1 00:00:01,396 --> 00:00:03,517 A conversation with 2 00:00:04,870 --> 00:00:07,745 social innovator and futurist 3 00:00:08,452 --> 00:00:12,007 Jacque Fresco 4 00:00:13,474 --> 00:00:17,366 - Let's start with the context of current world events. 5 00:00:18,001 --> 00:00:22,670 We live in a world of perpetual warfare and crime and corruption. 6 00:00:22,810 --> 00:00:28,861 A war ends in one location, and it begins in another location. 7 00:00:29,001 --> 00:00:32,966 The theater of war rotates, but it never goes away. 8 00:00:33,447 --> 00:00:36,364 Protest after protest, we never stop the wars 9 00:00:36,504 --> 00:00:38,720 that continue to go perpetually. 10 00:00:38,860 --> 00:00:41,138 It seems that we need a different approach 11 00:00:41,278 --> 00:00:43,999 in dealing with the problem of perpetual warfare. 12 00:00:44,139 --> 00:00:46,736 How does The Venus Project approach this? 13 00:00:46,876 --> 00:00:55,263 - If you really wish to bring an end to war, poverty, hunger, and most crimes, 14 00:00:55,403 --> 00:01:00,440 what we have to do, eventually through education, 15 00:01:00,580 --> 00:01:04,609 is declare all of the earth's resources 16 00:01:04,749 --> 00:01:09,265 as the common heritage of all the world's people. 17 00:01:09,405 --> 00:01:14,583 That would be number one. If that is attained, then we can 18 00:01:14,723 --> 00:01:19,900 do away with all of the artificial boundaries that separate people. 19 00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,766 Before the states had joined together into one nation, 20 00:01:23,906 --> 00:01:28,295 there were territorial disputes at all the borders. They were malicious, 21 00:01:28,435 --> 00:01:32,425 but once the states had joined together, the maliciousness disappeared. 22 00:01:32,565 --> 00:01:34,861 There was no need for it. 23 00:01:35,001 --> 00:01:38,026 The same process can be applied 24 00:01:38,166 --> 00:01:41,778 to all the sovereign nations of the world. 25 00:01:41,918 --> 00:01:47,414 To be invited in to a participatory democracy, 26 00:01:47,554 --> 00:01:52,213 whereby all the resources are shared by all the world's people; 27 00:01:52,353 --> 00:01:55,397 I see that as the only means. 28 00:01:55,537 --> 00:02:00,479 Transitionally, if you substitute any other system, 29 00:02:00,619 --> 00:02:03,696 we will have built-in antagonisms. 30 00:02:03,836 --> 00:02:06,258 So, this is what we have to strive toward. 31 00:02:06,398 --> 00:02:10,863 I don't say this can be accomplished in one swoop. 32 00:02:11,003 --> 00:02:13,673 It's a slow process of education. 33 00:02:13,813 --> 00:02:18,275 We hope to make a motion picture depicting these changes 34 00:02:18,415 --> 00:02:24,172 and showing people what the advantages would be to each individual 35 00:02:24,312 --> 00:02:28,901 throughout the world of a resource-based economy. 36 00:02:30,141 --> 00:02:33,236 - Why do you propose such a radical change? 37 00:02:34,055 --> 00:02:37,289 - Well, I would like to see an end to war, poverty, 38 00:02:37,429 --> 00:02:39,717 unnecessary human suffering, 39 00:02:39,857 --> 00:02:44,005 and I can't see it within a monetary-based system 40 00:02:44,145 --> 00:02:49,004 where the richest nations control most of the world's resources. 41 00:02:49,144 --> 00:02:52,505 I can not see that happening. 42 00:02:52,645 --> 00:02:57,402 I see a constant repeat of the same series of events: 43 00:02:57,542 --> 00:03:01,686 war, poverty, recession, again, 44 00:03:01,826 --> 00:03:05,136 boom, bust, and war again. 45 00:03:05,276 --> 00:03:08,717 I see no end to that cycle of events 46 00:03:08,857 --> 00:03:12,400 unless we declare the earth as common heritage. 47 00:03:12,938 --> 00:03:19,441 - I hear discussions of a new paradigm and economic systems, 48 00:03:20,004 --> 00:03:26,942 and you're proposing such a change in a resource-based economy. 49 00:03:27,082 --> 00:03:29,753 What is a resource-based economy, 50 00:03:29,893 --> 00:03:33,686 and how does that compare with a monetary-based economy? 51 00:03:33,826 --> 00:03:38,912 - In a monetary-based economy, we use money as a medium of exchange. 