The Zeitgeist Movement
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| The Zeitgeist Movement | |
Type of site | Social movement |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Earth |
| URL | http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com |
| Registration | membership |
The Zeitgeist Movement (TZM) is a grassroots movement whose stated focus is on increasing society's awareness of the suggested need for global social change for the better of all of the world.[1]. It describes itself as a "sustainability advocacy organization." It sees itself as the activist arm of The Venus Project founded by industrial designer and social engineer Jacque Fresco. The Zeitgeist Movement was inspired by the social response from Peter Joseph's films Zeitgeist: The Movie and Zeitgeist: Addendum. However, it was Zeitgeist Addendum which first introduced The Venus Project. The Movement's website states that a distinction is made between the work of The Movement and the issues raised in Peter Joseph's films in that The Movement is not necessarily in advocacy of any issues raised in the films and exists on its own.[2]
Concepts advocated by the Zeitgeist Movement
- The main concept advocated by the Zeitgeist Movement is that all the worlds resources, from needs such as food and shelter to desires such as vacations and cars should be the common heritage of all the worlds people.
- No Money/Barter or Trade: The Zeitgeist Movement believes that money creates established institutions that are forced to protect themselves which inhibits progress. Therefore, they believe that the fractional reserve system, usury/interest, and credit are all functions of a flawed system that creates debt, leading to the need for employment, for the purpose of paying off debts. A process known as 'cyclical consumption.(Zeitgeist Movement Orientation Guide, Page 7)
- Automation: The Zeitgeist Movement propagates that automation is more productive than human labor and frees mankind from repetitive and tedious tasks.
- Artificial intelligence: Under the Zeitgeist Movement's proposed social system, machines would be needed to make decisions objectively, unlike humans who are susceptible to personal projections, desires or bias. Machines would also be needed to store and retrieve information because humans have a limited capacity for memory.
- Technological unification of the globe: The Zeitgeist Movement believes that globally shared technology is required to monitor planetary resources in real time, and theoretically make the most efficient use of them in solving planetary problems.
- Scientific methodology: The Zeitgeist Movement propogates that planetary government is obligated to methodology not individuals. This could possibly cause governing decisions that are arrived at through scientific method, not belief.
- No property: One of the major stances of the Zeitgeist Movement is their perpsective on property. According to their beliefs, property is wasteful and unsustainable, and they believe it should be done away with in favor of a system of universal access, which will be made possible through abundance of goods and services, and possibly eliminating the need for ownership.
- Sustainable City Systems:The Zeitgeist Movement supports Systems theory and a systemic approach for a self-sustaining globe and culture which could be modeled on a smaller scale with a city-size system.
Phases of the movement
Phase 1: Awareness Phase
As of 20 April 2010[update] the Zeitgeist Movement was in phase 1, consisting of collecting people, getting the movement's information out, and finding identification with other groups of individuals across all races, religions, and ethnicities. Phase 1 also consists of, but is not limited to, forming; teams to create the infrastructure of the movement site, a communication team, and a development team. Another aspect of phase 1 is forming international chapters which are needed for creating the infrastructure for communication on a global level. The main objective of phase 1 is the need for more members, in order to make the existence of the movement relevant to the external world.
Phase 2: Project Phase
Phase 2 is the team action phase, which the movement is not in yet, where chapter projects are shared with the community. This collective understanding is needed for a synchronized approach for projects such as knowledgeable lecturers. This is also the phase for organized awareness projects which are anticipated to lead to the incubation of offshoot projects such as ending world hunger, disarmament (by choice, not force), and anti-militarism. This phase focuses on expansion of the teams which will lead to expansion of the group and the creation of a functional organization. The aim of phase 2 is the interconnection of these groups with interrelated and interdisciplinary focuses.
Phase 3: Action Phase
Phase 3 is where higher forms of activism will occur such as boycotts, fundraising, city construction, direct lobbying of corporate and political organizations. This is the phase that will focus on dynamic interaction with previous established institutions.
Zeitgeist Day
The Zeitgeist Movement celebrates its annual ZDay in March. The last two were held on March 15, 2009 and on March 13, 2010. On this day, the Zeitgeist Movement has local gatherings to learn and share information with all interested individuals. In 2009 there were more than 450 events held in 70 countries around the world.[3] In 2009, among other events, Peter Joseph and Jacque Fresco spoke to a sold out crowd of around 900 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College for over 2 hours.[4]
Regional and state chapters
The Zeitgeist Movement organizes its members into country chapters and regional sub-chapters.[5] Each regional chapter is hosted on its own domain, or in sub-domains from The Zeitgeist Movement's main site. The chapters are headed by individuals or groups of individuals who are interested in the movement and wish to donate their time to help out. According to The Zeitgeist Movement July 2010 Newsletter, The Zeitgeist Movement currently has 46 official country chapters over 200 regional sub-chapters internationally.[6] This includes all 50 official U.S. state chapters.[7] A virtual chapter was also created to represent the movement in the virtual world Second Life.[8]
Radio address
Peter Joseph maintains a weekly radio address, that is currently on hiatus, which is broadcast every Wednesday on BlogTalkRadio. These broadcasts discuss the progress of the Zeitgeist Movement, hold interviews with various relevant personalities, provide information for the Zeitgeist Movement's Chapters, and answer questions sent in by listeners.
There are two other known BlogTalkRadio shows dealing with the Zeitgeist Movement, Resource-Based Economies, and the Venus Project. One, known as V-Radio,[9] is hosted by former Libertarian Congressional candidate Neil Kiernan Stephenson, who in 2008 ran for Congress.
Media Project
According to a press release circulated to members on May 12, 2010, the Zeitgeist Media Project (ZMP) Beta was released. According to the press release the Media Project is an extension of the Communications Team.
Reception and influence
Musician Natacha Atlas cites the movement as her inspiration for her 2010 concept album Mounqaliba.[10]
Criticism
Zeitgeist III: Moving Forward
SYNOPSIS: Zeitgeist: Moving Forward, by director Peter Joseph, is a feature length documentary work which will present a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical "life ground" attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a "Resource-Based Economy".
THEATRICAL RELEASE - Zeitgeist: Moving Forward is planned to be released in 60+ countries and in 20+ languages starting January 15th 2011. This large scale release is not associated with any major distributor.
DVD/INTERNET RELEASE - This is a non-commercial project, which means it will be available for free acquisition via internet in both viewing form and full DVD download. ZeitgeistMovingForward.com will also have a physical $5.00 DVD available in mid to late January.
http://www.zeitgeistmovingforward.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYLLFpNn4lM
See also
References
- ^ "The Zeitgeist Movement Website". The Zeitgeist Movement. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
- ^ http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_kb&task=article&article=3&Itemid=100091
- ^ "What is Zday".
- ^ Alan Feuer (March 16, 2009). "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". New York Times. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- ^ http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=492&Itemid=1908
- ^ http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/July2010NL.pdf
- ^ "The Zeitgeist Movement Website". The Zeitgeist Movement. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
- ^ http://chapters.thezeitgeistmovement.com/virtual/
- ^ "V-Radio".
- ^ Hochman, Steve (3 August 2010). "Natacha Atlas Illuminates the Shifting Global Zeitgeist". Spinner News. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
Further reading
- Activist Orientation Guide (Peter Joseph | Roxanne Meadows | Jacque Fresco, February 2009)
- Jacque Fresco, The Best that Money can't Buy (Global Cybervisions February 2002)