SOURCE: https://www.thevenusproject.com/en/faq
1. What is The Venus Project?
Very briefly, The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change; a holistic global socio-economic system called a Resource Based Economy that works toward a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are not only paper proclamations, but also a way of life.
The Venus Project presents an alternative vision for a sustainable world civilization unlike any political, economic or social system that has gone before. It envisions a time in the near future when money, politics, self and national-interest have been phased out. Although this vision may seem idealistic, it is based upon years of study and experimental research. It spans the gamut from education, transportation, and clean sources of energy to total city systems.
Many people believe that what is needed is a higher sense of ethical standards and the enactment of international laws and treaties to assure a sustainable global society. Even if the most ethical people in the world were elected to political office, without sufficient resources, we would still have many of the same problems we have today. As long as a few nations control most of the world's resources and profit is the bottom line, the same cycle of events will prevail.
As global challenges and scientific information proliferate, nations and people face common threats that transcend national boundaries. Overpopulation, energy shortages, global warming, environmental pollution, water scarcity, economic catastrophe, the spread of uncontrollable disease, and the technological displacement of people by machines threaten each of us. Although many people are dedicated to alleviating those conditions, our social and environmental problems will remain insurmountable as long as a few powerful nations and financial interests maintain control of and consume most of the world's resources and the monetary system prevails.
If we really wish to put an end to our ongoing international and social problems, we must declare Earth and all of its resources as the common heritage of all of the world's people.
Earth is abundant and has plentiful resources. Our practice of rationing resources through monetary control is no longer relevant and is counter-productive to our survival. Today we have highly advanced technologies, but our social and economic system has not kept up with our technological capabilities. We could easily create a world of abundance for all; free of servitude and debt based on the carrying capacity of Earth resources. With the intelligent and humane application of science and technology, humanity can guide and shape the future together while protecting the environment. We don't have enough money to accomplish these ends, but we do have more than enough resources.
2. What is a Resource-Based Economy?
To transcend these limitations, The Venus Project proposes we work toward a worldwide, resource-based economy, a holistic social and economic system in which the planetary resources are held as the common heritage of all the earth's inhabitants. The current practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant, counter-productive, and falls far short of meeting humanity's needs.
Simply stated, within a Resource Based Economy we will utilize existing resources - rather than money - to provide an equitable method of distribution in the most humane and efficient manner. It is a system in which all goods and services are available to everyone without the use of money, credits, barter, or any other form of debt or servitude.
To better understand a resource-based economy, consider this. If all the money in the world disappeared overnight, as long as topsoil, factories, personnel and other resources were left intact, we could build anything we needed to fulfill most human needs. It is not money that people require, but rather free access to most of their needs without worrying about financial security or having to appeal to a government bureaucracy. In a resource-based economy of abundance, money will become irrelevant.
We have arrived at a time when new innovations in science and technology can easily provide abundance to all of the world's people. It is no longer necessary to perpetuate the conscious withdrawal of efficiency by planned obsolescence, perpetuated by our old and outworn profit system. If we are genuinely concerned about the environment and our fellow human beings, if we really want to end territorial disputes, war, crime, poverty and hunger, we must consciously reconsider the social processes that led us to a world where these factors are common. Like it or not, it is our social processes - political practices, belief systems, profit-based economy, our culture-driven behavioral norms - that lead to and support hunger, war, disease and environmental damage.
The aim of this new social design is to encourage an incentive system no longer directed toward the shallow and self-centered goals of wealth, property, and power. These new incentives would encourage people toward self-fulfillment and creativity, both materially and spiritually.
3. Why do you feel that an approach as revolutionary as The Venus Project is necessary?
Our current system is not capable of providing a high standard of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the environment because the major motive is profit. Businesses aren't entirely to blame; they are forced to operate this way in order to retain the competitive edge. Additionally, with the advent of automation, cybernation, and artificial intelligence, there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by automated systems. As a result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist. This is well-documented in Jeremy Rifkin's book The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-market Era (Putnam, 1995). The Venus Project offers a fresh approach that reverses the negative aspects experienced in our current applications of automation and artificial intelligence. This project eliminates the disastrous consequences that such approaches can have on our society, i.e. the displacement of millions of workers, skilled and unskilled alike.