52 00:03:39,052 --> 00:03:42,727 Now, money doesn't represent our capacity to produce. 53 00:03:42,867 --> 00:03:47,349 It just represents a method designed hundreds of years ago 54 00:03:47,489 --> 00:03:49,657 and established within the system. 55 00:03:49,797 --> 00:03:54,502 In the monetary-based system, it's wealth, property and power, 56 00:03:54,642 --> 00:03:57,100 and that is the main directive. 57 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,061 Now, today we say "How much will it cost?" 58 00:04:00,201 --> 00:04:03,073 That is not really the question. The real question is 59 00:04:03,213 --> 00:04:08,175 "Do we have the resources to build that kind of project?" Yes, we do. 60 00:04:08,315 --> 00:04:10,448 "Do we have the money?" No, we don't. 61 00:04:10,588 --> 00:04:13,382 We don't have enough money to wipe out the slums 62 00:04:13,522 --> 00:04:16,249 and build housing all over America, and schools, 63 00:04:16,389 --> 00:04:20,075 even if we taxed everybody, doubled it. We don't have enough money, 64 00:04:20,215 --> 00:04:23,243 but we have more than enough resources available 65 00:04:23,383 --> 00:04:25,557 to build anything we want to build. 66 00:04:25,697 --> 00:04:28,120 If you have difficulty with that, consider this: 67 00:04:28,260 --> 00:04:32,077 Suppose all the money in the world disappeared tomorrow morning. 68 00:04:32,217 --> 00:04:34,560 As long as there are farms, water, 69 00:04:34,700 --> 00:04:37,296 building materials, we can build anything we want to build. 70 00:04:37,436 --> 00:04:42,350 It isn't money that people need; it's access to resources. 71 00:04:42,490 --> 00:04:45,558 In other words, it was necessary, a hundred years ago, 72 00:04:45,698 --> 00:04:49,301 to use a monetary system for the distribution of products. 73 00:04:49,441 --> 00:04:53,267 Today, we have the technology to make those things available. 74 00:04:53,407 --> 00:04:56,150 What are we chiseling off each other for? 75 00:04:56,551 --> 00:05:00,394 - Exactly what is a resource-based economy? 76 00:05:00,826 --> 00:05:03,929 - A resource-based economic system does not use money, 77 00:05:04,069 --> 00:05:08,418 barter, trade, or any of the older systems that were prevalent. 78 00:05:08,840 --> 00:05:11,739 It's based on designing a culture 79 00:05:11,879 --> 00:05:15,842 that fits in with the carrying capacity of the world's resources. 80 00:05:15,982 --> 00:05:19,762 Anything else other than that will not work. 81 00:05:19,902 --> 00:05:24,002 It's like sending people to the moon without water, without food, 82 00:05:24,142 --> 00:05:27,496 operating on the assumption that the moon will provide. 83 00:05:27,636 --> 00:05:29,279 It has to be based... 84 00:05:29,419 --> 00:05:34,116 All science and technology must be based upon resources. 85 00:05:34,256 --> 00:05:38,055 Without resources, whatever planning you do, 86 00:05:38,195 --> 00:05:41,823 if you don't have the resources, is invalidated. 87 00:05:41,963 --> 00:05:45,966 So, the resources must coincide with the industrial potential. 88 00:05:46,106 --> 00:05:49,931 - How does the resource-oriented economic system, 89 00:05:50,071 --> 00:05:54,264 which The Venus Project promotes, 90 00:05:54,404 --> 00:05:59,694 how does that offer a different approach to our society? 91 00:05:59,834 --> 00:06:03,262 - It would change the basic outlook of people. 92 00:06:03,402 --> 00:06:06,112 There will be no such thing as unemployment, 93 00:06:06,252 --> 00:06:08,718 no such thing as war, no police, 94 00:06:08,858 --> 00:06:12,176 no prisons, no banks, no money; 95 00:06:12,316 --> 00:06:17,336 but people would have access to new housing, education, health care, 96 00:06:17,476 --> 00:06:20,439 and all of the things we don't have access to today 97 00:06:20,579 --> 00:06:23,002 without putting out a great deal of money. 98 00:06:23,142 --> 00:06:25,535 - When you say "no money, no banks," 99 00:06:25,675 --> 00:06:28,415 you mean that there will be no debt, no credit, 100 00:06:28,555 --> 00:06:33,199 no barter, no form of monetary exchange? 