1 00:00:05,744 --> 00:00:09,744 Rhyolite Entertainment presents 2 00:00:11,524 --> 00:00:15,011 'A Search for Solutions' 3 00:00:18,319 --> 00:00:22,608 In an era of global economic strife 4 00:00:31,098 --> 00:00:33,800 controlled by a small group of dominant men 5 00:00:33,940 --> 00:00:36,903 with psychopathic disregard for the masses 6 00:00:41,753 --> 00:00:46,490 it is crucial for us all to be aware of the problems 7 00:00:47,989 --> 00:00:50,540 and even more important, is for us to discover 8 00:00:50,650 --> 00:00:52,966 and implement sustainable solutions. 9 00:01:06,214 --> 00:01:09,848 An Interview with Matt Berkowitz with Zeitgeist Vancouver 10 00:01:11,105 --> 00:01:12,874 My name is a Matt Berkowitz. 11 00:01:12,974 --> 00:01:16,776 I'm one of the coordinators of Zeitgeist Vancouver 12 00:01:16,876 --> 00:01:20,247 the Vancouver Chapter of the global Zeitgeist Movement 13 00:01:20,350 --> 00:01:23,747 which now has chapters in nearly 100 countries 14 00:01:23,847 --> 00:01:26,486 and over a thousand cities worldwide. 15 00:01:27,989 --> 00:01:32,159 I first became interested or aware of The Zeitgeist Movement 16 00:01:32,259 --> 00:01:35,384 after discovering Zeitgeist Addendum online 17 00:01:35,484 --> 00:01:38,212 It's the second film in the series 18 00:01:38,312 --> 00:01:41,209 and the message really resonated with me. 19 00:01:42,213 --> 00:01:45,706 I felt quite alienated from the values in modern society 20 00:01:45,806 --> 00:01:51,135 from the acquisitive, materialistic values that many people uphold 21 00:01:51,319 --> 00:01:56,155 and as such had sort of found solace in underground music 22 00:01:56,324 --> 00:02:00,269 and I very much related with many of the values 23 00:02:00,369 --> 00:02:03,267 that are advocated by The Zeitgeist Movement. 24 00:02:03,367 --> 00:02:07,330 I went to work right away for the next several months 25 00:02:07,461 --> 00:02:12,076 researching everything addressed in both Zeitgeist films 26 00:02:12,176 --> 00:02:14,507 trying to get my hands on everything I could 27 00:02:14,607 --> 00:02:18,509 and it became very clear to me right away 28 00:02:18,609 --> 00:02:21,593 that the direction that The Zeitgeist Movement proposes 29 00:02:21,693 --> 00:02:23,477 in terms of a Resource-Based Economy 30 00:02:23,577 --> 00:02:25,789 was critically important information. 31 00:02:27,827 --> 00:02:31,818 I knew I needed to get involved in the Vancouver Chapter. 32 00:02:32,719 --> 00:02:37,936 We had our first event here in Vancouver in March 2009. 33 00:02:38,036 --> 00:02:40,594 We had a screening of Zeitgeist Addendum. 34 00:02:40,694 --> 00:02:44,582 That was for our Z-Day event, and a couple of months after that 35 00:02:44,682 --> 00:02:47,096 we had our first activism event 36 00:02:47,196 --> 00:02:50,278 in terms of actually spreading awareness to new people. 37 00:02:50,378 --> 00:02:54,211 We'd setup for one of the local festivals here in Vancouver 38 00:02:54,311 --> 00:02:57,831 and from then we've been active on a weekly basis 39 00:02:57,945 --> 00:03:02,115 spreading this information to new people as well as giving lectures 40 00:03:02,215 --> 00:03:05,339 to people who want more information. 41 00:03:05,439 --> 00:03:07,445 That's pretty much how I got involved. 42 00:03:07,545 --> 00:03:11,106 - How do you see the current global economic condition 43 00:03:11,206 --> 00:03:14,444 the destruction of the environment for profit gain 44 00:03:14,544 --> 00:03:19,153 unequal distribution of wealth, unemployment, job loss 45 00:03:19,253 --> 00:03:23,479 not to mention government services, rising healthcare costs? 46 00:03:23,579 --> 00:03:27,240 - Yes, all of these things: war, poverty, unemployment 47 00:03:27,340 --> 00:03:30,167 income inequality, all of these things can really be traced back 48 00:03:30,267 --> 00:03:32,387 to the governing social paradigm. 49 00:03:32,487 --> 00:03:35,539 It's important to focus on these issues but it's even more important 50 00:03:35,639 --> 00:03:38,722 to trace them back from where they originate 51 00:03:38,822 --> 00:03:40,956 and that's where the socio-economic system 52 00:03:41,056 --> 00:03:44,646 that essentially governs the entire world comes into play. 53 00:03:44,746 --> 00:03:48,876 To borrow from Dr. John McMurtry, he says 54 00:03:48,976 --> 00:03:51,104 "We live in an anti-economic system." 55 00:03:51,204 --> 00:03:53,233 Essentially what that means is: 56 00:03:53,333 --> 00:03:56,543 It's basically inverse to what 'economize' actually means. 57 00:03:56,643 --> 00:03:59,267 If you look at the definition of that, it means 58 00:03:59,367 --> 00:04:01,957 to preserve our resources in the most diligent manner 59 00:04:02,057 --> 00:04:05,913 with the most reduction of waste that's absolutely possible. 60 00:04:06,013 --> 00:04:09,216 Our system today does pretty much the exact opposite of that 61 00:04:09,317 --> 00:04:11,670 with consumption at the heart of it. 62 00:04:11,770 --> 00:04:16,540 Consumption drives everything, the faster the better for the GDP 63 00:04:16,640 --> 00:04:22,230 and for the profits of all the companies within that economy. 64 00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:27,578 All these problems: war, poverty, environmental decline 65 00:04:27,678 --> 00:04:32,311 these are just symptomatic of the goal of trying to consume 66 00:04:32,411 --> 00:04:36,837 as much as we possibly can. The competitive framework 67 00:04:36,937 --> 00:04:39,062 governs our entire economic system 68 00:04:39,162 --> 00:04:41,610 where companies have to adhere to cost efficiency 69 00:04:41,710 --> 00:04:44,790 rather than a technical efficiency. 