4. Isn't it just decent people that we need in government?
It is not enough to criticize, point out the shortcomings of society, or advocate that people of high moral character be elected into office; this would do little to advance civilization. What is needed is the intelligent management of the world's resources, and a comprehensive and workable arrangement of environmental and social affairs that are in strict accord with existing resources and the carrying capacity of our planet. Even with the election of men and women of impeccable character into government, without available resources and advanced technology, war, poverty, and corruption will prevail no matter how many new laws are passed or treaties signed. It is not democracy that elevated our standard of living, it is our resources, water, arable land, and new technology. Rhetoric and paper proclamations are irrelevant in the management of human and social affairs.
5. Elaborate a bit, if you will, on your views regarding money.
If all the money in the world were destroyed, as long as we have sufficient arable land, the factories, the necessary resources, and technical personnel, we could build anything and even supply an abundance. During the Depression, there were vacuum cleaners in store windows and automobiles in car lots. The Earth was still the same place. There was just no money in people's wallets and very little purchasing power. At the beginning of World War II, the U.S. had about 600 first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short-supply by turning out over 90,000 planes per year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was No, we did not have enough money or gold, but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources and technical personnel that enabled the U.S. to achieve the production and efficiency required to win the war.
It appears that the real wealth of any nation is in its natural resources and its people who are working toward a more humane life-style through the elimination of scarcity. All social systems, regardless of the political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social mores, ultimately depend upon natural resources -- i.e. clean air and water and arable land area -- and the industrial equipment and technical personnel for a high standard of living. The money- based system was designed hundreds of years ago and was hardly appropriate for that time. We still utilize this same outmoded system, which is probably responsible for most of today's problems. I have no doubt that even the wealthiest person today would be far better off in the high-energy society that The Venus Project proposes.
6. What are some of the detrimental effects of The Monetary System?
There are many disadvantages to using this old method of exchange for goods and services. We will consider just a few here and let you add to this list on your own.
1. Money is just an interference between what one needs and what one is able to get. It is not money that people need, it is access to resources.
2. The use of money results in social stratification and elitism based primarily on economic disparity.
3. People are not equal without equal purchasing power.
4. Most people are slaves to jobs they do not like because they need the money.
5. There is tremendous corruption, greed, crime, embezzlement, and more caused by the need for money.
6. Most laws are enacted for the benefit of corporations, which have enough money to lobby, bribe, or persuade government officials to make laws that serve their interests.
7. Those who control purchasing power have greater influence.
8. Money is used to control the behavior of those with limited purchasing power.
9. Goods such as foods are sometimes destroyed to keep prices up; when things are scarce prices increase.
10. There is tremendous waste of material and strain on available resources from superficial design changes for newer later fads each year in order to create continuous markets for manufacturers.
11. There is tremendous environmental degradation due to the high cost of better methods of waste disposal.
12. The Earth is being plundered for profit.
13. The benefits of technology are only distributed to those with sufficient purchasing power.
14. Most important, when the corporation's bottom line is profit, decisions in all areas are made not for the benefit of people and the environment, but primarily for the acquisition of wealth, property, and power.
7. You mentioned economic collapse in your book. Do you believe this is the only way our society can escape a monetary economy?
No government in history has ever planned ahead and directed society into the next phase of social evolution. Established orders want to perpetuate themselves. Unfortunately, it may take an economic breakdown and people becoming disillusioned with their leaders before they will seek an alternative social direction Social change was always brought about by economic collapse, corruption in government, abuse of the population, etc. Governments are generally comprised of businessmen, lawyers, and other self-appointed individuals with personal and corporate interest rather than upgrading society as a whole.
8. Wouldn't there be Resistance of the Rich and Powerful?
What you had to say about the rich and powerful being resistant to such a society in many cases is true, however if they keep using automation in their industries, as they have to in order to compete, millions of people will be replaced by machines. This includes not only the assembly line workers but also doctors, engineers, architects and the like. As they lose their purchasing power, the very industries that depend on them can no longer function. This will bring an end to the old outworn monetary system. It is not a question of them giving up their industries; it is that their greed will eventually render them obsolete.
Only when science and technology are used with human concern in a world in which all of the earth's resources are held as the common heritage of all of the earth's people can we truly say that there is intelligent life on earth.
9. In the idea of future, do you think that the regional differences will still have the greatest influence as they do today? Or will these differences disappear?
Our problems today are enormous and global in their scope and impact. They cannot be solved by any one nation. The concept of common good is global in nature, but local in implementation.