101 00:06:33,339 --> 00:06:35,942 - ... by any individual or group, 102 00:06:36,401 --> 00:06:39,594 and no inventions would be owned by corporations. 103 00:06:39,734 --> 00:06:42,156 They would be in the public domain. 104 00:06:42,296 --> 00:06:45,865 So, you can't make money on new cancer treatments. 105 00:06:46,005 --> 00:06:51,413 You can't make money on anything that should be in the public domain, 106 00:06:51,553 --> 00:06:54,513 and we think everything should be in the public domain. 107 00:06:54,653 --> 00:07:00,354 - I see how that relates to the effectiveness 108 00:07:00,494 --> 00:07:05,615 in reducing the emissions that are destroying the ozone layer. 109 00:07:05,755 --> 00:07:09,427 There is no profit motive, so there is no reason to continue that behavior. 110 00:07:09,567 --> 00:07:14,144 I can see how it would reduce the destruction of our rain forest. 111 00:07:14,284 --> 00:07:18,860 Because there is no profit motive, there is no reason to destroy the rain forest. 112 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,652 We have no restraints for finding alternatives 113 00:07:22,792 --> 00:07:25,214 that don't damage the ecosystem. 114 00:07:25,684 --> 00:07:29,526 Recycling, huge problem with 115 00:07:29,666 --> 00:07:32,484 waste, non-recyclable waste... 116 00:07:32,624 --> 00:07:34,595 Without the profit motive, 117 00:07:34,735 --> 00:07:38,766 we have no reason not to develop eco-friendly products. 118 00:07:38,906 --> 00:07:40,865 - Yes, this is so. 119 00:07:41,005 --> 00:07:43,062 - The decadence, the moral decay 120 00:07:43,202 --> 00:07:46,324 of the pool of people that we choose our political leaders from. 121 00:07:46,464 --> 00:07:51,023 - We don't choose them, mostly the establishment does the choosing. 122 00:07:52,002 --> 00:07:56,221 - So, we would eliminate, we would step away from 123 00:07:56,361 --> 00:08:00,078 the constraints of capitalism in a resource-based economy. 124 00:08:00,218 --> 00:08:05,649 - Yes, nothing less will do. There is no compromise, middle way. 125 00:08:05,789 --> 00:08:08,835 Until you have common heritage, 126 00:08:08,975 --> 00:08:13,860 you are going to have all the same kind of problems, more or less. 127 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,250 Modified or enlightened capitalism 128 00:08:17,390 --> 00:08:20,272 would reduce the problems only minimally. 129 00:08:20,909 --> 00:08:23,321 - So, in a resource-based economic system, 130 00:08:23,461 --> 00:08:26,726 you are saying that territorial strife would be diminished? 131 00:08:27,069 --> 00:08:29,617 - Gone. There is no basis for it. 132 00:08:29,757 --> 00:08:33,666 To protect your property, you have military and police. 133 00:08:33,806 --> 00:08:38,235 Since you don't own anything in the future, you live in your ideal house. 134 00:08:38,375 --> 00:08:42,934 You drive very well-designed cars, and when you get out of that car, 135 00:08:43,074 --> 00:08:46,059 it goes to service automatically; it's maintained. 136 00:08:46,199 --> 00:08:50,444 You don't want to own anything. What you really want is access to things 137 00:08:50,584 --> 00:08:54,272 when you want it without waiting in line, and that's what I'm talking about. 138 00:08:54,412 --> 00:08:57,227 I'm talking about making things available to people. 139 00:08:57,367 --> 00:09:01,376 You don't want to own your golf clubs. You want them there when you want them. 140 00:09:01,516 --> 00:09:03,860 When you go to the golf course, you want to be able to select 141 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,786 whatever clubs you like, whatever you like to work with. 142 00:09:06,926 --> 00:09:09,980 That's what you really want. When you go down to the yacht basin, 143 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:12,499 you want to get in a cabin cruiser and go out with your family. 