70 00:04:44,890 --> 00:04:47,807 So immediately, all products that are created 71 00:04:47,907 --> 00:04:49,923 are inherently inferior by design 72 00:04:50,023 --> 00:04:52,980 because of the need to adhere to this cost efficiency 73 00:04:53,080 --> 00:04:57,532 which is in order to increase your profitability 74 00:04:57,632 --> 00:04:59,582 and to increase your market share. 75 00:04:59,682 --> 00:05:01,691 You can't have both cost efficiency 76 00:05:01,791 --> 00:05:05,104 and technical efficiency together. 77 00:05:05,204 --> 00:05:07,110 They're simply inverse. 78 00:05:07,210 --> 00:05:11,475 If we were to talk about a system that was actually economizing 79 00:05:11,575 --> 00:05:14,389 it would be one that would be designed from the ground up 80 00:05:14,489 --> 00:05:17,304 to take into account what the Earth can actually support 81 00:05:17,404 --> 00:05:20,365 to reduce consumption as much as possible 82 00:05:20,628 --> 00:05:23,166 basically to manage our resources on this planet 83 00:05:23,266 --> 00:05:25,315 in the most sustainable manner possible. 84 00:05:25,415 --> 00:05:29,596 That would be a true economy and we can get to that more later. 85 00:05:32,682 --> 00:05:36,548 - From what you're saying about, this it sounds like a monetary economy 86 00:05:36,648 --> 00:05:42,142 has effects on all aspects of our lives including how we're governed. 87 00:05:42,442 --> 00:05:47,881 Do you think the monetary economy has any results 88 00:05:47,981 --> 00:05:50,717 as far as democracy is concerned? 89 00:05:50,945 --> 00:05:53,250 - Well, it's paradoxical 90 00:05:53,350 --> 00:05:54,961 to have those two things together. 91 00:05:55,061 --> 00:05:57,170 First of all there's never really been a democracy 92 00:05:57,270 --> 00:05:59,103 anywhere in the entire world. 93 00:05:59,203 --> 00:06:02,018 How can you have democracy when you have unequal purchasing power 94 00:06:02,118 --> 00:06:05,298 when you have monetary interest influencing government 95 00:06:05,398 --> 00:06:07,364 legislation, political parties 96 00:06:07,464 --> 00:06:10,537 and basically everything that happens in the economic system? 97 00:06:10,644 --> 00:06:13,222 Democracy is essentially just mob rule. 98 00:06:13,322 --> 00:06:15,580 It's 51% of the population controlling 99 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:19,022 or taking away the rights of the other 49%. 100 00:06:19,122 --> 00:06:22,947 In a monetary system it's impossible to have a democracy 101 00:06:23,047 --> 00:06:26,359 and if you want to get into an economic system that actually works 102 00:06:26,459 --> 00:06:29,962 meaning it provides the basic human needs to all people 103 00:06:30,062 --> 00:06:32,844 the democratic method for social decision-making 104 00:06:32,944 --> 00:06:34,476 isn't really the way to go. 105 00:06:34,576 --> 00:06:37,299 It doesn't matter how much the majority of the public believes 106 00:06:37,399 --> 00:06:41,448 that they can dance on the ceiling, gravity will not allow them. 107 00:06:41,548 --> 00:06:47,227 We need to adhere to what we actually know in the physical world 108 00:06:47,327 --> 00:06:52,549 to gain our understandings for how we should conduct social operations. 109 00:06:54,343 --> 00:06:55,843 - Do you see a collapse 110 00:06:55,943 --> 00:06:59,008 of the present economic system in the near future? 111 00:06:59,189 --> 00:07:01,040 - It's virtually inevitable 112 00:07:01,140 --> 00:07:06,379 unless the game of monopoly that we currently play is halted. 113 00:07:06,535 --> 00:07:08,967 There are several key trends that we can look towards 114 00:07:09,067 --> 00:07:13,901 to understand what the future of this economic system might hold. 115 00:07:14,001 --> 00:07:19,187 We've got the obvious discrepancy 116 00:07:19,287 --> 00:07:22,182 of living in a system of infinite growth 117 00:07:22,282 --> 00:07:24,521 while we live on a planet with finite resources. 118 00:07:24,621 --> 00:07:27,917 This is obviously a mathematical incompatibility. 119 00:07:28,017 --> 00:07:31,585 You can't just have an economic system that grows forever 120 00:07:31,713 --> 00:07:34,388 when you have a finite amount of resources. 121 00:07:34,488 --> 00:07:37,291 You've got this obvious unsustainable aspect 122 00:07:37,391 --> 00:07:41,596 inherent in any type of monetary or market system that requires growth. 123 00:07:41,696 --> 00:07:44,592 What we really need is a steady-state economic system 124 00:07:44,692 --> 00:07:46,466 and again, we can get into that. 125 00:07:46,566 --> 00:07:49,990 Another attribute we need to look at it is technological unemployment. 126 00:07:50,090 --> 00:07:54,475 That's simply the displacement of human labor 127 00:07:54,575 --> 00:07:57,050 through machine automation , and this is happening 128 00:07:57,150 --> 00:08:01,347 at increasingly faster rates than ever before in history 129 00:08:01,447 --> 00:08:03,477 and that's basically the reason 130 00:08:03,577 --> 00:08:07,690 for the unemployment throughout history. 131 00:08:07,790 --> 00:08:11,198 A hundred years ago, most people worked in manufacturing or agriculture. 132 00:08:11,298 --> 00:08:13,521 Now pretty much everyone works in the service sector 133 00:08:13,621 --> 00:08:16,532 and now the service sector is even being automated 134 00:08:16,632 --> 00:08:21,306 so where's the next sector to absorb all these jobs lost? 135 00:08:21,406 --> 00:08:24,717 There really isn't one and the increased unemployment 136 00:08:24,817 --> 00:08:29,331 we're seeing globally in the past few years is the result 137 00:08:29,431 --> 00:08:31,525 of this machine automation. 138 00:08:31,625 --> 00:08:35,182 There's much statistical background to support this 139 00:08:35,282 --> 00:08:37,452 and if you understand the logic of this system 140 00:08:37,552 --> 00:08:39,419 these jobs really can't come back. 141 00:08:39,519 --> 00:08:44,858 It's just going to get more and more pronounced. 