal applications which could be profoundly more effective in meeting the needs of the human population. In fact, so much so, that there is little reason to assume war, poverty, most crimes and many other money-based scarcity effects common in our current model cannot be resolved over time.

This article contains content from Wikipedia
An article on this subject has been nominated for deletion on Wikipedia:
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The Zeitgeist Movement (2nd nomination)
Current versions of the GNU FDL article on WP may contain information useful to the improvement of this article 		WP+
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The range of The Movement's Activism & Awareness Campaigns extend from short to long term, with the model based explicitly on Non-Violent methods of communication. The long term view, which is the transition into a Resource-Based Economic Model, is a constant pursuit and expression, as stated before. However, in the path to get there, The Movement also recognizes the need for transitional Reform techniques, along with direct Community Support.

For instance, while "Monetary Reform" itself is not an end solution proposed by The Movement, the merit of such legislative approaches are still considered valid in the context of transition and temporal integrity. Likewise, while food and clothes drives and other supportive projects to help those in need today are also not considered a long term solution, it is still considered valid in the context of helping others in a time of need, while also drawing awareness to the principle goal.

The Zeitgeist Movement also has no allegiance to a country or traditional political platforms. It views the world as a single system and the human species as a single family and recognizes that all countries must disarm and learn to share resources and ideas if we expect to survive in the long run. Hence, the solutions arrived at and promoted are in the interest to help everyone on the planet Earth, not a select group.[7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQBdySgqoO0&feature=plcp

Philosophy and history[edit]

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Zeitgeist: Addendum (3rd nomination)
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See Zeitgeist: Addendum (WP) and Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (WP)

The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by a series of movies made by Peter Joseph. Zeitgeist describes itself as an educational group based on the belief that the "monetary-market" economy should be replaced with a system in which the Earth's resources are equally shared by its inhabitants in a moneyless and stateless system where money, debt, credit, exchange, barter, wage labor, private property and the profit motive would be eliminated.[1][2][3] Zeitgeist advocates efficient and careful resource use through the technological potential of Wikipedia:sustainable development (economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs).[1][2][8][3][9][10][11]

This article contains content from Wikipedia
An article on this subject has been nominated for deletion on Wikipedia:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/
Zeitgeist: Moving Forward]
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The movement was inspired by Peter Joseph's (WP) film Zeitgeist: Addendum (WP) (2008).[12] The film described The Venus Project (WP) as a possible solution to earths cultural and ecological problems. Zeitgeist members advocate the issues discussed in the films Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: Addendum and Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (WP), including their view that the current socioeconomic system is structurally corrupt.[9]

While intermediate reform steps and temporal community support are of interest to The Zeitgeist Movement, the defining goal The Zeitgeist Movement pursues is the installation of a new socioeconomic model, where money serves no purpose. This model is based upon technically responsible resource management, allocation, and distribution through the use of scientific method, instead of politicians and corporations. This new system would be designed and maintained by crowd sourced volunteer technicians using the scientific method, instead of politicians and corporations. The movement is also known for its criticism of fractional reserve banking.[13] The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by the social response from Peter Joseph's film Zeitgeist: Addendum, that introduced The Venus Project.

In this new type of society there would be no class system where a minority of people own the majority of wealth.[14] The movement aims to provide information on why this type of transition is necessary and how to possibly make it happen.[1]


Resource-Based Economy[edit]

The Resource Based Economy was put forward by Jacque Fresco. The Resource-Based Economy is a holistic socio-economic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude. All resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few. The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resource; our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival.[15]


Activities[edit]

The movement holds an annual event, "Z-Day", in March.[1][9] It was first held in 2009 in New York City.[8] The 2010 event also took place in New York, with "337 sympathetic events occurring in over 70 countries worldwide."[1] London and Vancouver hosted the 2011 and 2012 main events respectively.[16][17]

Activities and publications[edit]

A man handing out literature about the movement at Occupy Wall Street, November 2011

As of 2012, the Global Organization of Regional Chapters [18] holds three types pf public events: Monthly Town Halls [19], An annual Media Festival[20] and an annual awareness day called Zday.[21] Other projects include a Weekly Radio Show that features different project and Chapter Coordinators in a rotational fashion,[22] a Media Project, Official Public Blog for contribution, a user submitted site for Science and Technology information and more.[23]

The Zeitgeist Media Festival[edit]

The Zeitgeist Media Festival is an annual global event where socially conscious artists from around the world unite in a celebration of possibility and hope for the future of our species. This 2011 event period is the first global event of its kind and we hope to start a cultural trend where actually caring about each other and the world becomes a common value.[20]