We must start with what we have in common. All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources like clean air and water, arable land, and the technology and personnel to maintain a high standard of living. This can be accomplished through the intelligent and humane application of science and technology using a global systems approach. When money and self interests are outgrown, interaction between nations won't be based on self interest, but on mutual interest. This approach will help eliminate artificial boundaries that separate people.
10. What types of pressures would be alleviated in The Venus Project's designs?
The greatest lesson we might learn could be that human beings free of debt, insecurity, and fear become much more amiable. No one will be out to sell anyone anything or to deprive another of possessions or money. In a resource-based economy, the basis for unhealthy human aggression will be outgrown. People will no longer be burdened by the nagging concerns that consume so much of our attention, such as mortgages, health care costs, fire insurance, economic recession, the loss of jobs, depression and taxes. With the elimination of these burdens and the removal of the conditions that create feelings of envy, greed, and competition, our lives would be far more meaningful. For the first time we may begin to know what it means to be human.
As we enhance the lives of others, protect our environment, and work toward abundance, all our lives can become richer and more secure. If these values were put into practice, it would enable all of us to achieve a much higher standard of living within a relatively short period of time; a standard of living that would be continuously improved.
People would be free to pursue whatever constructive endeavor they choose without the economic pressures, restraints, and taxation that are inherent in the monetary system. By constructive endeavor, we mean anything that enhances the lives of the individual and others. When education and resources are available to all without a price tag, there will be no limit to human potential. With these major alterations, people would eventually live longer, more meaningful and healthier lives. The measure of success would be the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property, and power.
11. What is the single most important aspect of the project?
The single most important aspect of the project is the social direction of all nations working together on the restoration of the environment in a resource-based economy. The aim is to establish all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of all of the world's people. This we see as the only process to end the present cycle of events of war, poverty, hunger, political corruption, and environmental degradation. The technology that we present can make it possible for the global population to obtain a very high standard of living that is higher than ever imagined possible.
We could eventually surpass the artificial boundaries that divide people. If you fail to grasp the significance consider this: in the United States when the states joined together the militias disappeared at the borders and Americans were free of territorial disputes. This same process can be applied globally where all science and technology are utilized for the benefit of all of Earth's inhabitants.
12. What is the Plan?
It is far more efficient to build new cities as self-contained systems from the ground up than to restore and retrofit old ones. New cities can take advantage of the latest technologies and be clean, safe, and desirable places to live. In many instances, a circular arrangement will be utilized.
We need a current survey of all available planetary resources. The first experimental city or planning center will conduct a global survey of arable land, production facilities, transportation, technical personnel, population, and all other necessities required for a sustainable culture. This survey will enable us to determine the parameters for global planning for humanizing social and technological development, based on the carrying capacity of Earth and the needs of its people. This can best be accomplished with a constantly updated, computerized model of our planetary resources.
The function of the first city is to test the validity of design parameters and make necessary changes as needed. It will further this new social direction on many fronts with books, magazines, TV, radio, seminars, theater, and theme parks , as well as designing and experimenting with automated building processes for the next city. Research will also seek the development of clean alternative energy sources, and to overcome shortages through the development of new materials.
The new system will provide all the necessities required to support people during the transitional period. To sustain civilization, we must coordinate advanced technology and available resources within a humane global systems approach. For instance, the characteristics of the population in a given area will determine how many hospitals and schools are built and the equipment needed. Some medical systems will be mobile and others will be prefabricated on land and sea.
During the transition, scarcity regions will be provided with heat concentrators for cooking and sterilizing water. Food for those areas can be dehydrated and compressed to save shipping space. The packaging will be biodegradable and may double as non-contaminating fertilizers. Regions without arable land will use hydroponic farms, land-based fish farms, and sea farming. Energy will come from wind, solar, heat concentrators, photovoltaic, wave, biomass, geothermal and other sources.
An interdisciplinary team of qualified personnel, in line with the project's requirements, will work on automated systems to produce and supply goods and services on a massive scale. These can be the armies of the future, a large peaceful mobilization to restore and preserve the earth and its people. This has never been done before and can only be done when money is no obstacle. The question is not do we have the money, but do we have the resources and means to accomplish this new direction.
Phase One
The first phase of The Venus Project's long-term plans is already underway. Jacque Fresco, futurist, inventor, industrial designer, and founder of The Venus Project, and his associate Roxanne Meadows, have constructed a 22-acre research center in Venus, Florida to help present the proposals of The Venus Project. Four DVDs, pamphlets, and the book, The Best That Money Can't Buy: Beyond Politics, Poverty, and War, have been created to help raise awareness about this project and its many proposals. Hundreds of futuristic models, plus many computer animations and renderings, have been completed to help visualize this attainable future.