142 00:08:45,942 --> 00:08:48,889 There's no sector to absorb these jobs. 143 00:08:48,989 --> 00:08:50,491 The jobs are simply not coming back 144 00:08:50,591 --> 00:08:53,326 and that means that the public has less purchasing power. 145 00:08:53,426 --> 00:08:55,440 Less purchasing power means less ability 146 00:08:55,540 --> 00:08:59,493 to support the consumption levels needed to increase GDP 147 00:08:59,593 --> 00:09:02,937 and this translates into a failing monetary system. 148 00:09:03,037 --> 00:09:06,925 It means the end of the monetary system as we know it. 149 00:09:08,511 --> 00:09:11,603 Another attribute we need to look at is depleting oil reserves 150 00:09:11,703 --> 00:09:14,374 or the phenomenon known as 'peak oil.' 151 00:09:14,474 --> 00:09:17,738 We can speculate for a while how much there is left. 152 00:09:17,838 --> 00:09:23,328 The obvious reality is that oil is a non-renewable energy resource 153 00:09:23,428 --> 00:09:25,772 and it's not going to last forever. 154 00:09:25,872 --> 00:09:29,107 It's probably only going to last a few more decades at most 155 00:09:29,207 --> 00:09:33,900 and there's really nothing that we can see in this society 156 00:09:34,060 --> 00:09:36,895 in terms of a concerted effort to move or to shift 157 00:09:36,995 --> 00:09:40,307 the global energy infrastructure into something sustainable. 158 00:09:40,407 --> 00:09:41,957 We have the technology to do it 159 00:09:42,057 --> 00:09:46,538 but I believe there was an International Energy Agency study 160 00:09:46,638 --> 00:09:50,559 a few years ago that found it would take 30 years and $20 trillion 161 00:09:50,659 --> 00:09:53,763 to convert the global energy infrastructure into something sustainable. 162 00:09:53,863 --> 00:09:57,297 Do you really think that's going to happen in a monetary system? 163 00:09:57,397 --> 00:10:01,482 We have the technical capability to do it. We could do it very fast 164 00:10:01,582 --> 00:10:03,808 but again the monetary system will not allow it 165 00:10:03,908 --> 00:10:07,662 because of its need to maintain cost-efficiency 166 00:10:07,762 --> 00:10:10,904 for all companies to make a profit in what they do. 167 00:10:11,004 --> 00:10:13,927 If it's not profitable, it's simply not going to be done. 168 00:10:14,027 --> 00:10:15,527 We've got peak oil 169 00:10:15,627 --> 00:10:19,279 and then we've got the skyrocketing debt collapses 170 00:10:19,379 --> 00:10:22,829 that's happening all over the world which is, of course, just a fiction 171 00:10:22,929 --> 00:10:27,561 and can be stopped at any time, but the consequences are very real. 172 00:10:29,429 --> 00:10:33,178 I think the global uprising that's happened the last several years 173 00:10:33,278 --> 00:10:35,578 is largely the result of these debt pressures 174 00:10:35,678 --> 00:10:37,687 that are imposing austerity measures 175 00:10:37,787 --> 00:10:39,518 in many countries all over the world. 176 00:10:39,618 --> 00:10:42,755 You see protests happening all over the world and in the Middle East. 177 00:10:42,855 --> 00:10:45,899 We see the sovereign debt defaults of many countries in Europe 178 00:10:45,999 --> 00:10:47,742 and probably only a matter of time 179 00:10:47,842 --> 00:10:49,876 before the US follows eventually. 180 00:10:49,976 --> 00:10:55,275 You take all of these trends and put them together 181 00:10:55,375 --> 00:10:58,102 and you really see that this system doesn't have much longer. 182 00:10:58,202 --> 00:11:01,219 It's completely unsustainable on almost every level imaginable 183 00:11:01,319 --> 00:11:03,203 and the question I really have is 184 00:11:03,303 --> 00:11:06,056 not will it collapse, but when will it 185 00:11:06,582 --> 00:11:09,048 or will people wake up in time 186 00:11:09,148 --> 00:11:11,814 to realize that this system doesn't work 187 00:11:11,914 --> 00:11:15,664 and just put a halt to it before it does completely collapse 188 00:11:15,784 --> 00:11:18,979 and destroy the planet or the species? 189 00:11:20,430 --> 00:11:24,330 - There are those who would say these problems are self-perpetuated 190 00:11:24,430 --> 00:11:28,188 brought on by consumers who overstress their lifestyles 191 00:11:28,339 --> 00:11:30,339 and demand entitlements. 192 00:11:30,439 --> 00:11:32,564 What would you say to these people? 193 00:11:32,664 --> 00:11:35,162 - I would just say that that's propaganda 194 00:11:35,262 --> 00:11:40,534 imposed or basically spewed out by the status quo. 195 00:11:42,262 --> 00:11:45,605 Things like planned obsolescence, people who defend the market system 196 00:11:45,705 --> 00:11:47,274 will say that it's consumer-driven. 197 00:11:47,374 --> 00:11:49,560 This goes against the inherent logic 198 00:11:49,660 --> 00:11:53,500 of the entire system of having to adhere to cost efficiency. 199 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:56,351 Every corporation has to do this 200 00:11:56,451 --> 00:11:58,461 and they'll cut costs wherever they can 201 00:11:58,561 --> 00:12:00,967 which automatically means inferior products 202 00:12:01,067 --> 00:12:03,467 which automatically means they're going to design products 203 00:12:03,567 --> 00:12:06,075 to break down, so this is just an attribute of the system. 204 00:12:06,175 --> 00:12:08,209 When people say it's all consumer-driven 205 00:12:08,309 --> 00:12:10,525 that basically ignores the entire mechanics 206 00:12:10,625 --> 00:12:12,946 of how this system really works. 207 00:12:14,821 --> 00:12:17,497 - There are those who would also say 208 00:12:17,597 --> 00:12:20,451 that there's no solution for today's problems. 