The Zeitgeist Media Festival is an annual event that began in 2011 and currently takes place at forty-one locations worldwide with the stated aim of "uniting the world through socially conscious art".[20] According to a press release circulated to members on May 12, 2010, the Zeitgeist Media Project (ZMP) Beta was released. The Media Project is an extension of the Communications Team.[24] In 2010, a group of Zeitgeist activists began producing a website called "Zeitnews" which reports on socially relevant technology issues. This media is syndicated through the Zeitgeist Movement community. In 2011, an official blog for The Zeitgeist movement was launched to allow articles for contribution by members.[25]

Z-Day (Zeitgeist Day)[edit]

A featured event of the Zeitgeist Movement is it's annual, international event called "Z-Day" held in March of each year. On this date, members of the movement hold local gatherings to promote the understandings of the movement. The first Z-Day was on March 15, 2009. The main event in New York City had a sold-out crowd of around 900 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College for over two hours.[13] The 2010 Z-Day main event on March 13 — a 6-hour live web cast presentation with lectures from the movement's key figures — also took place in New York City, while 337 other Z-Day events were held in 70 countries worldwide.[1] In March 13, 2011 there were more than 300 events held in 60 countries around the world. Lectures were given to an audience of 1100 at "Friends House" in Euston, London.[26] "Z-Day 2012" was a two day event held at the Vogue Theatre on March 10, 2012[27], and at the Denman Theatre on March 11, 2012 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Michelle Rodriguez of Avatar attended Z Day 2011 in Los Angeles on March 12, 2011 at Los Angeles Convention Center.[28] She said she is intrigued by the idea of the Venus Project.

Brandon Boyd of Incubus also attended Z Day in Los Angeles with his girlfriend Baelyn Neff.[29] He said Zeitgeist Moving Forward is his favorite Zeitgeist film so far. He also said he is very familiar with Jacque Fresco and watched a documentary film about Jacque Fresco's work called Future by Design.


Media Project[edit]

In May 2010, the Zeitgeist Media Project (ZMP) Beta was released. According to the press release the Media Project is an extension of the Communications Team.[24] In 2010, a group of Zeitgeist activists began producing a website called "Zeitnews" which reports on socially relevant technology issues. This media is syndicated through the Zeitgeist Movement community.[30] In 2011, an official blog for The Zeitgeist movement was launched to allow articles for contribution by members.[25]


ZeitNews Project[edit]

In 2010, a group of Zeitgeist Activists began producing a website called "Zeitnews" which reports on socially relevant technology issues. This media is syndicated through the Zeitgeist Movement Community.[30]


Zeitgeist Official Blog[edit]

In 2011, an Official Blog for The Zeitgeist movement was launched to allow articles for contribution by members. [25]


Radio address[edit]

Rotating members of the movement deliver a weekly radio address which is broadcast every Wednesday on BlogTalkRadio. These broadcasts define the Zeitgeist Movement and discuss the progress of the movement's efforts, hold interviews with various relevant personalities, and provide information for the Zeitgeist Movement's chapters.[22] There are two other BlogTalkRadio shows that discuss the Zeitgeist Movement, a resource-based economy and the Venus Project. One is Z Radio, a weekly broadcast co-hosted by Thunder and Franklee, and produced by Shawn Hodgins. The other, known as V-Radio,[31] is hosted by Neil Kiernan Stephenson.

Chapters[edit]

The Zeitgeist Movement's members are organized into country/regional, state and city "sub"-chapters.[23] According to the Zeitgeist Movement July 2010 Newsletter, the Zeitgeist Movement has 46 official country chapters and over 200 regional sub-chapters internationally.[32] This includes all 50 official U.S. state chapters.[33]


The Venus Project[edit]

Main article: The Venus Project
Venus Project logo

The films Zeitgeist: Addendum and Zeitgeist: Moving Forward featured The Venus Project[34] and the early manifestation of TZM was as a Social Movement to create mass awareness regarding the train of thought that underlies the work of Jacque Fresco - an industrial designer and social engineer who founded an organization called The Venus Project.[35]

Until a split in 2011, Zeitgeist was the activist arm of The Venus Project. Those groups are not currently associated.[35] Zeitgeist groups support a future society where resources are equitably and sustainably shared.[1]

However, in early 2011, tensions abruptly emerged between Mr. Fresco and his associate Roxanne Meadows. This eventually generated a split between the two organizations which now operate without each others' active influence. It is important to note that there is no opposition between the two organizations.

The differences between the two organizations rest in function & strategy while the broad goal is essentially the same, the Resource Based Economy.