A major documentary on the life and work of Jacque Fresco is available completed by William Gazecki, an Academy Award nominated and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker.
www.FutureByDesignTheMovie.com
Also our latest documentary "Paradise or Oblivion" about the aims and directions of The Venus project can be viewed at www.ParadiseOrOblivion.com
Phase Two
Phase Two includes the production of a full-length feature film depicting how a world embracing the proposals advanced by The Venus Project would work. This film would provide a positive vision of a peaceful society in which all human beings form a global family on planet Earth. A civilization where all people engage in the pursuit of a better understanding of the world they share. This film has been designed to be an entertaining and educational experience for both adults and children. It also provides a methodology for bridging differences between nations.
Phase Three
To test its designs and proposals, The Venus Project is working toward putting its ideals into practice with the construction of an experimental research city. Blueprints for most of the initial technologies and buildings have begun. Fund-raising efforts are currently under way to help support the construction of this first experimental city. This new experimental research city would be devoted to working toward the aims and goals of The Venus Project which are:
1. Recognizing the world's resources as the common heritage of all Earth's people.
2. Transcending the artificial boundaries that separate people.
3. Evolving from money-based, nationalistic economies to a resource-based world economy.
4. Assisting in stabilizing the world's population through education and voluntary birth control in order to conform to the carrying capacity of Earth's resources.
5. Reclaiming and restoring the natural environment to the best of our ability.
6. Redesigning our cities, transportation systems, agricultural industries, and industrial plants so that they are energy efficient, clean, and able to conveniently serve the needs of all people.
7. Sharing and applying new technologies for the benefit of all nations.
8. Developing and using clean and renewable energy sources.
9. Manufacturing the highest quality products for the benefit of the world's people.
10. Requiring environmental impact studies prior to construction of any mega projects.
11. Encouraging the widest range of creativity and incentive toward constructive endeavor.
12. Outgrowing nationalism, bigotry, and prejudice through education.
13. Outgrowing any type of elitism, technical or otherwise.
14. Arriving at methodologies through careful research, rather than from mere opinions.
15. Enhancing communication in schools so that our language corresponds to the actual physical nature of the world.
16. Providing not only the necessities of life, but also offering challenges that stimulate the mind while emphasizing individuality over uniformity.
17. Finally, preparing people intellectually and emotionally for the changes and challenges that lie ahead.
Phase Four
After the experimental research city is built, a theme park is planned that will entertain and inform visitors about humane and environmentally friendly life-styles. It will feature intelligently designed cities; houses, high-efficiency, non-polluting transportation systems; advanced computer technology; and many other innovations that can add value to the lives of all people - in the shortest possible time.
We are quite aware that no one can actually predict the future. We can only extrapolate from present information and trends. Population growth, technological change, worldwide environmental conditions, and available resources are the primary data required for future projections.
There is no single philosophy or religious, political, scientific, or ideological point of view that someone would not take issue with. We feel certain, however, that the only aspects of The Venus Project that may appear threatening are those that we impose upon ourselves.
The Venus Project is neither Utopian nor Orwellian, nor does it reflect the dreams of impractical idealists. Instead, it presents attainable goals requiring only the intelligent application of what we already know.
We encourage you to become informed about our proposals in this project through our books, videos and seminars. If you identify with this direction, we encourage you to join with us and work toward its realization.
13. How do you see the collapse of the present system occurring?
Government and industry will continue to assign more and more responsibility for decision making to intelligent machines. Today's machines handle trillions of bits of information per second, far more than is manageable by any number of industrial or political decision-makers. They can also assemble and assign constantly updated information.
The other side of this trend is that so many people will be replaced; we will no longer have the purchasing power needed to sustain a monetary-based system that burdens the entire population and government with insurmountable debt.
As the old monetary system begins to displace more and more people by its reliance on automation, these people will cease to respect the authority of industry. The time-honored pattern of living in all industrial countries, the balancing of work and family interest, would become impossible to maintain for the majority of people displaced by automation.
As artificial intelligence develops, machines will be assigned the tasks of complex decision-making in industrial, military and governmental affairs. This would not imply a take-over by machines. Instead, it would be a gradual transfer of decision-making processes to machine intelligence as the next phase of social evolution.