209 00:12:21,396 --> 00:12:26,324 The recent movement by the Occupy Wall Street group 210 00:12:26,424 --> 00:12:28,694 and the Occupy Together group 211 00:12:28,794 --> 00:12:31,318 made their positions clear by addressing the problems 212 00:12:31,418 --> 00:12:35,889 but they stopped short to address the solution. 213 00:12:36,817 --> 00:12:39,685 Won't these problems that they've been addressing 214 00:12:40,166 --> 00:12:44,734 be addressed with legal changes and regulations? 215 00:12:45,748 --> 00:12:49,371 - It seems that there are more people who are trying to pose solutions 216 00:12:49,471 --> 00:12:55,038 from within the current political or social or economic framework 217 00:12:55,138 --> 00:12:56,759 and this fails to take into account 218 00:12:56,859 --> 00:12:58,871 where these problems actually originate from 219 00:12:58,971 --> 00:13:02,268 which is the economic system itself. 220 00:13:02,368 --> 00:13:05,377 If we don't go deeper to the lowest common denominator 221 00:13:05,477 --> 00:13:07,888 of where these problems actually originate 222 00:13:08,451 --> 00:13:09,951 nothing is going to change it. 223 00:13:10,051 --> 00:13:13,601 Legislation or regulatory efforts 224 00:13:13,745 --> 00:13:15,753 do nothing to address the root causes 225 00:13:15,853 --> 00:13:17,865 of where these problems originate. 226 00:13:17,965 --> 00:13:19,837 It's simply a form of patchwork 227 00:13:19,937 --> 00:13:22,396 and when it really comes down to it 228 00:13:22,496 --> 00:13:24,958 every law in the books is just more proof 229 00:13:25,058 --> 00:13:27,170 that this social system is insufficient 230 00:13:27,270 --> 00:13:32,379 in terms of actually providing for everyone on this planet. 231 00:13:32,479 --> 00:13:35,262 The more regulation you need just shows 232 00:13:35,362 --> 00:13:37,783 that this system, again, is a failure. 233 00:13:38,728 --> 00:13:42,454 People who say that this system will just work it out 234 00:13:42,554 --> 00:13:44,292 by going back to the free market 235 00:13:44,392 --> 00:13:46,696 that again fails to take into account the mechanisms 236 00:13:46,796 --> 00:13:48,431 of how this system operates. 237 00:13:48,531 --> 00:13:51,625 We need to look towards the very system itself 238 00:13:51,725 --> 00:13:53,892 understand the mechanics within it 239 00:13:53,992 --> 00:13:57,292 and understand that it's the structure itself 240 00:13:57,392 --> 00:13:59,506 that causes a propensity for war 241 00:13:59,606 --> 00:14:01,942 that causes this income inequality. 242 00:14:02,341 --> 00:14:05,295 This monetary market system obviously creates this. 243 00:14:05,395 --> 00:14:07,270 For example, income inequality: 244 00:14:07,370 --> 00:14:10,184 the more money you have, the easier it is to make more money. 245 00:14:10,567 --> 00:14:13,676 If you have a million dollars and you put it into a bank 246 00:14:13,776 --> 00:14:16,183 at 5% interest per year 247 00:14:16,283 --> 00:14:19,583 you get $50,000 per year for doing absolutely nothing. 248 00:14:19,683 --> 00:14:21,868 [If] a lower or middle-income person 249 00:14:21,968 --> 00:14:24,431 wants to get a mortgage for a house 250 00:14:24,531 --> 00:14:26,814 he or she would have to go to the bank 251 00:14:26,914 --> 00:14:29,699 and get a loan and pay interest. 252 00:14:29,799 --> 00:14:32,618 You're essentially taking this money 253 00:14:32,718 --> 00:14:34,799 from the poor and giving it to the rich. 254 00:14:34,899 --> 00:14:38,079 It's basically a built-in classism 255 00:14:38,179 --> 00:14:40,781 right in the very mechanics of the system. 256 00:14:40,881 --> 00:14:42,930 - Some defenders of capitalism 257 00:14:43,030 --> 00:14:46,271 say we've gotten away from a free-market economy 258 00:14:46,371 --> 00:14:50,582 that what we have is crony capitalism or corporatism 259 00:14:50,682 --> 00:14:55,062 and that returning to a truly laissez-faire, free-market capitalism 260 00:14:55,162 --> 00:14:56,858 would fix the problem. 261 00:14:56,958 --> 00:15:00,670 - Yes, this is one of my favorite ones to address. 262 00:15:00,770 --> 00:15:05,439 It really just reveals the indoctrination that these people have 263 00:15:05,539 --> 00:15:08,173 towards supporting this structure. 264 00:15:08,313 --> 00:15:14,159 Advocating such a position fails to take into account 265 00:15:14,259 --> 00:15:18,051 the obvious incentive for corruption within any type of market system 266 00:15:18,151 --> 00:15:20,186 whether it's completely laissez-faire 267 00:15:20,286 --> 00:15:22,860 or even further left-leaning. 268 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:25,095 You'd still have this incentive for corruption. 269 00:15:25,195 --> 00:15:27,350 You'd still have a propensity for war. 270 00:15:27,450 --> 00:15:29,485 If a country doesn't have the resources it needs 271 00:15:29,585 --> 00:15:31,979 and it's not going to get along economically with them 272 00:15:32,079 --> 00:15:34,635 they'll invade the country for resources. 273 00:15:34,740 --> 00:15:38,365 Every war has been about resources in one form or another. 274 00:15:38,465 --> 00:15:40,839 To simply return to the free market 275 00:15:40,939 --> 00:15:42,579 doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 276 00:15:42,679 --> 00:15:46,347 If we were to reset the free market back to 277 00:15:46,447 --> 00:15:50,737 how it was in the late 19th century in the US 278 00:15:50,837 --> 00:15:53,131 don't you think it would just be a matter of time before 279 00:15:53,231 --> 00:15:55,785 what we have today happens? 280 00:15:55,885 --> 00:15:58,021 Remember, in a market system everything is for sale 281 00:15:58,121 --> 00:16:02,969 and that includes politicians, the governments, legislation. 