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'''The Zeitgeist Movement''' ([[Zeitgeist]] is 'the spirit of the times' in German) is a global, [[nonviolent]], [[sustainability]] and [[social equality]] [[advocacy]] organization founded in 2008.
'''The Zeitgeist Movement''' ([[Zeitgeist]] which means 'the spirit of the times' in German) is a global, [[nonviolent]], [[sustainability]] and [[social equality]] [[advocacy]] organization founded in 2008.


It seeks to provide education concerning their belief that the [[Market economy|"monetary-market"]] economy should be replaced with a ''resource-based economy''<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><ref name="TVP-RBE">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thevenusproject.com/en/the-venus-project/resource-based-economy|title=Resource Based Economy|publisher=[[The Venus Project]]}}</ref><ref name=PalmBeachPost>[http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2009/04/30/swancol_0501.html A dream worth having], Rhonda Swan, [[The Palm Beach Post]], April 30, 2009</ref>, a moneyless and [[stateless society|stateless]] global system in which money, debt, credit, exchange, barter, wage labor, private property and the profit motive would be eliminated. Resources would be managed efficiently and carefully as possible through the [[technological]] potential of [[sustainable development]]. {{Clarify|date=June 2012}}<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="TVP-RBE"/><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitgeist.html?_r=2|title=They’ve Seen the Future and Dislike the Present|publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=2009-03-16}}</ref><ref name=PalmBeachPost/><ref name="TheMarker20120119">Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of [http://www.themarker.com/markerweek/1.1620957 The Filmmaker Who Helped Recruit Millions for the Global Protests of the Bottom 99%], original Hebrew article by Asher Schechter, [[TheMarker]] (Israel), January 19, 2012.</ref><ref name="Globes20100318">Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of [http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000547764 Imagine, original Hebrew article by Tzaela Kotler], [[Globes]] (Israel), March 18, 2010.</ref><ref name="OrlandoSentinel1995"> [http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-02-12/news/9502100636_1_venus-project-jacque-trees "He's A Dreamer From Venus"], Mike Thomas, [[Orlando Sentinel]], Feb. 12, 1995.</ref>
The movement seeks to provide education concerning their belief that the [[Market economy|"monetary-market"]] economy should be replaced with a [[holistic]] global system in which all resources become the [[common heritage]] of all the inhabitants of the planet.<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="TVP-R"/><ref name=PalmBeachPost/>


⚫
The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by [[Peter Joseph]]'s film ''[[Zeitgeist: Addendum]]''. The film described [[The Venus Project]] as a possible solution.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/3245249-421/hogancamp-marwencol-zeitgeist-dolls-films.html?print=true | title=Art-house films: ‘Marwencol,’ ‘Zeitgeist’ | accessdate=March 7, 2011 | author=Bill Stamets | date=February 15, 2011 | publisher=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref>
In the movement's view, this system would be a [[Class (social)|classless]], moneyless, and [[stateless society|stateless]] global system in which money, debt, credit, exchange, barter, wage labor, private property and the profit motive would be eliminated. Human needs would be supplied for everyone. Resources would be managed as efficiently and carefully as possible through the technological potential of [[sustainable development]] (economic development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.)
<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="TVP-R"/><ref name=nytimes/><ref name=PalmBeachPost/><ref name="TheMarker20120119"/><ref name="Globes20100318"/><ref name="OrlandoSentinel1995"> [http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-02-12/news/9502100636_1_venus-project-jacque-trees "He's A Dreamer From Venus"], Mike Thomas, [[Orlando Sentinel]], Feb. 12, 1995.</ref>

