Hi Everyone, Brad here. This is an essay on the movement, that was given to me by a good friend, who is trying to get to the depths of the movement, and the venus project. So I would like you all to have a read and please respond, and address the points within this essay.
'Zeitgeist : Addendum' is an activist movie by Peter Joseph. Although this movie brings to light the problems with our current monetary system and how it is leading to poverty, hunger, debt, deprivation ,crime , ignorance, stress, fear and inequity. The solution provided to this problem conveys some very disturbing thoughts and concepts on introducing a resource based global economy through something called the Venus project. The Venus project is expected to act in place of our current monetary system and this inturn will lead to maximise the quality life for all rather than profits. Hopefully this movie will have a positive impact and cause people to come up with more realistic solutions to resolve this issue.
Venus Project
The Venus Project is all about ,using our technology and resources for the maximum benefit of people, planet , seeking out new ways of thinking, living and redesigning our culture. It attempts to provide equal fulfilment for the entire human population.
A Resource-Based Economy, according to the movie and the Venus project is the key to this attaining goal. It is assumed that technology will make it possible to overcome scarce resources by applying renewable sources of energy, computerizing and automating manufacturing and inventory, designing safe energy-efficient cities and advanced transportation systems, providing universal health care and more relevant education, intelligent management of resources,etc.
This is in turn supposed to result in the elimination of war, poverty, hunger, deprivation, crime, ignorance, stress, fear, and inequity and lots more.
I find that the Venus project is a flaw because it implies that there is no human nature and that it has the ability to control human greed. It has very similar ideas as communism such as equally sharing wealth, etc and it may fail for the same reason communism failed. On paper communism is a flawless plan. It is a great system in practice, well, we all know the result. It attempts to eliminate human nature and create people with out greed. The Venus project has similar values to a left winged government. It is trying to build a new society on theory and dreams and has absolutely nothing to do with reality. It is preposterous.
Greed is not something that humans have had just because of our current social existence but it is even applicable biologically. Billions of years ago, single celled organisms (prokaryotes) were the first form life on earth. These single celled organisms were greedy to ensure their own safety and survival and their ability to reproduce. And hence over the years ,they have evolved into multi cellular (eukaryotes) organism which continually mutate to ensure their survival. Being multi cellular organisms has increased their chances of survival, but they continue to mutate because they are greedy to win the battle known as the survival of the fittest. Greed can only be controlled ,never eliminated.
It also sound as though the main idea in this project is that we can achieve sustainability through technology. If history has taught us anything, it is the opposite of that. Technology is merely and extension of mankind and our will over humanity. Machines have no emotions. They simply work off a logic equation that us humans have derived. The movie does not promote democracy but control by machines. Even if machines are the only things having the ability to provide humans with equality and peace, who gets to write the logic equation that will be in control of the human species? Does this mean that people in charge of the machines are in power? What if, there happens to arise a technological glitch? Would you rather let machines control you?
Resource based economy
A Resource-Based Economy is a 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.
The premise upon which this system is based is that the Earth is abundant with plentiful resources. It suggests that our practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter productive to our survival. If abundance is defined as something that is available in large quantities and available to all, It can be understood such a way by this quote: “Although air and water are valuable, in abundance they cannot be sold.” Our natural resources are limited on Earth. we have to make choices and decide upon different alternatives. The limitations we have mean that the resources are scarce. The resource based economy does not eliminate scarcity.
The main issue with the resource based economy is the fact that there is no economy at all. Without a mean for valuation, it is impossible to have a rational basis for selection and decision making. Somehow or other a decision has to be made on what is to be produce, in what amount , where, when and by whom. But there is no objective yardstick available that enables us to satisfy individuals different and variant needs and desires.
For example :
Lets say there is a picture of building a new transportation system. In a monetary economic system we will be able to answer questions such as, should it be built at all, what are the benefits and what are the consequences and so on. We will have the ability rationalise and state that the new transportation system will either be more cost effective for the transportation of certain goods and if we are benefiting out this or if it is not in the favour of the society or economy and hence it should not be built. This can only be calculated using money. Its is not an option to attain the desired end, merely by counter balancing the various physical expenses and savings such as labour, iron, Coal, building materials, machines,etc. These factors cannot be calculated as they are not in a common unit. I agree the current monetary system has its serious defects but there is nothing better to replace it . Certainly not the Venus project.We should instead be thinking of correcting the moetary system.
Let alone the rational decision making process. What about these questions?
who controls the resources and makes the decisions and based on what criteria?
who allocates the work needed?
who is behind the law and order, and their enforcement?
By who’s standards, beliefs and values does the society operates?
All economic theories are irrelevant anyway because economic theory doesn’t actually exist in reality because it assumes people are rational, which they aren’t.
ps: Please feel free to constructively critisize. 