Criticism of the Zeitgeist movement[edit]

Wikipedia:The Huffington Post,[1] Wikipedia:The New York Times,[8] Wikipedia:The Palm Beach Post,[3] Wikipedia:Globes,[10] Wikipedia:TheMarker,[9] RT TV,[36][37] Wikipedia:Reason magazine,[38] and TheMarkerTV[39] criticized various aspects of the Zeitgeist movement, including allegations of Wikipedia:utopianism, reduced work incentives in their proposed economy, practical difficulties in a transition to that economy, and subscribing to Wikipedia:9/11 conspiracy theories in Wikipedia:Zeitgeist: The Movie, the original 2007 documentary that launched the movement. In each case (with the exception of Reason magazine), members of the movement were given an opportunity to respond to the criticism, and Zeitgeist also says there is no direct association between the material in the Zeitgeist documentaries and the movement.[9][39][35]

Zeitgeist: The Movie, has also been criticized by journalist Wikipedia:Michelle Goldberg as being anti-Jewish. Goldberg describes the movie as "steeped in far-right, isolationist, and covertly anti-Semitic conspiracy theories."[40] Zeitgeist labeled the accusations as "pejorative, derogatory and erroneous", and said that the movement does not blame international bankers as individuals, but rather the global socio-economic system that supports the bankers' values, and the resulting culture which victimizes everyone, including the bankers.[9][39][35]

In 2009 a German social networking site, Wikipedia:studiVZ, banned Zeitgeist groups from their site for promoting antisemitism.[41] Zeitgeist's Australian website labeled the accusation "without merit" and "far-fetched".[41]


Criticism of the Venus Project[edit]

The Wikipedia:Austrian School economist Wikipedia:Robert P. Murphy, in his article "Venus Needs Some Austrians", argued that several of the Venus project's foundational premises, such as the notion that human productivity is not dependent on monetary wealth or property rights (WP), are fundamentally flawed.[42] 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."[42] Murphy's magic trick here makes money appear from nowhere; even if one accepts that utopian expectations are always wrong, such imagination is just the flip side of the coin-capitalists believing in a utopian dream version of current reality. Zeitgest also believes in a redistribution of wealth, but are interested in it because it would be fairer, more than believing wealth would somehow increase because it was redistributed. Having said that, the opportunities for developing countries would be greater if they had money to invest in their businesses...

Reception[edit]

"quotefarm"-unusually perceptive tag added to this section before it was deleted on Wikipedia. Nonetheless, informative. Just take it with a pinch of salt, as always

Media and Press Reviews[edit]

New York Times

March 17, 2009, Alan Feuer in the New York Times:"They’ve Seen the Future and Dislike the Present".[43]


"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."

On April 30, 2009, Rhonda Swan in the Palm Beach Post: "COLUMN: A dream worth having".[44]


"Who can argue with such a movement? What we have never has worked for the benefit of society as a whole. How much longer can we really expect it to last? Isn't keeping our current system and expecting something different from what it's always given us insanity?"

The Huffington Post

March 16, 2010 Travis Walter Donovan in the The Huffington Post: "Envisioning A Sustainable Future".[1]


"The members of The Zeitgeist Movement seem to face an intimidating wall of those who decree their goals as unattainable. But with 250 international chapters forming in just one year and the membership count rapidly growing, it's undeniable that many easily identify with the message. The evidence shows that our current system is leading us on a collision course;"

May 12, 2011, Shane Cohn in the Ventura County Reporter: "New world re-order"[45]


"Backed by credible examples and hard data, the essential message in Joseph’s three films and the movement’s charter can be summed up as this: Our greatest social problems are the direct results of our economic system."

RT Network

Mar 25, 2011, RT Network: "Zeitgeist: Moving beyond money"[14]


"Under a system of nature and viewing the world as one lance, not a place with many places, we can create a single human society and meet all human needs collectively."

April 11, 2011, Ramon Galindo interviewed Peter Joseph on the RT Network: "Redesign of the sustainable society"[46]


"Our culture is based on artificial wants – and actual needs, true viable things, are on the other side of the spectrum. If people don’t have their needs met, crime emerges, so the entire environment has to be low-stress."

