The Zeitgeist Movement: Difference between revisions
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==Activities== |
==Activities== |
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[[File:Day 50 Occupy Wall Street November 5 2011 Shankbone 21.JPG|thumb|A man handing out literature about the movement at a public gathering, November 2011]] |
[[File:Day 50 Occupy Wall Street November 5 2011 Shankbone 21.JPG|thumb|A man handing out literature about the movement at a public gathering, November 2011]] |
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Until a split in 2011, the movement acted as the activist arm of [[The Venus Project]],<ref name=faq>{{cite web|title=TZM – FAQ |url=http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/faq |publisher=thezeitgeistmovement.com}}</ref> and still advocates for a global society where resources are sustainably shared,<!--ref: huffpost --> because they view the current economic system as the cause of the greatest social problems.<ref name=huffpost /> |
Until a split in 2011, the movement acted as the activist arm of [[The Venus Project]],<ref name=faq>{{cite web|title=TZM – FAQ |url=http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/faq |publisher=thezeitgeistmovement.com}}</ref> and still advocates for a global society where resources are sustainably shared,<!--ref: huffpost --> because they view the current economic system as the cause of the greatest social problems.<ref name=huffpost /> |
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The movement's overall vision was described as follows:<ref name=nytimes/> "... The evening, which began at 7 with a two-hour critique of monetary economics, became by midnight a utopian presentation of a money-free and computer-driven vision of the future, a wholesale reimagination of civilization, as if [[Karl Marx]] and [[Carl Sagan]] had hired [[John Lennon]] from his [[Imagine (song) | “Imagine”]] days to do no less than redesign the underlying structures of planetary life. In other words, a not entirely inappropriate response to the zeitgeist itself..." |
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In response to the criticism of [[utopianism]],<ref name="RT20110914">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_btXktBTEi8 Zeitgeist Solutions for the World (interview with Peter Joseph)], [[Russia Today]], Sept. 14, 2011. </ref><ref name="RT20111202">[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RDihFrV_Os Zeitgeist Solutions (interview with Peter Joseph)], [[Russia Today]], Dec. 2, 2011 </ref><ref name=JasonLordSysApproach>[ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSxIT3LixaE "Visualizing a Systems Approach"], Jason Lord, Oct. 2011 </ref> |
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the movement claims it does not believe in [[utopia]] and that, instead, it believes in a continuous, emergent, never-ending process of updating society's notions of economics and politics to align them with society's rapidly advancing scientific ingenuity, technical knowledge and new discoveries: the movement believes there is no final frontier. |
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The movement is also concerned about the threat of technological unemployment.<ref name="RT20110914"/><ref name="RT20111202"/> |
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[[Globes]]<ref name="Globes">[http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000547764 Imagine], [[Globes]], March 18, 2010.</ref> describes the movement as claiming that money is an outdated concept and that society should get rid of it. The movement is described as arguing that the monetary system is not adequate for our times and harms humanity. [[Globes]] describes the movement as claiming that money is actually rolling debt, and the democratic model does not really allow freedom and [[liberty]]. The answer lies in a civilized society based on science and technology. The world would be based on resources rather than monetary revenues, anyone would be able to live anywhere they want and enjoy the freedom to do whatever he or she wants without having to perform [[wage labor]]. Machines will do most of the work and decisions will be made scientifically, not by politicians. [[Globes]]<ref name="Globes"/> describes the movement as advocating for abolishing the profit motive and [[private property]] (while retaining respect for [[personal property]]), and instead using science and technology to provide all of humanity with access to resources, with consideration for conservation of the environment, with the widespread implementation of renewal energy, and with the use of advanced technology to manage and distribute the resources to provide abundance for all. |
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The movement also believes<ref name="RT20110914"/><ref name="RT20111202"/> that its proposed radical overhaul of the existing global socio-economic system could help ameliorate the detrimental effects of [[technological unemployment]]. |
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Members of the Zeitgeist movement have also been described<ref name="TheMarker20120119">[http://www.themarker.com/markerweek/1.1620957 The Filmmaker Who Helped Recruit Millions of People for the Global Protests of the Bottom 99%], Asher Shechter, [[TheMarker]], January 19, 2012. ([[Hebrew]]) </ref> |
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as being primarily focused on raising awareness on the issues discussed in the films [[Zeitgeist: Addendum]] (released in 2008) and [[Zeitgeist: Moving Forward]] (released in summer 2011) regarding the inherent unsustainability and the structural corruption of the current socio-economic system. They endeavor to raise consciousness through, among other things, 'ZDay'. According to this description, [[Zeitgeist: Addendum]] was released in parallel with the escalating financial crisis after the collapse of investment bank Lehman Brothers, in the background of central banks rescuing the major banks using public funds without transparency. [[Zeitgeist: Moving Forward]] criticized the current monetary system, claiming it could lead only to one of two possible scenarios - insolvency or hyper-inflation. By the time the film was released, to many people, the claims made in the film sounded less delusional. The European debt crisis was in full swing and the United States, too, seemed to teeter on the brink of insolvency, in the midst of a debt ceiling crisis. According to this description of the movement, in a sense the films may have prophesized the global protests that erupted around the world in 2011, reflecting the spirit of the films' skepticism regarding the actions of the governing authorities, bankers, and the distorted relationships between them. |