144 00:09:12,639 --> 00:09:14,599 You don't want to fill out any forms, 145 00:09:14,739 --> 00:09:17,496 and someone will tell you "Hey! There's fifty people before you!" 146 00:09:17,636 --> 00:09:20,230 We would turn out more than enough 147 00:09:20,370 --> 00:09:24,733 so that you can always go down, and there is always a car out there for your use. 148 00:09:24,873 --> 00:09:29,036 - Is monetary economics at the root of the problem and can it be fixed? 149 00:09:29,176 --> 00:09:31,380 If it can't be fixed, why not? 150 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:35,380 - Frankly, within this system, in order to survive, 151 00:09:35,520 --> 00:09:39,005 you have to submit to the methods of this system. 152 00:09:39,145 --> 00:09:42,399 A lawyer is not out there to help you always. 153 00:09:42,539 --> 00:09:44,788 There is money in it for the law firm. 154 00:09:44,928 --> 00:09:47,936 In other words, the motivation is not what you would call 155 00:09:48,076 --> 00:09:52,936 based on human concern. It's based on the bottom line. 156 00:09:53,076 --> 00:09:57,224 The motivation in most industries, the bottom line is profit, 157 00:09:57,364 --> 00:10:00,073 not the betterment of humanity; 158 00:10:00,213 --> 00:10:03,218 and they would feel that that is a by-product of this system. 159 00:10:03,358 --> 00:10:05,003 I don't believe that. 160 00:10:05,143 --> 00:10:08,789 It's that the rules of the game were invented so many years ago, 161 00:10:08,929 --> 00:10:13,496 they no longer fit the economic circumstances of the times. 162 00:10:13,636 --> 00:10:16,900 What we would like to do is update our system, 163 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,129 so that it fits the new technology. 164 00:10:20,269 --> 00:10:22,576 Invite them in, shorten the work day, 165 00:10:22,716 --> 00:10:25,303 increase the availability of goods and services 166 00:10:25,443 --> 00:10:28,583 to all people throughout the world without any nations 167 00:10:28,723 --> 00:10:32,916 taking advantage of any other nation's resources. 168 00:10:33,463 --> 00:10:35,586 - What does The Venus Project represent? 169 00:10:35,726 --> 00:10:38,764 - One world working in one direction, 170 00:10:38,904 --> 00:10:41,372 the intelligent management of resources, 171 00:10:41,512 --> 00:10:45,937 and upgrading the standard of living for all the world's people 172 00:10:46,077 --> 00:10:49,841 with profits to none and service to everyone. 173 00:10:49,981 --> 00:10:54,117 - What about scarcity? Can that be eliminated? 174 00:10:54,602 --> 00:10:56,670 - Do we have enough resources 175 00:10:56,810 --> 00:11:00,206 to satisfy the growing population in the world? 176 00:11:00,346 --> 00:11:03,629 Yes, today we have more than enough, 177 00:11:03,769 --> 00:11:07,883 and it is incontestably proven that we have more than enough. 178 00:11:08,023 --> 00:11:12,262 It's just that the ways we manage our resources are wasteful. 179 00:11:12,402 --> 00:11:15,825 We change the design of automobiles every year, 180 00:11:15,965 --> 00:11:17,838 so people will buy new cars. 181 00:11:17,978 --> 00:11:20,238 We raise the hemline on clothing. 182 00:11:20,378 --> 00:11:24,410 We change the spring fashion, the fall fashion, the winter fashion, 183 00:11:24,550 --> 00:11:29,533 so you will buy things and constantly be involved in purchasing things. 184 00:11:29,673 --> 00:11:34,003 In the future we will design cars to last ten years or more, 185 00:11:34,143 --> 00:11:36,098 so you don't have to service them. 186 00:11:36,238 --> 00:11:40,128 We will engineer, innovate, and make newer things 187 00:11:40,268 --> 00:11:43,373 designed not to wear out and break down. 188 00:11:43,513 --> 00:11:46,099 - What about 'human nature'? 189 00:11:46,741 --> 00:11:50,600 - I think that environment shapes values and behavior. 190 00:11:50,740 --> 00:11:54,002 Genetics, to a certain extent, set the propensity, 191 00:11:54,142 --> 00:11:57,462 but they do not give us a value system. 192 00:11:57,602 --> 00:12:01,720 Genetics is not responsible for greed, bigotry, 193 00:12:01,860 --> 00:12:05,106 racism, prejudice. All that is learned. 194 00:12:05,246 --> 00:12:09,079 If you don't alter the condition that generates that, 195 00:12:09,219 --> 00:12:11,117 I don't see a solution. 