September 15, 2011, Interview with Peter Joseph on RT Network: "Zeitgeist solutions for the world"[47]

December 6, 2011, Interview with Peter Joseph on RT Network: "Peter Joseph on the Solution to Debt Slavery"[48]


See also[edit]

Template:Portal

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 The Zeitgeist Movement: Envisioning A Sustainable Future. Wikipedia:Huffington Post.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Resource Based Economy. Wikipedia:The Venus Project.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A dream worth having, Rhonda Swan, Wikipedia:The Palm Beach Post, April 30, 2009
  4. ↑ The Huffington Post: "... the world's resources would be considered as the equal inheritance of all the world's peoples ..."
  5. ↑ The Venus Project: "... a holistic socio-economic system in which ... all resources become the common heritage of all of the inhabitants, not just a select few ..."
  6. ↑ The Palm Beach Post: "... In this world, we all are equal because the planet's resources belong to everyone, not a select few ..."
  7. ↑ Joseph, Peter TZM - Mission Statement. Zeitgeist Movement. URL accessed on 6/12/2012.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "They’ve Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". Wikipedia:New York Times. 2009-03-16. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitgeist.html?_r=2. </li>
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of The Filmmaker Who Helped Recruit Millions for the Global Protests of the Bottom 99%, original Hebrew article by Asher Schechter, Wikipedia:TheMarker (Israel), January 19, 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of Imagine, original Hebrew article by Tzaela Kotler, Wikipedia:Globes (Israel), March 18, 2010.
  11. ↑ "He's A Dreamer From Venus", Mike Thomas, Orlando Sentinel, Feb. 12, 1995.
  12. ↑ Bill Stamets (February 15, 2011). "Art-house films: ‘Marwencol,’ ‘Zeitgeist’". Wikipedia:Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/3245249-421/hogancamp-marwencol-zeitgeist-dolls-films.html?print=true. Retrieved March 7, 2011. </li>
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "They’ve Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitgeist.html?_r=2. </li>
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Zeitgeist: Moving beyond money". RT Network. http://rt.com/usa/news/zeitgeist-moving-money-utopia/. </li>
  15. ↑ Resource Based Economy. The Venus Project.
  16. ↑ Brockwood at Zeitgeist-Day in London – March 13th, 2011. Brockwood Park School.
  17. ↑ Zeitgeist Day 2012 - Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC. voguetheatre.com.
  18. ↑ The Zeitgeist Movement - Chapters.
  19. ↑ The Zeitgeist Movement - Townhalls.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 The Zeitgeist Media Festival.
  21. ↑ Z Day Global.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 TZM Radio Shows.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 The Zeitgeist Movement - Quickstart Guide.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 The Zeitgeist Media Project.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 The Zeitgeist Movement Official Blog.
  26. ↑ What is Zday.
  27. ↑ Zeitgeist Day 2012 - Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC.
  28. ↑ Michelle Rodriguez from Avatar at Zeitgeist Day Los Angeles.
  29. ↑ Brandon Boyd of Incubus at Zeitgeist Day Los Angeles.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 ZeitNews.
  31. ↑ V-Radio.
  32. ↑ Zeitgeist Movement July 2010 Newsletter.
  33. ↑ The Zeitgeist Movement Website.
  34. ↑ Jacque Fresco Resume.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 The Zeitgeist Movement – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).
  36. ↑ Zeitgeist Solutions: New World Re-Order, RT, Sept. 14, 2011
  37. ↑ Zeitgeist Solutions: Money, Debt and RBE, RT, Dec. 2, 2011
  38. ↑ http://spectator.org/archives/2011/01/17/jared-loughners-zeitgeist-obse Retrieval June-07-12
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 Discussion of the Zeitgeist movement with Peter Joseph, TheMarkerTV, Jan. 19, 2012. Interview conducted in English, following a brief introduction in Hebrew. The brief Hebrew introduction states: "Hello, Peter Joseph is with us, he is the filmmaker and director who created the Zeitgeist film series and The Zeitgeist movement, which advances for a global socio-economic change. The Zeitgeist films were among the most popular films in the history of the Internet, and Peter is here to answer a few questions regarding the nature of the Zeitgeist movement."
  40. ↑ http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/57732/brave-new-world Retrieved June 9, 2012
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 http://www.zeitgeistaustralia.org/studivznet-shut-down-zeitgeist-groups/ Retrieval June 2,2012
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 Murphy, Robert P. Venus Needs Some Austrians, "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute," 30 Aug. 2010
  43. ↑ "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitgeist.html?_r=1. </li>
  44. ↑ COLUMN: A dream worth having. The Palm Beach Post.
  45. ↑ "New world re-order". Ventura County Reporter. http://vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/new_world_re_order/8838/. </li>
  46. ↑ Redesign of the sustainable society. RT Network.
  47. ↑ Zeitgeist solutions for the world. RT Network.
  48. ↑ Peter Joseph on the Solution to Debt Slavery. RT Network.

    49. </ol>

External links[edit]

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