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This analysis<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/> further states that large portions of the allegations and conclusions of the members of the movement may initially sound far-reaching even to very radical readers, but that it is impossible, in Shechter's analysis, to ignore the underground currents that the movement expressed. According to this analysis, the Zeitgeist Movement symbolizes the atmosphere of suspicion and doubt in all the corporate, banking and government institutions in which an entire generation came of age, which witnessed over the last several years how reality aligns itself even with the most delusional conspiracy theories - at the time when, according to this analysis, the actions of "international bankers" (a Zeitgeist terminology) have delivered a serious blow to the global economy. According to this analysis, "the Zeitgeist has found an attentive ear among tens of millions of people, because the movement turns to the two most dominant components in our lives today: the fear of change, and the knowledge that change is almost certain to come.... When the global economy is in an unprecedented crisis caused by the financial industry, and social activists in the West are complaining of restrictions on democratic rights and corrupt connections between the wealthy elite and politicians, it is understandable how Zeitgeist has become a representative of the spirit of the times." |
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===ZDay=== |
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The Zeitgeist Movement stages an annual event called "ZDay" in March. The first ZDay was on March 15, 2009. The main event in New York City had a sold-out crowd of around 900 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.<ref name=nytimes /> The 2010 event took place on March 13. A 6-hour live web cast of lectures from the movement's key figures took place in New York City.<ref name=huffpost>{{cite web |title=The Zeitgeist Movement: Envisioning A Sustainable Future |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/travis-walter-donovan/the-zeitgeist-movement-en_b_501517.html |date=Mar 16, 2010 |publisher=''[[Huffington Post]]''}}</ref> The 2011 main event was held in [[London]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.brockwood.org.uk/2011/04/11/brockwood-at-zeitgeist-day-in-london-march-13th-2011/ |title=Brockwood at Zeitgeist-Day in London – March 13th, 2011 |publisher=Brockwood Park School |date=2011-04-11}}</ref> and the 2012 main event was held in [[Vancouver]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Zeitgeist Day 2012 - Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC |url=http://www.voguetheatre.com/detail.php?id=252 |publisher=voguetheatre.com}}</ref> |
The Zeitgeist Movement stages an annual event called "ZDay" in March. The first ZDay was on March 15, 2009. The main event in New York City had a sold-out crowd of around 900 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.<ref name=nytimes /> The 2010 event took place on March 13. A 6-hour live web cast of lectures from the movement's key figures took place in New York City.<ref name=huffpost>{{cite web |title=The Zeitgeist Movement: Envisioning A Sustainable Future |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/travis-walter-donovan/the-zeitgeist-movement-en_b_501517.html |date=Mar 16, 2010 |publisher=''[[Huffington Post]]''}}</ref> The 2011 main event was held in [[London]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.brockwood.org.uk/2011/04/11/brockwood-at-zeitgeist-day-in-london-march-13th-2011/ |title=Brockwood at Zeitgeist-Day in London – March 13th, 2011 |publisher=Brockwood Park School |date=2011-04-11}}</ref> and the 2012 main event was held in [[Vancouver]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Zeitgeist Day 2012 - Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC |url=http://www.voguetheatre.com/detail.php?id=252 |publisher=voguetheatre.com}}</ref> |
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* [[Direct democracy]] |
* [[Direct democracy]] |
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* [[L. Susan Brown]] |
* [[L. Susan Brown]] |
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* [[Jared Lee Loughner]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 15:43, 27 April 2012
| File:Zeitgeist Movement globe.jpg The Zeitgeist Movement logo | |
| Abbreviation | TZM or ZM |
|---|---|
| Formation | August 18, 2008 |
| Type | Social movement |
Region served | Earth |
Key people | Peter Joseph |
| Website | TheZeitgeistMovement.com |
The Zeitgeist Movement is a sustainability advocacy organization founded in 2008. The movement campaigns against the "monetary-market" economy which they argue should be replaced with a resource-based economy in which money would serve no purpose.[1] The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by Peter Joseph's film Zeitgeist: Addendum.[2] The film described The Venus Project as a possible solution.
Activities
Until a split in 2011, the movement acted as the activist arm of The Venus Project,[3] and still advocates for a global society where resources are sustainably shared, because they view the current economic system as the cause of the greatest social problems.[4]
The Zeitgeist Movement stages an annual event called "ZDay" in March. The first ZDay was on March 15, 2009. The main event in New York City had a sold-out crowd of around 900 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College.[1] The 2010 event took place on March 13. A 6-hour live web cast of lectures from the movement's key figures took place in New York City.[4] The 2011 main event was held in London,[5] and the 2012 main event was held in Vancouver.[6]
See also
- Post-scarcity economy
- Technocracy
- Criticism of capitalism
- Technological unemployment
- Anarchist communism
- Communalism (political philosophy)
- Direct democracy
- L. Susan Brown
References
- ^ a b "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". New York Times. 2009-03-16.
- ^ Bill Stamets (February 15, 2011). "Art-house films: 'Marwencol,' 'Zeitgeist'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ^ "TZM – FAQ". thezeitgeistmovement.com.
- ^ a b "The Zeitgeist Movement: Envisioning A Sustainable Future". Huffington Post. Mar 16, 2010.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Brockwood at Zeitgeist-Day in London – March 13th, 2011". Brockwood Park School. 2011-04-11.
- ^ "Zeitgeist Day 2012 - Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC". voguetheatre.com.