Many people believe that government leaders bring about change with a deep concern for the well-being of their citizenry. Nothing could be further from the truth, nor did past shifts in society come about as the results of changes in the schools or the home. All established government systems tend to preserve and uphold their own interests and power-base.
The real forces responsible for change have more to do with unforeseen, external events or biosocial pressures that physically alter our environment and established social arrangements: for example, the infusion of machines and processes that replace people and remove their means of making a living, adverse natural conditions of drought, flood, storm, and earthquake, manmade disasters of economic oscillations, or some outside threat of hostile nations.
14. How do we get from here to there?
The Venus Project is in the process of introducing a set of values and procedures that may enable us to achieve social nucleation. Our project will provide the designs and blueprints for a prototype community to test the validity of our proposals; we will strive to achieve a relevant orientation by which people may adapt intellectually and emotionally to our new technological age. We feel that anything short of overall social design would be inappropriate and ineffective.
Since we begin in a monetary-based society, the means for raising funds to construct this experimental community can be accomplished in several different ways. One is through the production of a major motion picture depicting the advantages of this new social system for all of the world's people. Another possibility is the building of a theme park where visitors would actually experience some of the many benefits of The Venus Project's proposals. Books, videos, blueprints, models, a movie script, and the 21-acre research and development center have already been completed.
Any funds raised by these proposed projects, along with contributions, publications, videos, seminars, lectures, and grants, will be used to help initiate and construct the first experimental city.
Our proposals are submitted to the general public and to all educational institutions. We invite your participation. If enough people find the proposals acceptable and join with us in this new advocacy, we could form the nucleus of an organization to more forcefully implement the aims of The Venus Project.
During the great depression of 1929 when banks failed and people were laid off, things seemed hopeless. Those conditions brought about new organizations to address the many problems--everything from Mankind United, Socialism, Communism, Technocracy, and The World Federalist. They produced social awareness on a large scale. These conditions are sometimes referred to as bio-social pressures or the march of events.
At present, people are not well enough informed to devise a relevant and workable social system through rational methods. The Venus Project will not be installed by today's political leaders who are not appointed to change things but to keep things as they are. It is only through the failure of existing social institutions and political incompetence that people will seek other possible social alternatives. They are mainly motivated by severe conditions that threaten their safety and existence.
No nation today is about to give up its sovereignty for a social arrangement that has never been tried. Therefore it will take a social breakdown to stimulate the search for alternative social designs. This has been the case throughout human history.
The Breakdown
The Venus Project can not be put into practice on a global scale until the economic systems of the world fail to provide for the needs of people.
What will bring about the collapse of the world's monetary systems is the infusion of automation and the outsourcing of jobs. This includes not only assembly line workers but also doctors, engineers, architects, and the like. As workers and professionals lose their purchasing power, the industries that depend on them can no longer function. This will bring an end to the monetary system. It is not a question of owners giving up their industries so much as the fact that people will not have the purchasing power to sustain this system. Even the motion picture industry is generating computerized people who will replace many TV announcers and personalities. This breakdown is already well underway on a global scale.
While these drastic conditions will help produce the motivation for social change, no individual or organization has laid out what changes are necessary and how to bring them about. Our current system is not working. Unless people are aware of, or knowledgeable about what is needed, they will continue to repeat the same mistakes--war, recession, boom and bust, hunger, poverty, and much unnecessary human suffering.
The aims of The Venus Project cannot be achieved until people become aware of its proposals and aims. To introduce to the world this new social direction, the best vehicle is a major motion picture. It will present simply and understandably the advantages to all nations of participating in a resource-based economy. This film will be both entertaining and educational. It would present the limitless possibilities of an evolving society which surpasses politics, poverty, money, and war.
A major film could reach the largest number of people the world over in the shortest possible time. We feel it is necessary to produce this motion picture in advance of the social breakdown to help prepare people for this transition and present them with a direction to work toward. There is a lot of work to be done. We hope enough people will become aware of the proposals of The Venus Project before social collapse, so that this new social design may be implemented.
Therefore, our main objective is education through the media. If enough people learn about this direction, accept these proposals, and wish to organize to bring it about, we will then work toward the building of a first experimental city. The Venus Project has designs and blueprints for a prototype community.
To further clarify:
Experimental City
The Venus Project proposes the building of a new experimental city whose purpose is two-fold:
(1) To test the workability of The Venus Project's designs and proposals, and to provide the information necessary to enable people to adjust intellectually and emotionally to social transition.
