This is an update from the Venus Project:
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Flemming,
Sorry about the delay.
Yes thanks, sign us on. I want to fill you in on some of our views on
some of the issues being discussed.
The cybercultural technology as proposed by The Venus Project may
appear on the surface to be an architectural engineering approach to social
problems. This is actually not the case. Our main concern is the presentation
of a value system in accord with the cybercultual developments of our present
day. I feel that this period in human and technological development is the
primordial slime in the process of human and technological yet to come. It is
not enough to design new cities and make sweeping generalizations about human
participation in a democratic participatory social system. What is really
necessary is the reexamination of most of the dominate values and their
origins. Even if a new civilization with the most advanced modern computerized
technology, were to come about it would not alter the values of the old
system. There would still be a great deal of interpersonal conflict,
egocentric behavior, and all of the other problems that plague our present day
society. Therefore it is essential that we utilize newer methods of evaluation
applied to human behavior.
In order for civilization to advance and raise humans to a higher
potential requires a new and dynamic orientation, unlike that used in the
present culture. Our present day language, outlook and behavior, evolved out
of an age of scarcity and insecurity. This is true both nationally and
individually. The areas that generate conflict are due to superstition,
folkways, social customs, patriotism, organized religion and a money oriented
culture. At present it is extremely difficult to attain an objective view of
our present world civilization being culture bound ourselves and prisoners of
early indoctrination.
One of the dangers of our present day society is the emphasis on
freedom and individuality, the notion of individual freedom has no operational
bases without laying out specifically what that freedom means. If all our
environmentally determined traditions are encouraged to flourish there would
be no limit to the chaos that would follow.
A new outlook calls for the development of a language with a high
degree of physical correlation with the environment and human needs. The
universal language of science and technology is easily understood and shared
by many of the worlds nations today. By a new orientation I mean having human
and environmental concern along with the methodology for making this a
reality. If these ends are to be achieved the monetary system must eventually
be surpassed by a world resource based economy. The necessary cybernated and
computerized technology must be eventually applied in order to manage
resources to ensure a higher standard of living for everyone.
The above cannot be achieved through the development of small
cooperative hand tooled economies. These small collective cooperative
ventures have been tried throughout history both religious and non religious.
Most of them have failed even the new utopians have not achieved their desired
goals. The reason for the failure was not due to human nature and greed. The
primary cause of their demise was due to the fact that most of the
participants, although sincere in intent, had little information on the
primary factors that shape human ecological systems.
The Venus Project is in the process of introducing a set of values
and procedures that may enable us to achieve social nucleation. We feel that
anything short of overall social design would be inappropriate and subject to
failure. The Venus Project differs from this because it does not call for the
development of a subculture to provide for the needs of the participants
instead it is a research organization to present alternative social designs
through publication, videos, films etc. Our findings and design proposals will
be submitted to the general public and all educational institutions. If enough
people find the proposals acceptable and choose to join with us in this new
advocacy we will form the nucleus of an organization to carry out our aims.
There are still those that believe that the only real human
improvement that can occur is through the self development of each individual.
This is essentially ass backwards. Evidence has shown it is environment that
shapes values and culture. In actuality individuality does not exist, we are
all the sum total of our biological and environmental influences. Human
behavior and social customs are just as lawful as any other natural process
and are shaped by the interaction of our surroundings and experiences. If a
person lives in France ten years and Germany ten years they will speak with a
French, German accent. If an oriental child is raised by the head hunters of
the Amazon his value and behavior will reflect that culture. If the
environment that has shaped the dominate behaviors is unaltered very little
change will occur. Instilling a new orientation for the direction and values
of people must be accompanied by an environment which enables these values to
be practiced with positive results.