282 00:16:03,069 --> 00:16:06,023 All of these things can be influenced by corporate interest 283 00:16:06,123 --> 00:16:08,202 unless we have laws against that 284 00:16:08,302 --> 00:16:11,091 but then that's not a totally free market, now is it? 285 00:16:11,191 --> 00:16:14,005 To simply return to a free market 286 00:16:14,105 --> 00:16:18,075 is to ignore the mechanisms in that free market 287 00:16:18,175 --> 00:16:19,772 that allow it to be corrupted. 288 00:16:19,872 --> 00:16:24,202 Even Adam Smith understood that a purely laissez-faire economy 289 00:16:24,302 --> 00:16:26,177 would turn into 290 00:16:26,277 --> 00:16:32,183 a conspiracy of business interests to overtake consumers 291 00:16:32,283 --> 00:16:35,636 and he never really advocated such a thing. 292 00:16:35,736 --> 00:16:38,332 There are schools like the Austrian School of Economics 293 00:16:38,432 --> 00:16:41,463 that almost dogmatically preach 294 00:16:41,563 --> 00:16:44,057 that the free market will take care of everything 295 00:16:44,157 --> 00:16:46,372 and this so-called 'Invisible Hand' 296 00:16:46,472 --> 00:16:49,345 will somehow work out for the benefit of everyone. 297 00:16:49,445 --> 00:16:51,061 This is completely unfounded 298 00:16:51,161 --> 00:16:54,254 and when we get more into what a Resource-Based Economy is 299 00:16:54,354 --> 00:16:57,187 it'll become even more clear how this system fails 300 00:16:57,287 --> 00:17:00,600 to simply meet the needs of everyone on the planet 301 00:17:00,700 --> 00:17:04,411 and really optimize our social functionality. 302 00:17:04,650 --> 00:17:07,145 - You know, the Resource-Based Economy does sound interesting. 303 00:17:07,245 --> 00:17:09,260 Can you tell me a little bit about that please? 304 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:12,493 - Yes, a Resource Based Economy 305 00:17:12,593 --> 00:17:15,925 was proposed by Jacque Fresco of The Venus Project. 306 00:17:16,025 --> 00:17:19,916 He's a 95-year-old industrial designer and social engineer. 307 00:17:20,016 --> 00:17:21,652 Basically this economic model 308 00:17:21,752 --> 00:17:26,621 transcends our understandings of capitalism, socialism, communism 309 00:17:26,721 --> 00:17:29,554 transcends the entire monetary market system. 310 00:17:29,654 --> 00:17:31,989 What it does is provide goods and services 311 00:17:32,089 --> 00:17:36,139 to everyone on the planet without the need for money 312 00:17:36,239 --> 00:17:38,095 or any type of medium of exchange: 313 00:17:38,195 --> 00:17:41,627 no barter, credits, debt, nothing like this. 314 00:17:41,727 --> 00:17:44,441 The realization is: We have enough food 315 00:17:44,541 --> 00:17:46,815 to feed the world's population many times over. 316 00:17:46,915 --> 00:17:50,740 We've got renewable energies that can last us thousands of years. 317 00:17:50,872 --> 00:17:52,372 We've got incredible technologies 318 00:17:52,472 --> 00:17:55,053 that could raise the standard of living of everyone on Earth 319 00:17:55,153 --> 00:17:57,272 to beyond what we can even imagine today. 320 00:17:57,372 --> 00:18:01,043 The only thing stopping us is our current economic system 321 00:18:01,143 --> 00:18:04,820 that will really only operate 322 00:18:05,686 --> 00:18:08,726 on endeavors that are profitable. 323 00:18:08,826 --> 00:18:11,919 We're saying in a Resource-Based Economy, we simply do it 324 00:18:12,019 --> 00:18:13,555 if we have the resources 325 00:18:13,655 --> 00:18:19,621 and if it actually optimizes the collective humanity basically. 326 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,732 A Resource-Based Economy 327 00:18:23,832 --> 00:18:26,326 essentially would provide an access abundance 328 00:18:26,426 --> 00:18:29,539 to everyone on Earth because we have the technology to do this. 329 00:18:29,639 --> 00:18:32,293 It would look at what's the most efficient 330 00:18:32,393 --> 00:18:34,009 and therefore sustainable way 331 00:18:34,109 --> 00:18:36,984 of managing resources on a global scale 332 00:18:37,084 --> 00:18:42,809 taking into consideration the most efficient distribution systems 333 00:18:42,909 --> 00:18:47,618 production systems and the best ways to manage our resources. 334 00:18:47,878 --> 00:18:50,152 This could be summarized as the application 335 00:18:50,252 --> 00:18:54,363 of the scientific method for social and environmental concern 336 00:18:54,463 --> 00:18:55,963 on a global scale. 337 00:18:56,063 --> 00:19:00,589 When compared to the methods of our current political system 338 00:19:00,689 --> 00:19:02,325 it really is unparalleled 339 00:19:02,425 --> 00:19:04,321 and that's another attribute: 340 00:19:04,421 --> 00:19:07,035 We want to dissolve the current political system 341 00:19:07,135 --> 00:19:11,564 and replace it with a scientific system for decision-making. 342 00:19:11,664 --> 00:19:14,242 We don't want to elect people to make decisions for us. 343 00:19:14,342 --> 00:19:20,330 We want to engage in statistical analysis, scientific research 344 00:19:20,753 --> 00:19:22,829 to arrive at the best decisions. 345 00:19:25,014 --> 00:19:27,868 The scientific method is the best method we've developed 346 00:19:27,968 --> 00:19:33,355 for properly approximating what reality is 347 00:19:33,455 --> 00:19:35,877 and as such, we need to actually apply this 348 00:19:35,977 --> 00:19:38,544 on a social level rather than just in isolated pockets. 349 00:19:38,644 --> 00:19:43,453 It's time that our social sphere be updated to what we actually know 350 00:19:43,553 --> 00:19:45,268 in terms of science and technology 351 00:19:45,368 --> 00:19:47,564 and that's a little bit about a Resource-Based Economy. 352 00:19:47,664 --> 00:19:49,701 There are obviously many different attributes 353 00:19:49,801 --> 00:19:52,242 and you can watch Zeitgeist Moving Forward 354 00:19:52,342 --> 00:19:54,428 the third section, called Project Earth 355 00:19:54,528 --> 00:20:00,334 which explains all the inner workings of this system in great detail. 