The Venus Project
The Venus Project, Inc is an organization that promotes Jacque Fresco's visions of the future through a website and by distributing videos and literature[1][better source needed] with the goal to improve society by moving towards a global resource-based economy and the design of sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural resource management and advanced automation, focusing on the benefits it will bring to society.[2][better source needed][3][unreliable source?] The organization was started by Jacque Fresco[4], Roxanne Meadows and Sam Laurie in 1995,[5][6] while their website claims The Project started around 1975. Future by Design, a film about the life and work of Jacque Fresco, was produced in 2006. The name of the organization originates from Venus, Florida, where its 21-acre (8.5-hectare) research center is located, near Lake Okeechobee.[7] Within the center are ten buildings, designed by Fresco, which showcase the architecture of the project.[7]
Theory
According to Fresco, poverty, crime, corruption and war are the result of scarcity created by the present world's profit-based economic system.[citation needed] He theorizes that the profit motive also stifles the progress of socially beneficial technology. Fresco claims that the progression of technology, if it were carried on independently of its profitability, would make more resources available to more people by producing an abundance of products and materials. This new-found abundance of resources would reduce the human tendency toward individualism, corruption, and greed, and instead rely on people helping each other.[8][better source needed] Fresco believes it is now possible to achieve a society in which people would live "longer, healthier, and more meaningful lives."[9][unreliable source?] Fresco believes the monetary system and the processes associated with it, such as labour and competition, damages society and holds people back from their true potentials. He states his ideas would maximally benefit the greatest number of people. He claims some of his ideas stem from his formative years during the Great Depression.[10][unreliable source?] Fresco believes the current global economic situation, being similar to —though not as severe as— the Great Depression, will lead people away from free-market economics and capitalism and make them lose confidence in the monetary establishment.[citation needed]
Fundamental to the project is the elimination of the current money-based economy in favor of a resource-based economy.[citation needed]
Jacque Fresco
Jacque Fresco is an industrial designer and social engineer, author, lecturer, futurist, and inventor,[2][better source needed][11][12][unreliable source?] and has worked as both designer and inventor in a wide range of fields spanning from biomedical innovations to totally integrated social systems.[citation needed]
The Zeitgeist Movement
The Zeitgeist Movement[13][better source needed] works alongside The Venus Project as an activist network, allowing members to communicate and work on projects within the movement. The Venus Project is featured in the web film Zeitgeist: Addendum,[14] and in the Zeitgeist Movement Orientation Presentation,[15] as a possible solution to the global problems described in the film.[16]
Trademark issues
On 17 September 2009 The Venus Project filed a Trademark claim on the term "Resource Based Economics" also known as RBE with the United States Patent and Trademark Office[17]. On 6 January 2010 this was disputed[18][19] by The Promethean Workers Association and was filed with the P.T.O. On 11-Jan-2010 the P.W.A. dispute was recognised as an official and valid dispute claim, so the term Resource Based Economics was deemed an illegitimate patent for T.V.P. to hold and therefore denied [20]. The Venus Project were left with 6 months to carry out a further dispute of this matter to prove they had valid claim and argument to hold it, but this did not occur.
See also
References
- ^ "Browse". Thevenusproject.com. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ a b Living On Purpose: Interview with Fresco and Meadows (MP3). The Venus Project. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ^ new venus (PHP). parole.aporee.org. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ^ "Jacque Fresco On The Future". Forbes.com. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ articles of incorporation (PHP). sunbiz.org. Retrieved on 2010-12-02.
- ^ "The Venus Project, Inc. Company Profile - Located in Venus, FL - Jacque Fresco, Roxanne Meadows". Corporationwiki.com. 1995-02-14. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ a b "7 News Features - The Venus Project". Wsvn.com. 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ "Zeitgeist: Addendum". Video.google.com. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ Meta Magazine's interview with Jacque Fresco
- ^ Future by Design at IMDb
- ^ Durrani, Noni (2007-10-15). The Future: Jacque Fresco On The Future Forbes.com. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ^ Corrias, Angela (March 19, 2009). "The Zeitgeist Movement: practical advices to build a better future". Herald de Paris. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
- ^ http://www.TheZeitgeistMovement.com - Main site of The Zeitgeist Movement
- ^ Google Video Zeitgeist Addendum
- ^ Google Video Zeitgeist Movement Orientation Presentation
- ^ Feuer, Alan (2009-03-17). "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-25.
- ^ "PTO website, Resource Based Economy legal dispute". tmportal.uspto.gov. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ "PWA Dispute legal Letter". www.theresourcebasedeconomy.org. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ "Dispute legal memo". tmportal.uspto.gov. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
- ^ "Trademark denied". tmportal.uspto.gov. 11 January 2010. Retrieved 2009-12-07.
External links
- The Venus Project – Official website
- Future By Design – film about Jacque Fresco with virtual images of The Venus Project visions
- Zeitgeist Movement Lecture – Peter Joseph's July 25, 2009 lecture in London, UK
- Atlas City Project - Non-Profit Group building a transitional RBE called 'Atlas City' in the USA