196 00:12:11,257 --> 00:12:15,488 What The Venus Project advocates is the redesign of our culture, 197 00:12:15,628 --> 00:12:19,345 so that those conditions no longer exist. 198 00:12:19,485 --> 00:12:21,148 - Who makes the decisions? 199 00:12:21,288 --> 00:12:26,806 - Instead of formulating a decision as we do today, we will arrive at them, 200 00:12:26,946 --> 00:12:31,393 and that is a method similar to that used in engineering 201 00:12:31,533 --> 00:12:34,822 where you put something to test in order to find out 202 00:12:34,962 --> 00:12:38,153 or evaluate a particular situation. 203 00:12:38,607 --> 00:12:41,635 Decision making then in the future will be based upon 204 00:12:41,775 --> 00:12:45,131 actual studies on human need, 205 00:12:45,271 --> 00:12:47,197 protecting the environment, 206 00:12:47,337 --> 00:12:52,048 and manufacturing goods and services with clean technology. 207 00:12:52,188 --> 00:12:55,375 - Who decides who gets what? 208 00:12:55,515 --> 00:12:58,516 - You do. You go to the access center, look around, 209 00:12:58,656 --> 00:13:01,544 and if there are things that you would like to have, 210 00:13:01,684 --> 00:13:04,549 you put in a request for them. That simple. 211 00:13:04,689 --> 00:13:07,310 - You are talking about, if I read you correctly, 212 00:13:07,450 --> 00:13:12,050 no money, no credit, no borrowing, no debt, 213 00:13:12,190 --> 00:13:14,957 no bartering? Where is the incentive? 214 00:13:15,097 --> 00:13:19,761 - No war, no territorial disputes, 215 00:13:19,901 --> 00:13:23,500 crime reduction by about 90%, 216 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:28,744 the end of fear of economic deprivation 217 00:13:28,884 --> 00:13:31,097 or losing your home 218 00:13:31,237 --> 00:13:36,526 or illnesses which you can not afford economically to take care of. 219 00:13:36,666 --> 00:13:38,356 All that comes to an end. 220 00:13:38,496 --> 00:13:43,066 If that isn't a good enough incentive, I don't know what is. 221 00:13:43,206 --> 00:13:45,997 A lot of people are brought up to believe that money 222 00:13:46,137 --> 00:13:49,469 is the driving force that generates incentive. 223 00:13:49,609 --> 00:13:53,409 It also generates incentive for corruption, embezzlement, 224 00:13:53,549 --> 00:13:58,886 taking care of your brother-in-law, unfair practices, racial discrimination. 225 00:13:59,026 --> 00:14:02,111 I'm saying that, yes, money does produce incentive, 226 00:14:02,251 --> 00:14:06,488 but it also produces all the other factors, which are generally left out. 227 00:14:06,628 --> 00:14:09,996 I would say the people we remember in history 228 00:14:10,136 --> 00:14:13,747 are not the people who made a buck or made a lots of money. 229 00:14:13,887 --> 00:14:16,867 They are people that have given their lives 230 00:14:17,007 --> 00:14:21,290 to benefit the lives of other people without financial gain: 231 00:14:22,431 --> 00:14:27,249 Mother Teresa, Christ, 232 00:14:27,389 --> 00:14:29,596 Gandhi. 233 00:14:29,736 --> 00:14:32,610 Martin Luther King didn't march in the South 234 00:14:32,750 --> 00:14:36,441 because there was 2000 bucks deposited in his account. 235 00:14:36,581 --> 00:14:38,838 He did it because this was what he believed. 236 00:14:38,978 --> 00:14:42,594 I would say that all the great achievements throughout history 237 00:14:42,734 --> 00:14:45,678 did not come from monetary systems. 238 00:14:45,818 --> 00:14:49,378 It came because people believed in what they were doing. 239 00:14:49,518 --> 00:14:53,083 Advocating a public library doesn't bring money to anybody, 240 00:14:53,223 --> 00:14:57,445 but it brings education to everybody that couldn't afford books. 241 00:14:57,585 --> 00:15:00,171 I'm saying, the real people that we admire 242 00:15:00,311 --> 00:15:02,482 are the people that we build statues to, 243 00:15:02,622 --> 00:15:05,999 who did public works, not because of the monetary incentive. 244 00:15:06,139 --> 00:15:08,715 I'm afraid of people that do things for money. 