Unfortunately at this time it would be difficult to present all of the
physical evidence that has led to these conclusions. One of the wonderful
things about books and publications in the various disciplines of science,
technology and other areas of human experience is that it makes it possible
for most of us not to reinvent the wheel or engage in the mistakes made by
those in the past. There is no doubt that science and technology have
limitations and shortcomings in a money oriented society with self-centered
values, but most of the methodology that evolved from these technologies could
enabled us to do wonderful things and ensure a better future for everyone.
What is needed to develop a new civilization is to harness this methodology
in a new direction.
Flemming, to respond to some recent reference that has been made that
The Venus Project operates from the top down we will address this to others as
well. Even if that were so, which it is not, a more appropriate way to handle
these differences is to point out the short comings and limitations of The
Venus Project’s proposals. For example, it is absolutely necessary for the
survival of the civilized world to develop clean renewable sources of energy.
It is also essential that we evolve a system of inquiry rather than a series
of statements and criticism. It has never been a question as to whether or not
the telegraph, the wireless, or any other technological innovation was the
contribution of an individual rather than the “bottom up” what ever that
means. If the great majority of people from the bottom up fight to bring about
a revolution of our social institutions without a blueprint for it’s design
and operation it is also doomed to failure. The perpetuation of old and
inappropriate values cannot fit the needs of an advanced society.
The notion that cooperative team work and the free exchange of ideas
would enhance society is erroneous. The major developments and progress of
human society unfortunately did not come from team work, although many have
acknowledged that their achievements occurred because they stood on the
shoulders of giants. Most of our major developments that permitted individuals
and society to grow have been ushered in by very few. For example, Galileo,
Darwin, Edison, Harvey, Steinmetz, Rachel Carson, Howard Scott, Pavlov,
Etzler, Korzybski, Einstein, etc.
It would take a great deal of time to provide all of the details of
The Venus Project operations. Those of you that would like specific
information on any aspect and how one can help to translate our proposals into
a reality can contact us. We invite inquiry and constructive participation.
Some FAQ with very brief answers are:
1) Do we have the facilities and technology to translate the proposal
of The Venus Project into a reality. The answer is yes we have more than the
necessary technology and personnel to accomplish these ends.
2) Can human behavior be changed on a large scale? The answer is yes
3) How are decisions arrived at since The Venus Project does not
utilize group decision making systems. We have to first decide upon an
achievable direction based upon statistical mechanics or available information
on resources and materials. The system must be based upon a design which is
efficient, economical, and practical or what is referred to as being based on
energy determinants. It would not just be one system that would be accepted
and expored many would be. Our goal is to create a higher standard of living
for everyone by conserving resources and energy and minimize maintenance. The
Venus Project proposals are designed to meet human and social needs. This
automatically calls for a balanced load economy to maintain a balance between
production and distribution of goods and services, to provide medical,
educational and most of all an increase in leisure time to enable people to
pursue whatever areas of interest they choose.
4) In the sweeping technological designs of The Venus Project
wouldn’t everyone be alike? Yes in many areas for example people would be
alike. They would be free of race prejudice. The male and female will be
encourage to equally participate in all areas. People will be similar in an
open minded attitude regarding innovation and inquiry. They will be alike in
their ability to surrender their personal egos in exchange for constructive
cooperation. They will be alike in environmental and human concern and most of
all they will utilize language and technology as tools to probe the future and
have the ability to surrender those tools when newer ones are developed.
5) As to being a participatory democracy from the bottom up, it
would not be. Every individual will have access to the presentation of their
viewpoint and ideas through mass communications systems. There would be no
technical elitism. Everyone would have access to the necessary technologies
and equipment to explore and develop ideas even though those ideas may differ
considerably from the operating directives of this new civilization.
Note: Although it may appear that The Venus Project may utilize
technology to the ultimate degree at present we personally look upon
technology as so many tons of irrelevant junk unless it enhances the lives and
the environment for everyone.
Jacque Fresco
Project Director
E-Mail: <venus@gate.net>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Thu Dec 07 2000 - 23:22:10 PST