This global socio-economic system is based on the movement's belief that the intelligent application of highly advanced science and technology can provide a high standard of living for all of the Earth's inhabitants. The movement believes the current general practice around the globe is based on rationing resources through monetary methods; thus, in the movement's view, this practice is irrelevant and counterproductive to humanity's survival. The movement believes that their proposed system is based on the cooperation and balance of technology and nature, capable of creating, in the movement's view, a sustainable future.<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><ref name=PalmBeachPost>[http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2009/04/30/swancol_0501.html A dream worth having], Rhonda Swan, [[The Palm Beach Post]], April 30, 2009</ref><ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitgeist.html?_r=2|title=They’ve Seen the Future and Dislike the Present|publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=2009-03-16}}</ref><ref name="Globes20100318">Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of [http://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1000547764 Imagine, original Hebrew article by Tzaela Kotler], [[Globes]] (Israel), March 18, 2010.</ref><ref name="TheMarker20120119">Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of [http://www.themarker.com/markerweek/1.1620957 The Filmmaker Who Helped Recruit Millions for the Global Protests of the Bottom 99%], original Hebrew article by Asher Schechter, [[TheMarker]] (Israel), January 19, 2012.</ref><ref name="TVP-R">{{Cite web|url=http://www.thevenusproject.com/en/the-venus-project/resource-based-economy|title=The Venus Project|publisher=[[The Venus Project]]}}</ref>

⚫
The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by [[Peter Joseph]]'s film ''[[Zeitgeist: Addendum]]''. The film described [[The Venus Project]] as a possible solution.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/movies/3245249-421/hogancamp-marwencol-zeitgeist-dolls-films.html?print=true | title=Art-house films: ‘Marwencol,’ ‘Zeitgeist’ | accessdate=March 7, 2011 | author=Bill Stamets | date=February 15, 2011 | publisher=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref><ref name=nytimes/><ref name=PalmBeachPost/>

==Mission==
[[File:15 Okt Occupy Wien.jpg|thumb|left|220px|Members of [http://zeitgeist-movement.at/ the Austrian chapter] of the Zeitgeist movement marching in [[Vienna, Austria]] in support of [[Occupy Wall Street]], October 2011]]

Until a split in 2011, the movement acted as the activist arm of [[The Venus Project]],<ref name=faq>{{cite web|title=The Zeitgeist Movement – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) |url=http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/faq}}</ref> and still advocates for a global society where resources are [[sustainably]] [[Sharing|shared]] among all the people on the planet, because they view the current economic system as the cause of the greatest [[Social problems of the United States|social problems]].<ref name=huffpost/>

{{Automation}}

The movement says its mission is “the application of [[the scientific method]] for [[social change]].” <ref name=nytimes/>
That is, the movement believes the money-based economy is [[unsustainable]], due to issues such as [[Consumerism | cyclical consumption]], [[planned obsolescence]], [[corporate malfeasance]] and resource [[waste]], and that the system of [[Exchange value|monetary exchange]] is — in the face of advancing technology — completely obsolete and harmful to humanity, and thus should be discarded.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name="Globes20100318"/>
Some of the movement's basic themes: modern [[economics]] is a fraud; [[global debt]] is a serious problem; the [[profit motive]] is harmful to society; and more than legislation — or governments — need to change.<ref name=nytimes/>
The movement believes that it would take a [[grassroots movement]] and a remodeling of our [[social values]], starting with education based on [[sustainability]] to actually put such a program into action to change the world into a new global society that has given up money and [[property]] in favor of a [[Sharing|shared]], [[sustainable]], technology- and science-driven community.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name=huffpost/>
The movement believes that getting rid of money, [[ownership]] and even government is necessary in order
to create a peaceful society that provides a high standard of living for everyone.<ref name=huffpost/>