245 00:15:08,855 --> 00:15:10,665 I don't feel secure about it. 246 00:15:10,805 --> 00:15:16,106 - Would the election of people with higher moral content solve the problem? 247 00:15:16,246 --> 00:15:19,829 - No, because even if we succeeded 248 00:15:19,969 --> 00:15:24,287 in electing people of unquestionable moral character, 249 00:15:24,427 --> 00:15:27,797 if we ran out of resources, there would be lying, cheating, 250 00:15:27,937 --> 00:15:30,447 stealing, and artificialities. 251 00:15:30,587 --> 00:15:32,751 It isn't moral character that we need. 252 00:15:32,891 --> 00:15:36,500 It is the intelligent management of the earth's resources. 253 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:42,362 The real future depends on our ability to solve scarcity problems, 254 00:15:42,502 --> 00:15:47,366 overcome those problems through our own creative ingenuity. 255 00:15:48,140 --> 00:15:52,454 - So how do you envision a transition into this type of system? 256 00:15:53,012 --> 00:15:57,299 - If you keep bringing in machines and replacing human beings, 257 00:15:57,439 --> 00:15:59,541 (we call it 'downsizing' today) 258 00:15:59,681 --> 00:16:03,692 the majority of people in America and throughout the world 259 00:16:03,832 --> 00:16:07,988 will not have the purchasing power to buy goods or services. 260 00:16:08,128 --> 00:16:12,003 This will bring an end to the old monetary system. 261 00:16:12,143 --> 00:16:14,641 I would see economic collapse 262 00:16:14,781 --> 00:16:19,299 as the only system that would bring people around to say: 263 00:16:19,439 --> 00:16:25,546 "Gee, I see that the people I've elected into political office 264 00:16:25,686 --> 00:16:29,093 are not competent enough to get us out of this problem," 265 00:16:29,233 --> 00:16:32,999 and they will be looking for other possible alternatives. 266 00:16:33,139 --> 00:16:36,060 This is when The Venus Project comes in. 267 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,790 The more people know about it, the more likely that it may be installed. 268 00:16:41,930 --> 00:16:45,723 The Venus Project does not say "This is what the future will be." 269 00:16:45,863 --> 00:16:49,613 All it says is "This is what the future can be 270 00:16:49,753 --> 00:16:54,920 if we accept the postulates and proposals of The Venus Project." 271 00:16:55,060 --> 00:17:00,058 What we need are seminars on problem-solving: 272 00:17:00,517 --> 00:17:05,709 how to accomplish each successive phase of human development; 273 00:17:05,849 --> 00:17:08,658 that is what The Venus Project has to offer: 274 00:17:08,798 --> 00:17:13,651 the methodology of how to achieve a higher standard of living 275 00:17:13,791 --> 00:17:15,492 for all the world's people 276 00:17:15,632 --> 00:17:20,088 without the creation of the uniformity or standardization, 277 00:17:20,228 --> 00:17:25,982 or subservience to an elite form that manages government. 278 00:17:26,122 --> 00:17:30,481 We have no elitism. We have no government. 279 00:17:30,621 --> 00:17:34,571 We have no police, no prisons, no armies. 280 00:17:34,711 --> 00:17:39,305 There is no need for it in a resource-based economy. 281 00:17:39,445 --> 00:17:41,309 - What problems stand in the way 282 00:17:41,449 --> 00:17:44,001 of us implementing of this type of transition? 283 00:17:44,141 --> 00:17:48,746 - Traditions, habits, indoctrination, propaganda. 284 00:17:48,886 --> 00:17:53,427 We are all propagandized to accept our system as the best system. 285 00:17:53,567 --> 00:17:58,791 We are all given stories about the culture, our cultural history, 286 00:17:58,931 --> 00:18:02,332 and which has left out the detrimental aspects. 287 00:18:02,472 --> 00:18:05,358 All societies tend to 288 00:18:05,498 --> 00:18:09,151 support the dominant values of that society. 289 00:18:09,291 --> 00:18:13,091 There is no such thing as an 'objective society'. If there were, 290 00:18:13,231 --> 00:18:17,863 you couldn't have German scientists making weapons of destruction. 291 00:18:18,003 --> 00:18:23,000 American scientists, British scientists, Dutch scientists, French scientists 292 00:18:23,140 --> 00:18:26,001 working in serving their government. 