356 00:20:00,494 --> 00:20:04,705 - Do you think immediately transitioning into a Resource-Based Economy 357 00:20:04,805 --> 00:20:08,676 from a monetary-based economy would work right away? 358 00:20:08,776 --> 00:20:11,849 Aren't there aspects of human values and belief systems 359 00:20:11,949 --> 00:20:17,651 such as greed, self-focus or aggression that play against such a system? 360 00:20:17,915 --> 00:20:20,928 - It's definitely a good point. I use the analogy of: 361 00:20:21,028 --> 00:20:23,263 {If] we took someone from the Amazon jungle 362 00:20:23,363 --> 00:20:27,633 and we dropped them into the middle of an urban, North American city 363 00:20:27,733 --> 00:20:29,848 they simply would not understand how to operate 364 00:20:29,948 --> 00:20:33,634 and their conditioning would be completely obtuse. 365 00:20:34,566 --> 00:20:36,225 It's basically the same. 366 00:20:36,325 --> 00:20:38,548 If you took someone from our monetary system today 367 00:20:38,648 --> 00:20:41,063 and you drop them into the future in a Resource-Based Economy 368 00:20:41,163 --> 00:20:45,712 without orienting them to the new social system 369 00:20:46,211 --> 00:20:48,267 their conditioning would be obtuse to the extent that 370 00:20:48,367 --> 00:20:51,818 they would simply not understand how to operate and they... 371 00:20:51,918 --> 00:20:53,555 It probably just wouldn't work 372 00:20:53,655 --> 00:20:58,892 to the extent that they'd have to be educated into this new system. 373 00:20:59,601 --> 00:21:04,290 This is probably the most critical point here that we need to look at 374 00:21:04,390 --> 00:21:06,585 and that's human values. 375 00:21:06,685 --> 00:21:09,918 What human values work and what human values don't? 376 00:21:10,018 --> 00:21:13,569 We like to think that all values are equal 377 00:21:13,669 --> 00:21:16,184 that we all have the right to our own belief systems 378 00:21:16,284 --> 00:21:21,252 and that we're entitled an amount of respect for all of these beliefs. 379 00:21:21,352 --> 00:21:24,724 Does that really make any sense, if you know... 380 00:21:24,944 --> 00:21:29,593 If your value is to hold a gun to my head and tell me I deserve to die 381 00:21:29,693 --> 00:21:32,706 am I supposed to respect that value of yours? 382 00:21:32,806 --> 00:21:35,017 Obviously, values are not equal 383 00:21:35,117 --> 00:21:37,364 and in order to understand what values work 384 00:21:37,470 --> 00:21:40,230 we need to weigh them against natural phenomenon 385 00:21:40,330 --> 00:21:45,798 see what sort of relevance they actually have in the natural world. 386 00:21:45,898 --> 00:21:47,531 If you look at many of the values 387 00:21:47,631 --> 00:21:51,952 that our social system today creates and reinforces 388 00:21:52,052 --> 00:21:56,250 like all the consumptive ones, from materialism 389 00:21:56,370 --> 00:22:00,020 vanity, ego and jealousy 390 00:22:00,120 --> 00:22:05,325 and all these acquisitive values, they're simply unsustainable. 391 00:22:05,425 --> 00:22:10,966 Those values will not lead to social betterment in any way. 392 00:22:11,066 --> 00:22:14,475 They're simply there because advertising and marketing 393 00:22:14,575 --> 00:22:17,545 drills them into people because that's what this system requires 394 00:22:17,645 --> 00:22:19,833 this system based off of consumption. 395 00:22:19,933 --> 00:22:23,877 We need to rethink our entire value system. 396 00:22:24,047 --> 00:22:28,432 I would say we need to move towards what we call 397 00:22:28,532 --> 00:22:31,731 a sustainable value system, meaning 398 00:22:31,831 --> 00:22:35,430 it's aligning to the natural order of reality. 399 00:22:35,530 --> 00:22:38,099 It aligns to natural law. 400 00:22:38,199 --> 00:22:41,493 There's many different social myths in society 401 00:22:41,593 --> 00:22:43,137 and they're addressed abundantly 402 00:22:43,237 --> 00:22:45,250 throughout The Zeitgeist Movement's literature. 403 00:22:45,350 --> 00:22:48,319 For example, people's beliefs in human nature 404 00:22:48,419 --> 00:22:49,973 that we're born a certain way 405 00:22:50,073 --> 00:22:55,431 or our preference towards competitive tendencies 406 00:22:55,531 --> 00:22:58,877 our beliefs in free will, or incentive 407 00:22:58,977 --> 00:23:00,614 what actually motivates people. 408 00:23:00,714 --> 00:23:03,649 These things really need to be understood for what they actually are. 409 00:23:03,749 --> 00:23:06,223 I'll give you an example: our beliefs in free will 410 00:23:06,323 --> 00:23:08,378 that people can simply make choices 411 00:23:08,478 --> 00:23:10,617 free from their environmental stimuli 412 00:23:10,717 --> 00:23:14,944 that create these types of values. 413 00:23:15,221 --> 00:23:16,971 You simply, you know... 414 00:23:17,071 --> 00:23:21,005 If you're brought up in the Middle East into a Muslim family 415 00:23:21,105 --> 00:23:23,715 and you have no other influences 416 00:23:23,815 --> 00:23:26,207 with regards to other religions or other ways of life 417 00:23:26,307 --> 00:23:28,468 what's the chance that you'll become a Christian or Jewish 418 00:23:28,568 --> 00:23:30,068 or any other religion? 419 00:23:30,168 --> 00:23:32,271 Pretty low. We need to understand 420 00:23:32,371 --> 00:23:34,958 that we're essentially products of our environment 421 00:23:35,058 --> 00:23:37,514 that our values come from the social system at large 422 00:23:37,614 --> 00:23:39,153 our values and behaviors 423 00:23:39,253 --> 00:23:42,152 and we need to understand this relationship. 424 00:23:42,252 --> 00:23:44,703 If you take the example of free will 425 00:23:44,803 --> 00:23:48,935 this assumption extends to the depths of society. 