In the movement's view, the vast majority of crimes in the world are the product of the system itself.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
The movement says that in a world where everything is supplied, the majority of today's crimes would not exist,
as they are primarily related to obtaining [[money]] and [[property]], or born of [[social inequality]].<ref name=huffpost/>
The movement believes that the crimes that still exist would be considered symptomatic of mental aberration,
and these people would be given treatment and help, not punished, as no [[prisons]] would exist.<ref name=huffpost/>
The movement believes that the social system is based on an old, obsolete way of thinking - '[[survival of the fittest]]' - which is based on the assumption that there are not enough [[resources]].<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
The view of the movement is that there are sufficient [[resources]] and have always been, but in the past (prior to the [[Second Industrial Revolution]]) we did not have the required technology to realize this.
For example, the movement says that there is currently enough food to feed everyone in the world,<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="WHES">[http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm World Hunger and Poverty Facts and Statistics], World Hunger Education Service (WHES)</ref>
but not enough money to pay for it,<ref name=huffpost/> and as a result,
many people are under-nourished.<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="WHES"/>
The movement believes that its conceptual ideas and models for [[sustainable technology]],
that may seem of [[science fiction]], are not unrealistic,
and if [[science]] and [[technology]] were focused on [[Progress (history)|progress]] instead of [[Consumerism | consumption]], these ideas would be realized.<ref name=huffpost/>
For example, the movement believes we can employ [[renewable energy]] systems on a massive global scale,<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/> and that we can design cities where [[food production]] would be [[organic]] and local,
using semi- or fully [[Automation|automatic]] systems which will take care that no one would go hungry.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
Thus, in the movement's view, today we can feed all the people in the world, but, in the movement's view,
we do not do it because of the [[Artificial scarcity|artificial limits]] imposed by the monetary-market system.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
That is, the movement believes the current global socio-economic system cannot become more efficient, because [[efficiency]] is expensive and it will hurt [[GDP growth]]; the movement believes our current system operates on [[inefficiency]], because efficiency is the opposite of what leads to [[GDP growth]], new jobs and the movement of cash.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/> In other words, the movement believes the system is fighting efficiency.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>

[[File:Fresco automated construction.jpg|frame|left|[[Automated]] [[construction]]]]

The Zeitgeist movement advocates for a global economy in which the world's resources would be considered the equal inheritance of all the world's peoples, and would be managed as efficiently and carefully as possible
through focusing on the technological potential of [[sustainable development]] (economic growth in which resource use aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.)<ref name=huffpost/>
It is toward this idea that The Zeitgeist Movement works to educate and inform people.<ref name=huffpost/>
The movement believes that [[Conservation (ethic)|resource preservation]] is key to human survival,
and all the social [[ideologies]] that currently exist are inadequate
because they don't address resources as a part of their fundamental principles.<ref name=huffpost/>
The ideal society proposed by the movement would have a worldwide [[automated]] computer system
actively monitoring the levels of the world's surveyed resources and ranking them according to factors
such as their potential, [[renewability]], and [[pollution]].<ref name=huffpost/>
The movement believes that this computer would [[Artificial intelligence|intelligently]] make objective decisions as to the uses of these resources based on [[empirical]] [[fact]], not [[biased]] legislation.<ref name=huffpost/>
In the movement's view, [[automated]] labor would be perfected on a mass scale, eliminating all mundane jobs that insult human capacity when they can instead be relegated to machines that will act more precisely and productively.<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="Globes20100318"/><ref name=PalmBeachPost/>
The [[Automation|machines]] will do almost all of the work and humans would oversee the process and supervise the machines.<ref name="Globes20100318"/><ref name=PalmBeachPost/>
The movement holds the view that even without a monetary reward,
people would still want to work, and would still develop new innovations
because the incentive to work would be internal - for example,
similar to today's [[open-source software]].<ref name="Globes20100318"/><ref name=huffpost/>
From the maximization of efficient use of resources and [[automated]] labor,
the movement imagines a future world where work and success are determined by a novel set of criteria
compared to the main criteria in wide use today; <ref name=PalmBeachPost/><ref name="Globes20100318"/>
for example, [[competition]] would not be a driving force.<ref name=PalmBeachPost/>
According to the movement, the answer for a corrected, civilized society lies in [[science]] and [[technology]]
which would enable [[Abundance (economics)|abundance]] - and then there will be no more [[poverty]] or [[wars]].<ref name=PalmBeachPost/><ref name="Globes20100318"/>


==Activities==
==Activities==
The movement aims to provide information about why a new global system is needed.<ref name=huffpost/>
The movement aims to provide information about why a new global system is needed.<ref name=huffpost/> The members of the movement are engaged in raising awareness on the issues discussed in the films (''[[Zeitgeist: The Movie]]'', ''[[Zeitgeist: Addendum]]'' and ''[[Zeitgeist: Moving Forward]]'') regarding what is, in their view, the inherent structural corruption of the current socio-economic system.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
The members of the movement are engaged in raising awareness on the issues discussed in the films (''[[Zeitgeist: The Movie]]'', ''[[Zeitgeist: Addendum]]'' and ''[[Zeitgeist: Moving Forward]]'') regarding what is, in their view, the inherent structural corruption of the current socio-economic system.<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>


