A crash course in changing the world.
The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change, one that works towards a
peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative
to strive toward where human rights are no longer paper proclamations
but a way of life.
We operate out of a 21.5-acre Research Center located in Venus, Florida.
When one considers the enormity of the challenges facing society today, we can safely conclude that the time is long overdue for us to
reexamine our values, and to reflect upon and evaluate some of the
underlying issues and assumptions we have as a society. This
self-analysis calls into question the very nature of what it means to be
human, what it means to be a member of a "civilization," and what
choices we can make today to ensure a prosperous future for all the
world's people.
At present we are left with very few alternatives. The answers of yesterday are no longer relevant. Either we continue as we have been
with our outmoded social customs and habits of thought, in which case
our future will be threatened, or we can apply a more appropriate set of
values that are relevant to an emergent society.
Experience tells us that human behavior can be modified, either toward constructive or destructive activity. This is what The Venus
Project is all about - directing our technology and resources toward the
positive, for the maximum benefit of people and planet and seeking out
new ways of thinking and living that emphasize and celebrate the vast
potential of the human spirit. We have the tools at hand to design - and
build - a future that is worthy of the human potential. The Venus
Project presents a bold, new direction for humanity that entails nothing
less than the total redesign of our culture. What follows is not an
attempt to predict what will be done - only what could be done. The
responsibility for our future is in our hands, and depends on the
decisions that we make today. The greatest resource that is available
today is our own ingenuity.
While social reformers and think tanks formulate strategies that treat only superficial symptoms, without touching the basic social
operation, The Venus Project approaches these problems somewhat
differently. We feel we cannot eliminate these problems within the
framework of the present political and monetary establishment. It would
take too many years to accomplish any significant change. Most likely
they would be watered down and thinned out to such an extent that the
changes would be indistinguishable
The Venus Project advocates an alternative vision for a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before.
Although this description is highly condensed, it is based upon years of
study and experimental research by many, many people from many
scientific disciplines.
The Venus Project proposes a fresh approach--one that is dedicated to human and environmental concerns. It is an attainable vision of a
bright and better future, one that is appropriate to the times in which
we live, and both practical and feasible for a positive future for all
the world's people.
The Venus Project calls for a straightforward approach to the redesign of a culture, in which the age-old inadequacies of war,
poverty, hunger, debt, environmental degradation and unnecessary human
suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but totally unacceptable.
One of the basic premises of The Venus Project is that we work towards having all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of
all the world's people. Anything less will simply result in a
continuation of the same catalog of problems inherent in the present
system.
Throughout history, change has been slow. Successive groups of incompetent leaders have replaced those that preceded them, but the
underlying social and economic problems remain because the basic value
systems have gone unaltered. The problems we are faced with today cannot
be solved politically or financially because they are highly technical
in nature. There may not even be enough money available to pay for the
required changes, but there are more than enough resources. This is why
The Venus Project advocates the transition from a monetary-based society
to the eventual realization of a resource-based global economy.
We realize to make the transition from our present culture, which is politically incompetent, scarcity-oriented and obsolete, to this new,
more humane society will require a quantum leap in both thought and
action.
An Obsolete Monetary System
The money-based system evolved centuries ago. All of the world's economic systems - socialism, communism, fascism, and even the vaunted
free enterprise system - perpetuate social stratification, elitism,
nationalism, and racism, primarily based on economic disparity. As long
as a social system uses money or barter, people and nations will seek to
maintain the economic competitive edge or, if they cannot do so by
means of commerce they will by military intervention. We still utilize
these same outmoded methods.
Our current monetary system is not capable of providing a high standard of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the
environment because the major motive is profit. Strategies such as
downsizing and toxic dumping increase the profit margin. With the advent
of automation, cybernation, artificial intelligence and out sourcing,
there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by machines. As a
result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even
though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist.
Our present, outmoded political and economic systems are unable to apply the real benefits of today's innovative technology to achieve the
greatest good for all people, and to overcome the inequities imposed
upon so many. Our technology is racing forward yet our social designs
have remained relatively static. In other words cultural change has not
kept pace with technological change. We now have the means to produce
goods and services in abundance for everyone.
Unfortunately, today science and technology have been diverted from achieving the greatest good for reasons of self-interest and monetary
gain through planned obsolescence sometimes referred to as the conscious
withdrawal of efficiency. For example, the U. S. Department of
Agriculture, whose function is presumed to be conducting research into
ways of achieving higher crop yields per acre, actually pays farmers not
to produce at full-capacity. The monetary system tends to hold back the
application of these methods that we know would best serve the
interests of people and the environment.
In a monetary system purchasing power is not related to our capacity to produce goods and services. For example, during a depression, there
are computers and DVD's on store shelves and automobiles in car lots,
but most people do not have the purchasing power to buy them. The earth
is still the same place; it is just the rules of the game that are
obsolete and create strife, deprivation and unnecessary human suffering.
A monetary system developed years ago as a device to control human behavior in an environment with limited resources. Today money is used
to regulate the economy not for the benefit of the general populace, but
for those who control the financial wealth of nations.
Resource Based Economy
All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources,
i.e. clean air and water, arable land and the necessary technology and
personnel to maintain a high standard of living.
Simply stated, a resource-based economy utilizes existing resources rather than money and provides an equitable method of distributing these
resources in the most efficient manner for the entire population. It is
a system in which all goods and services are available without the use
of money, credits, barter, or any other form of debt or servitude
Earth is abundant with plentiful resources; today our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter
productive to our survival. Modern society has access to highly advanced
technologies and can make available food, clothing, housing, medical
care, a relevant educational system, and develop a limitless supply of
renewable, non-contaminating energy such as geothermal, solar, wind,
tidal, etc. It is now possible to have everyone enjoy a very high
standard of living with all of the amenities that a prosperous
civilization can provide. This can be accomplished through the
intelligent and humane application of science and technology.
To better understand the meaning of a resource-based economy consider this: if all the money in the world were destroyed, as long as topsoil,
factories, and other resources were left intact, we could build
anything we choose to build and fulfill any human need. It is not money
that people need; rather, it is free access to the necessities of life.
In a resource-based economy , money would be irrelevant. All that would
be required are the resources and the manufacturing and distribution of
the products.
When education and resources are made available to all people without a price tag, there would be no limit to the human potential. Although
this is difficult to imagine, even the wealthiest person today would be
far better off in a resource based society as proposed by The Venus
Project. Today the middle cla**** live better than kings of times past.
In a resource based economy everyone would live better than the
wealthiest of today.
In such a society, the measure of success would be based on the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property and power.
The Choice Is Ours To Make
Human behavior is subject to the same laws as any other natural phenomenon. Our customs, behaviors, and values are byproducts of our
culture. No one is born with greed, prejudice, bigotry, patriotism and
hatred; these are all learned behavior patterns. If the environment is
unaltered, similar behavior will reoccur.
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