426 00:23:49,035 --> 00:23:52,199 Look at our prison and legal systems. 427 00:23:53,203 --> 00:23:56,108 These systems are based on the assumption that people have free choice 428 00:23:56,208 --> 00:23:59,540 that they commit these so-called 'criminal' acts 429 00:23:59,713 --> 00:24:02,851 and we ignore the basis in society 430 00:24:02,951 --> 00:24:06,671 for why these supposed crimes actually take place. 431 00:24:06,771 --> 00:24:09,400 Crimes are just a response to social insufficiency 432 00:24:09,500 --> 00:24:12,401 or people being treated in a negative manner. 433 00:24:12,501 --> 00:24:15,091 We need to move towards a sustainable value system 434 00:24:15,191 --> 00:24:18,054 which would be values based on cooperation 435 00:24:18,154 --> 00:24:22,534 and compassion, empathy, reciprocity and a system 436 00:24:22,634 --> 00:24:28,267 where the negative attributes of our system today 437 00:24:28,367 --> 00:24:31,054 are just conditioned out. 438 00:24:31,229 --> 00:24:35,742 - What is the plan to put a Resource-Based Economy in place? 439 00:24:36,018 --> 00:24:42,006 - If everyone or a majority of people in society 440 00:24:42,282 --> 00:24:44,302 understood that this direction is beneficial 441 00:24:44,402 --> 00:24:45,902 and we wanted to move towards it 442 00:24:46,002 --> 00:24:49,016 and we were at the point in which we wanted to implement this thing 443 00:24:49,116 --> 00:24:52,815 the first step would be to do a survey of all earthly resources. 444 00:24:52,915 --> 00:24:54,943 It really makes little sense to start any other way. 445 00:24:55,043 --> 00:24:57,372 We need to know what we actually have on the planet 446 00:24:57,472 --> 00:25:01,256 before we can operate in any type of responsible manner 447 00:25:01,356 --> 00:25:05,138 with regard to efficient, sustainable use of resources. 448 00:25:05,238 --> 00:25:07,532 We do a survey of all resources on the planet 449 00:25:07,632 --> 00:25:11,031 or as many as we can locate at the current time 450 00:25:11,131 --> 00:25:15,288 with regards to minerals, iron ore deposits 451 00:25:15,781 --> 00:25:19,586 the most potent locations for renewable energy 452 00:25:19,686 --> 00:25:22,779 whether it be geothermal, solar, wind, wave, tidal 453 00:25:22,899 --> 00:25:25,659 (endless supply of renewable energies that we have) 454 00:25:25,953 --> 00:25:29,329 to all the different technological capabilities we have 455 00:25:29,476 --> 00:25:35,135 and how that applies to efficient production and distribution systems. 456 00:25:35,271 --> 00:25:38,539 Once we have this survey, we essentially apply it to the system. 457 00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:42,558 It's a self-generating system. 458 00:25:42,658 --> 00:25:44,158 Once we have the information 459 00:25:44,258 --> 00:25:46,490 that information dictates how we then proceed. 460 00:25:46,590 --> 00:25:48,594 That's not based on my opinion or your opinion 461 00:25:48,694 --> 00:25:51,247 or anyone else's opinion or even a scientist's opinion. 462 00:25:51,347 --> 00:25:53,887 It's based on the best available information 463 00:25:53,987 --> 00:25:55,916 that we have at a certain time 464 00:25:56,016 --> 00:25:58,117 and essentially everything would unfold 465 00:25:58,217 --> 00:26:00,661 from the basic goal of efficiency 466 00:26:00,822 --> 00:26:05,132 and sustainability without the need for monetary exchange. 467 00:26:05,232 --> 00:26:09,960 This is an outdated concept and we simply just don't need it anymore. 468 00:26:10,060 --> 00:26:15,395 It impedes social progress and does little, if anything, 469 00:26:15,495 --> 00:26:20,686 to actually provide an incentive for advancing social progress. 470 00:26:21,083 --> 00:26:23,199 - Well, do you anticipate resistance 471 00:26:23,299 --> 00:26:27,347 from those who profess to have a monetary economy? 472 00:26:27,927 --> 00:26:29,427 - Sure. In the meantime 473 00:26:29,527 --> 00:26:32,108 there are people who have an emotional inclination 474 00:26:32,208 --> 00:26:35,163 towards supporting this system and that's really what it is. 475 00:26:35,963 --> 00:26:38,782 It's less of an intellectual struggle on our part 476 00:26:38,882 --> 00:26:41,319 than breaking through emotional barriers 477 00:26:41,419 --> 00:26:43,419 that have become so ingrained in people 478 00:26:43,519 --> 00:26:47,331 that they find it essentially painful to consider any other position 479 00:26:47,431 --> 00:26:51,383 whether it be from a religious background or political background 480 00:26:51,483 --> 00:26:54,437 or any type of economic dogma, screwed up from the system. 481 00:26:54,537 --> 00:26:56,120 They're all the same in the sense 482 00:26:56,220 --> 00:27:00,053 that they're not emergent value systems. 483 00:27:00,153 --> 00:27:04,657 In a Resource-Based Economy people would be educated 484 00:27:04,757 --> 00:27:08,793 to accept change very quickly. That's what this system would need. 485 00:27:08,893 --> 00:27:12,088 We need an emergent system rather than an established system 486 00:27:12,256 --> 00:27:15,719 and people today are conditioned to have established value systems 487 00:27:15,819 --> 00:27:17,823 such that they cling on to it for dear life 488 00:27:17,923 --> 00:27:20,733 until something so drastic 489 00:27:20,833 --> 00:27:23,980 eventually challenges that value system and they're forced to shift. 490 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,202 That's essentially the history of social change. 491 00:27:27,302 --> 00:27:30,262 If people are out of a job and out of their house, maybe then 492 00:27:30,562 --> 00:27:35,559 even the most ardent free market capitalists will start to wonder 493 00:27:35,659 --> 00:27:39,394 and question the very system that they support. 