===Z-Day===
===Z-Day===
The Zeitgeist Movement stages an annual event called "Z-Day" in March, to raise awareness of the movement's goals.<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="TheMarker20120119"/> The first Z-Day 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. "While 337 sympathetic events occurred in over 70 countries worldwide, NYC was home to the main event, a 6-hour live web cast presentation with lectures from the movement's key figures, and 30 different countries represented in the audience."<ref name=huffpost/> 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 "Z-Day" in March, to raise awareness of the movement's goals.<ref name=huffpost/><ref name="TheMarker20120119"/> The first Z-Day 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. "While 337 sympathetic events occurred in over 70 countries worldwide, NYC was home to the main event, a 6-hour live web cast presentation with lectures from the movement's key figures, and 30 different countries represented in the audience."<ref name=huffpost/> 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>


== Criticism of the Zeitgeist movement ==
== Criticism of Zeitgeist and a resource-based economy ==

''[[The Huffington Post]]'',<ref name=huffpost/>
''[[The Huffington Post]]'',<ref name=huffpost/>
''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name=nytimes/>
''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref name=nytimes/>
Line 115: Line 49:
''[[TheMarker]]'',<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
''[[TheMarker]]'',<ref name="TheMarker20120119"/>
''[[The Orlando Sentinel]]'',<ref name="OrlandoSentinel1995"/>
''[[The Orlando Sentinel]]'',<ref name="OrlandoSentinel1995"/>
''[[RT (TV network)|RT TV]]'' <ref> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_btXktBTEi8 Zeitgeist Solutions: New World Re-Order], [[RT (TV network)|RT]], Sept. 14, 2011</ref><ref> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RDihFrV_Os Zeitgeist Solutions: Money and Debt], [[RT (TV network)|RT]], Dec. 2, 2011</ref>
[[RT (TV network)|RT TV]],<ref> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_btXktBTEi8 Zeitgeist Solutions: New World Re-Order], [[RT (TV network)|RT]], Sept. 14, 2011</ref><ref> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RDihFrV_Os Zeitgeist Solutions: Money, Debt and RBE], [[RT (TV network)|RT]], Dec. 2, 2011</ref>
and ''[[TheMarker|TheMarker TV]]'' <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbN86J-ihHE Discussion of the Zeitgeist movement with Peter Joseph], [[TheMarker|TheMarkerTV]], Jan. 19, 2012. Interview conducted in English, following a brief introduction in Hebrew. The brief Hebrew introduction states: "Hello, Peter Joseph is with us, he is the filmmaker and director who created the Zeitgeist film series and The Zeitgeist movement, which advances for a global socio-economic change. The Zeitgeist films were among the most popular films in the history of the Internet, and Peter is here to answer a few questions regarding the nature of the Zeitgeist movement."</ref>
and [[TheMarker|TheMarkerTV]] <ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbN86J-ihHE Discussion of the Zeitgeist movement with Peter Joseph], [[TheMarker|TheMarkerTV]], Jan. 19, 2012. Interview conducted in English, following a brief introduction in Hebrew. The brief Hebrew introduction states: "Hello, Peter Joseph is with us, he is the filmmaker and director who created the Zeitgeist film series and The Zeitgeist movement, which advances for a global socio-economic change. The Zeitgeist films were among the most popular films in the history of the Internet, and Peter is here to answer a few questions regarding the nature of the Zeitgeist movement."</ref>
discussed various aspects of criticism of the Zeitgeist movement, for example allegations of [[utopianism]], reduced work incentives in the proposed future global socio-economic system and practical difficulties in a transition to that system. In each case, members of the movement were given an opportunity to respond to the criticism.
discussed various aspects of criticism of the Zeitgeist movement, for example allegations of [[utopianism]], reduced work incentives in an RBE and practical difficulties in a transition to an RBE. (In each case, members of the movement were given an opportunity to respond to the criticism.)