293 00:18:26,444 --> 00:18:29,860 Real science has no allegiance to government. 294 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,169 It only has allegiance to methodology. 295 00:18:33,309 --> 00:18:37,494 We are using our finest minds on weapons of destruction 296 00:18:37,634 --> 00:18:42,139 and methods of maintaining control and dominance. 297 00:18:42,279 --> 00:18:46,121 This is not a loyalty to the Fresco system, 298 00:18:46,261 --> 00:18:49,400 or loyalty to The Venus Project. I'd be against that. 299 00:18:49,540 --> 00:18:52,477 You have loyalty to the Earth and all the people that live on it. 300 00:18:52,617 --> 00:18:56,003 - How will we overcome the fear of losing our jobs to machines? 301 00:18:56,143 --> 00:19:00,347 - In the money system, it means you can't pay your rent, and you can't eat, 302 00:19:00,487 --> 00:19:03,523 and you can't buy a car, and you can't buy anything you need. 303 00:19:03,663 --> 00:19:06,861 In a non-monetary system, in a resource based economy, 304 00:19:07,001 --> 00:19:11,054 when the new machines come in, we lengthen your vacation time. 305 00:19:11,194 --> 00:19:13,764 We...shorten the workday, 306 00:19:13,904 --> 00:19:17,098 make more goods and services available to you. 307 00:19:17,238 --> 00:19:19,944 Many more options to choose from. 308 00:19:20,391 --> 00:19:22,619 So, there is no threat. 309 00:19:22,759 --> 00:19:24,921 It's only in the monetary system 310 00:19:25,061 --> 00:19:29,346 that machines can threaten your survival or purchasing power. 311 00:19:29,486 --> 00:19:32,004 - Who will do the manual labor? 312 00:19:32,144 --> 00:19:35,516 - During the transition, it will be done in a manner similar 313 00:19:35,656 --> 00:19:39,395 to the way it is done today, humans working with machines. 314 00:19:39,535 --> 00:19:41,544 After the transition, 315 00:19:41,684 --> 00:19:46,410 most machines will be designed to intelligently carry out a given project. 316 00:19:46,550 --> 00:19:51,102 - But I have trouble imagining a system without some form of government. 317 00:19:51,242 --> 00:19:55,548 - At a time in a future when computers will replace government, 318 00:19:55,688 --> 00:19:59,606 they will arrive at decisions by being interconnected 319 00:19:59,746 --> 00:20:05,660 with production, agriculture, transportation, and human needs. 320 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:09,060 Therefore their decisions, instead of being arbitrary, 321 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,440 are based upon real physical needs. 322 00:20:12,799 --> 00:20:16,660 - In such an advanced technological world 323 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:22,344 where automobiles operate themselves 324 00:20:22,484 --> 00:20:26,092 and buildings are self-erected 325 00:20:26,232 --> 00:20:30,225 and the computer controls just about everything else, what will people do? 326 00:20:30,365 --> 00:20:32,528 - The options that would be put forth 327 00:20:32,668 --> 00:20:36,249 on your video sets and computers are so many. 328 00:20:36,389 --> 00:20:39,608 You can go back to school, study anything you want to study, 329 00:20:39,748 --> 00:20:43,881 get into marine science, and practice any hobby you want to. 330 00:20:44,021 --> 00:20:48,653 You are the one that will select how you want to use your time. 331 00:20:48,793 --> 00:20:52,440 - Based on the projections of The Venus Project, 332 00:20:53,071 --> 00:20:56,894 how do you envision the world tomorrow? 333 00:20:57,034 --> 00:20:59,624 - The appearance of the world of the future 334 00:20:59,764 --> 00:21:04,473 will be based upon the newer technologies that evolve. 335 00:21:04,613 --> 00:21:08,480 The shape of the cities will be based upon 336 00:21:08,620 --> 00:21:12,638 the kind of environment people would like to live in, 337 00:21:12,778 --> 00:21:18,938 and the machines of the future will be based upon energy determinants. 