494 00:27:39,494 --> 00:27:41,751 In terms of the people at the top, people always ask 495 00:27:41,851 --> 00:27:44,901 "Well how do you expect to convince people at the top, the top 1%?" 496 00:27:45,001 --> 00:27:47,486 If we have a majority of people who understand 497 00:27:47,586 --> 00:27:51,478 a new socioeconomic system such as a Resource-Based Economy 498 00:27:51,578 --> 00:27:53,667 the people at the top are going to have very little say 499 00:27:53,767 --> 00:27:55,831 as to what the rest of society does. 500 00:27:55,931 --> 00:27:59,294 And even then, the people at the top would be so much better 501 00:27:59,394 --> 00:28:01,157 living in a Resource-Based Economy 502 00:28:01,257 --> 00:28:03,791 with all the reduced stress, the access abundance 503 00:28:03,891 --> 00:28:07,554 to essentially everything it is they'd possibly require 504 00:28:07,654 --> 00:28:10,560 without any of the dangers that our current system imposes on them. 505 00:28:10,660 --> 00:28:15,478 Even they're not exempt from environmental pollution 506 00:28:15,947 --> 00:28:19,614 food contaminants, income inequality which actually affects 507 00:28:19,714 --> 00:28:22,259 even the richest in society (studies now conclude) 508 00:28:22,359 --> 00:28:26,206 so even they would be better off in this type of social arrangement. 509 00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,714 - How does the timing of the global uprising 510 00:28:29,814 --> 00:28:31,674 that we're experiencing now 511 00:28:31,774 --> 00:28:35,839 come into play with the implementation of a Resource-Based Economy? 512 00:28:36,087 --> 00:28:39,261 - I think we're at a point in time now where many thresholds 513 00:28:39,361 --> 00:28:43,097 have been crossed in terms of being able to accept this system 514 00:28:43,197 --> 00:28:46,452 and just carry on with business as usual. 515 00:28:47,654 --> 00:28:49,658 The protests are probably a testament to the fact 516 00:28:49,758 --> 00:28:51,393 that social conditions are worsening 517 00:28:51,493 --> 00:28:54,840 for a majority of people in the world, and they're starting to wake up 518 00:28:54,940 --> 00:28:57,072 to the fact that this system doesn't serve them 519 00:28:57,172 --> 00:28:58,672 in their best interest. 520 00:28:58,805 --> 00:29:03,634 To directly answer your question, it's almost like a Catch-22 521 00:29:03,734 --> 00:29:06,652 because if society completely collapses 522 00:29:06,752 --> 00:29:09,630 it's going to be a lot more difficult to spread awareness 523 00:29:09,730 --> 00:29:12,748 about a new possible social system. 524 00:29:12,988 --> 00:29:18,291 At the same time, if this system maintains itself for much longer 525 00:29:18,391 --> 00:29:20,804 we may pass the point of no return environmentally 526 00:29:20,904 --> 00:29:25,926 and it will become impossible to even implement this type of thing. 527 00:29:26,118 --> 00:29:30,062 I don't know when we would pass that point 528 00:29:30,162 --> 00:29:32,804 but basically it's a very delicate balance we need to walk 529 00:29:32,904 --> 00:29:36,002 and essentially The Zeitgeist Movement understands 530 00:29:36,102 --> 00:29:40,391 that we just need to move forward with this information 531 00:29:40,491 --> 00:29:45,020 and work as hard as we possibly can to get this information out there. 532 00:29:46,451 --> 00:29:49,541 - Well, how can people find out more about The Zeitgeist Movement? 533 00:29:49,649 --> 00:29:51,958 - They can go to www.TheZeitgeistMovement.com. 534 00:29:52,058 --> 00:29:54,194 That's our official, global website 535 00:29:54,294 --> 00:29:56,984 where you can link to all the other chapters in the world. 536 00:29:57,084 --> 00:29:59,292 You can find our Orientation Guide 537 00:29:59,392 --> 00:30:04,727 which denotes the trains of thought advocated by The Movement 538 00:30:04,827 --> 00:30:07,541 and all the supportive evidence 539 00:30:07,641 --> 00:30:10,643 for how we've arrived at this Resource-Based Economy. 540 00:30:10,743 --> 00:30:16,016 There are many different lectures that you can view. 541 00:30:16,450 --> 00:30:19,625 As far as locally, Zeitgeist Vancouver is active 542 00:30:19,725 --> 00:30:22,979 on a weekly basis in downtown Vancouver 543 00:30:23,079 --> 00:30:26,911 at the Vancouver Art Gallery where we engage passers-by 544 00:30:27,011 --> 00:30:30,899 with DVDs, engage in meaningful discussion 545 00:30:30,999 --> 00:30:33,284 and just distribute as much information as we can 546 00:30:33,384 --> 00:30:35,713 to try to reach as many new people as possible. 547 00:30:35,905 --> 00:30:39,933 This has been our best method that we've found for activism 548 00:30:40,033 --> 00:30:43,210 as opposed to closed-type meetings where 549 00:30:43,456 --> 00:30:45,801 you're essentially preaching to the choir. 550 00:30:45,921 --> 00:30:49,071 These things are important to get more information out there 551 00:30:49,171 --> 00:30:52,690 for people who are interested, but the most critical work that we do 552 00:30:52,790 --> 00:30:54,843 I think needs to be in reaching new people 553 00:30:54,943 --> 00:30:57,825 and that's where our efforts lie. 554 00:30:57,925 --> 00:31:02,358 As far as our local website, you can go to ZeitgeistVancouver.com 555 00:31:02,458 --> 00:31:05,833 and you can read all about our events that we've done in the past 556 00:31:05,933 --> 00:31:09,436 as well as our upcoming ones, all the different local media we've done 557 00:31:10,317 --> 00:31:13,974 as well as just everything else that's relevant on a local level. 558 00:31:14,670 --> 00:31:16,690 For more information about the Zeitgeist Movement 559 00:31:16,790 --> 00:31:18,806 please visit: www.TheZeitgeistMovement.com 560 00:31:18,906 --> 00:31:20,947 http://Zeitgeist-Canada.com | http://ZeitgeistVancouver.com