The original documentary that launched the Zeitgeist movement has been criticized as being ant-Jewish. In 2009 a German social networking site, [[studiVZ]], banned Zeitgeist groups because of what they characterized as their implicit anti-Semitism.<ref>http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/57732/brave-new-world Retrieval June-2-2012</ref><ref>http://www.zeitgeistaustralia.org/studivznet-shut-down-zeitgeist-groups/ Retrieval June-2-2012</ref>
The original documentary that launched the Zeitgeist movement has been criticized as being anti-Jewish. In 2009 a German social networking site, [[studiVZ]], banned Zeitgeist groups because of what they characterized as their implicit anti-Semitism.<ref>http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/57732/brave-new-world Retrieval June-2-2012</ref><ref>http://www.zeitgeistaustralia.org/studivznet-shut-down-zeitgeist-groups/ Retrieval June-2-2012</ref>


The Austrian economist [[Robert P. Murphy]], in his article "Venus Needs Some Austrians", argued that several of the project's foundational premises, such as the notion that human productivity is not dependent on monetary wealth or [[property rights]], are fundamentally flawed.<ref name=murphy>Murphy, Robert P. [http://mises.org/daily/4636 Venus Needs Some Austrians], "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute," 30 Aug. 2010</ref> He writes, "these idealists are wrong to blame our current, dysfunctional world on capitalism or money per se. On the contrary, if everyone respected each other's property rights — meaning there would be no more petty crime, but also no more taxation, military conscription, or drug prohibition — then humanity would become fantastically wealthy, in material terms." His basic thesis is that unjustified governmental imposition into the [[economic freedom]] of democratic citizens results in decreased productivity and diminished prosperity, and that only a capitalistically predicated, [[free market]] economy based on [[libertarianism|libertarian]] principles of individual freedom will result in improved products and an enhanced society.<ref name=murphy />
The Austrian economist [[Robert P. Murphy]], in his article "Venus Needs Some Austrians", argued that several of the project's foundational premises, such as the notion that human productivity is not dependent on monetary wealth or [[property rights]], are fundamentally flawed.<ref name=murphy>Murphy, Robert P. [http://mises.org/daily/4636 Venus Needs Some Austrians], "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute," 30 Aug. 2010</ref> He writes, "these idealists are wrong to blame our current, dysfunctional world on capitalism or money per se. On the contrary, if everyone respected each other's property rights — meaning there would be no more petty crime, but also no more taxation, military conscription, or drug prohibition — then humanity would become fantastically wealthy, in material terms."<ref name=murphy />


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 128: Line 62:


{{refbegin|2}}
{{refbegin|2}}
* [[L. Susan Brown]] — essay ''Does work really work?''
* [[Ecological economics]]
* [[Ecological economics]]
* [[Ecotopia]]
* [[Ecotopia]]
Line 138: Line 71:
* [[Technogaianism]]
* [[Technogaianism]]
* [[Singularitarianism]]
* [[Singularitarianism]]
* [[Sustainable development]]
{{refend}}
{{refend}}


Line 147: Line 79:
{{refbegin|2}}
{{refbegin|2}}
* [http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com The Zeitgeist Movement Official Website]
* [http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com The Zeitgeist Movement Official Website]
* [http://www.thevenusproject.com The Venus Project]
{{refend}}
* [http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com The Zeitgeist Film Series official Website]
* [http://www.youtube.com/TZMOfficialChannel The Zeitgeist Movement official YouTube channel]


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Revision as of 15:03, 5 June 2012

The Zeitgeist Movement
AbbreviationTZM or ZM
FormationAugust 18, 2008; 16 years ago (2008-08-18)
TypeSocial movement
Key people
Peter Joseph, Ben McLeish
WebsiteTheZeitgeistMovement.com

The Zeitgeist Movement (Zeitgeist which means 'the spirit of the times' in German) is a global, nonviolent, sustainability and social equality advocacy organization founded in 2008.