338 00:21:19,078 --> 00:21:24,693 That is, the energy available and the kind of energy we can tap into 339 00:21:24,833 --> 00:21:27,552 to make more things available to people, 340 00:21:27,692 --> 00:21:31,486 not only materially, but spiritually, 341 00:21:31,626 --> 00:21:36,641 and also with concern for one another and the environment. 342 00:21:36,781 --> 00:21:39,267 To an individual not familiar with The Venus Project, 343 00:21:39,407 --> 00:21:44,325 it seems like high-tech, all kinds of new technologies installed, 344 00:21:44,465 --> 00:21:47,021 and they want to know where the people fit into this. 345 00:21:47,161 --> 00:21:50,744 What does that got to do with people, all the bridges and designs of buildings 346 00:21:50,884 --> 00:21:53,826 are very interesting, but what about people? 347 00:21:53,966 --> 00:21:57,172 All these bridges and all these buildings are designed 348 00:21:57,312 --> 00:22:01,804 so that they are self-maintaining. They do not need constant repair, 349 00:22:01,944 --> 00:22:05,214 and all of the machines are designed to free people 350 00:22:05,354 --> 00:22:09,370 to go back to school, study what you want to study 351 00:22:09,510 --> 00:22:11,653 and do what you want to do, 352 00:22:11,793 --> 00:22:16,195 and fulfill the needs that you have that need to be fulfilled, 353 00:22:16,335 --> 00:22:19,999 so that you can become what is called an individual; 354 00:22:20,139 --> 00:22:22,185 a creative individual 355 00:22:22,325 --> 00:22:26,439 that doesn't need to fall in line with any particular point-of-view. 356 00:22:26,579 --> 00:22:30,190 We welcome your criticism of The Venus Project. 357 00:22:30,330 --> 00:22:34,384 We welcome the participation of everybody and the contributions. 358 00:22:34,524 --> 00:22:38,360 We have no idea of what the ideal society would be, 359 00:22:38,500 --> 00:22:41,818 nor do we entertain such views as Utopia. 360 00:22:41,958 --> 00:22:45,327 We feel that all systems will constantly change 361 00:22:45,467 --> 00:22:50,562 to whatever conditions are necessary to fit the needs of the times. 362 00:22:50,702 --> 00:22:55,959 We have no fixed blueprints, so we invite participation, 363 00:22:56,099 --> 00:22:58,457 and we invite recommended changes 364 00:22:58,597 --> 00:23:03,176 because the history of civilization is the story of change. 365 00:23:03,770 --> 00:23:07,218 That's why The Venus Project has no fixed blueprint. 366 00:23:07,358 --> 00:23:10,627 - Who decides what the future will be? 367 00:23:10,767 --> 00:23:14,385 - I don't think anyone ought to decide what the future will be, 368 00:23:14,525 --> 00:23:18,226 but we ought to decide where we wish to go 369 00:23:18,366 --> 00:23:21,486 and what kind of world we wish to live in, 370 00:23:21,626 --> 00:23:26,837 and do we have the facilities and resources to build such a world? 371 00:23:26,977 --> 00:23:29,512 The answer to that is "Yes, we do have 372 00:23:29,652 --> 00:23:32,686 the ability and resources to build such a world." 373 00:23:32,826 --> 00:23:36,353 There is no way for you to make it on your own. 374 00:23:36,493 --> 00:23:40,163 Either we think globally or we perish individually. 375 00:23:40,303 --> 00:23:44,611 When I speak about globalization, I'm not talking about 376 00:23:44,751 --> 00:23:49,315 the global concept of corporations running everything on earth 377 00:23:49,455 --> 00:23:53,772 where all human beings would be subject to their wishes. 378 00:23:53,912 --> 00:23:58,296 I'm talking about common heritage of all the Earth's resources 379 00:23:58,436 --> 00:24:00,205 by all the world's people; 380 00:24:00,345 --> 00:24:03,173 and therefore, all decisions being made 381 00:24:03,313 --> 00:24:08,743 would be based upon that which benefits every living being. 382 00:24:09,964 --> 00:24:14,002 For more information: www.TheVenusProject.com 383 00:24:14,593 --> 00:24:18,661 Designs: Jacque Fresco; Models: Jacque Fresco, Roxanne Meadows 384 00:24:19,183 --> 00:24:23,160 Model Photographer: Jacque Fresco 385 00:24:23,865 --> 00:24:27,648 Computer Animation: Doug Drexler; Music: Kat Epple 386 00:24:28,365 --> 00:24:32,827 Presented by: Future by Design