It seeks to provide education concerning their belief that the "monetary-market" economy should be replaced with a resource-based economy[1][2][3], a moneyless and stateless global system in which money, debt, credit, exchange, barter, wage labor, private property and the profit motive would be eliminated. Resources would be managed efficiently and carefully as possible through the technological potential of sustainable development. [clarification needed][1][2][4][3][5][6][7]

The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by Peter Joseph's film Zeitgeist: Addendum. The film described The Venus Project as a possible solution.[8]

Activities

The movement aims to provide information about why a new global system is needed.[1] The members of the movement are engaged in raising awareness on the issues discussed in the films (Zeitgeist: The Movie, Zeitgeist: Addendum and Zeitgeist: Moving Forward) regarding what is, in their view, the inherent structural corruption of the current socio-economic system.[5]

Z-Day

The Zeitgeist Movement stages an annual event called "Z-Day" in March, to raise awareness of the movement's goals.[1][5] The first Z-Day 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.[4] The 2010 event took place on March 13. "While 337 sympathetic events occurred in over 70 countries worldwide, NYC was home to the main event, a 6-hour live web cast presentation with lectures from the movement's key figures, and 30 different countries represented in the audience."[1] The 2011 main event was held in London,[9] and the 2012 main event was held in Vancouver.[10]

Criticism of Zeitgeist and a resource-based economy

The Huffington Post,[1] The New York Times,[4] The Palm Beach Post,[3] Globes,[6] TheMarker,[5] The Orlando Sentinel,[7] RT TV,[11][12] and TheMarkerTV [13] discussed various aspects of criticism of the Zeitgeist movement, for example allegations of utopianism, reduced work incentives in an RBE and practical difficulties in a transition to an RBE. (In each case, members of the movement were given an opportunity to respond to the criticism.)

The original documentary that launched the Zeitgeist movement has been criticized as being anti-Jewish. In 2009 a German social networking site, studiVZ, banned Zeitgeist groups because of what they characterized as their implicit anti-Semitism.[14][15]

The Austrian economist Robert P. Murphy, in his article "Venus Needs Some Austrians", argued that several of the project's foundational premises, such as the notion that human productivity is not dependent on monetary wealth or property rights, are fundamentally flawed.[16] He writes, "these idealists are wrong to blame our current, dysfunctional world on capitalism or money per se. On the contrary, if everyone respected each other's property rights — meaning there would be no more petty crime, but also no more taxation, military conscription, or drug prohibition — then humanity would become fantastically wealthy, in material terms."[16]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "The Zeitgeist Movement: Envisioning A Sustainable Future". Huffington Post. Mar 16, 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Resource Based Economy". The Venus Project.
  3. ^ a b c A dream worth having, Rhonda Swan, The Palm Beach Post, April 30, 2009
  4. ^ a b c "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". New York Times. 2009-03-16.
  5. ^ a b c d Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of The Filmmaker Who Helped Recruit Millions for the Global Protests of the Bottom 99%, original Hebrew article by Asher Schechter, TheMarker (Israel), January 19, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Quotations and citations in this Wikipedia article are based on the translation from Hebrew to English of Imagine, original Hebrew article by Tzaela Kotler, Globes (Israel), March 18, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "He's A Dreamer From Venus", Mike Thomas, Orlando Sentinel, Feb. 12, 1995.
  8. ^ Bill Stamets (February 15, 2011). "Art-house films: 'Marwencol,' 'Zeitgeist'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  9. ^ "Brockwood at Zeitgeist-Day in London – March 13th, 2011". Brockwood Park School. 2011-04-11.
  10. ^ "Zeitgeist Day 2012 - Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, BC". voguetheatre.com.
  11. ^ Zeitgeist Solutions: New World Re-Order, RT, Sept. 14, 2011
  12. ^ Zeitgeist Solutions: Money, Debt and RBE, RT, Dec. 2, 2011
  13. ^ Discussion of the Zeitgeist movement with Peter Joseph, TheMarkerTV, Jan. 19, 2012. Interview conducted in English, following a brief introduction in Hebrew. The brief Hebrew introduction states: "Hello, Peter Joseph is with us, he is the filmmaker and director who created the Zeitgeist film series and The Zeitgeist movement, which advances for a global socio-economic change. The Zeitgeist films were among the most popular films in the history of the Internet, and Peter is here to answer a few questions regarding the nature of the Zeitgeist movement."
  14. ^ http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/57732/brave-new-world Retrieval June-2-2012
  15. ^ http://www.zeitgeistaustralia.org/studivznet-shut-down-zeitgeist-groups/ Retrieval June-2-2012
  16. ^ a b Murphy, Robert P. Venus Needs Some Austrians, "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute," 30 Aug. 2010
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