(2) To establish a permanent planning center that will be used for future long and short-term planning of global projects to help implement a resource-based economy and overcome scarcity, hunger, poverty, and other social ills.
This would not be a private enterprise venture for a select few but would be an open city for the public to visit. The proposed circular configuration of these new cities is not just stylized architectural conceptualizations; they are the result of years of research into providing an environment that can best serve the needs of the inhabitants and yet conserve resources. Without extensive knowledge of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and its environment, it would be extremely difficult to develop workable solutions to our many problems. The Venus Project has taken this and many other factors into careful consideration.
The decisions of a transitional government in this environment would be based upon what is needed to reach the goals of a humane, environmentally sound, and technically sustainable society.
Like all other innovative social projects, it starts out with a few devoted people who dedicate their time to informing others about the humane benefits of this new direction. People are invited to help in whatever capacity they can during the initial phases of the new experimental city. An interdisciplinary team of systems engineers, computer programmers, architects, city planners, sociologists, educators, etc would also be needed.
The design of The Venus Project does not regard environmental conditions as fixed or static. We must allow for adaptation within the system as a continuous process. This will avoid perpetuating temporary arrangements beyond their period of usefulness.
This circular design could be the prototype for a series of new cities to be constructed in various places throughout the world. The rate of progression will depend upon the availability of funds raised and how many people identify with, participate in, and support this direction.
As these new communities develop and become more widely accepted, they may very well form the basis of a new society, preferably through the process of evolution rather than revolution.
The Venus Project does not advocate dissolving the existing free-enterprise system--we believe it will come to an end of its own accord as a part of social evolution. We encourage you to become better informed about the proposals of this project through our books and videos, and invite you to join with us in working toward the realization of a new civilization that could provide a better life for everyone.
In Conclusion
Many people want to know what to do immediately to help bring about global unification. If you identify with the proposals of The Venus Project, you can help bring it about by learning more about us through our books and DVD's. You can help promote this direction in any way you are able. Speaking to others about these ideas, fund raising, grant writing, helping with publicity, promoting lecture tours, or helping to produce promotional materials will all help. If you are in a position to initiate the motion picture this would be very important. There is a lot to do and we need the help of many people in bringing these ideas to the public.
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, they will help form the nucleus of an organization to carry out our aims.
The future is our responsibility; if we fail to accept this responsibility, others will do our thinking for us.
15. What are the first steps taken toward a global resource based economy?
After agreement is attained by nations to move toward unification and sharing of the earth's resources, a global survey of available resources, technical personnel, production plants, arable land etc. has to be done to provide us with sufficient information in order to ascertain the parameters of social design. During the initial phase the cybernated system being developed will serve as a data bank to tell us what is available. This will enable us to proceed with the design. The major initial task will be to provide food, water, shelter medical care and clean sources of energy.
During the transition, scarcity regions will be provided with heat concentrators for cooking and sterilizing water. Food for those areas can be dehydrated and compressed to save shipping space. We would extrude many food products which consist of high protein foods containing most of the necessary nutrients to sustain those in the underdeveloped regions. The packaging will be biodegradable and may double as non-contaminating fertilizers. Regions without arable land will use hydroponic farms, land-based fish farms, and sea farming.
Most of the world's universities will partake in the basic designs of cities, production facilities, transportation of goods and services. The basic design parameters are the aims and end goals of The Venus Project. Some of these may be the efficient, economic and safe utilization of resources for the benefit of people and the environment while considering the recycling of materials. The units of construction would be easily assembled and disassembled by prefabrication, automation and shape memory materials.
Clean sources of energy will be a priority in all of the infrastructure. Energy will come from wind, solar, heat concentrators, photovoltaic, wave, biomass, geothermal and other sources.
Although many ideas will be submitted, the methods of selecting will be based upon energy determinants or the required energy to produce a given product. There will be many materials that will not be readily available. The research departments throughout the world will be assigned the tasks of developing alternative systems and materials to overcome shortages. One must remember that the research and development does not depend on funding and resources will be assigned where most needed so development will be tremendously accelerated.
Along with these developments we need emergency contingency departments that can act immediately in the event of any unforeseen events.
The function and use of computers will be to provide information on what is available during the transition from a monetary to a resource based economy. As the needs mentioned above are being initiated, the automated systems will be in development to help eliminate shortages.
All media will be used to expose people to this new emergent direction.
The new system will provide all the necessities required to support people during the transitional period. People will be working in all areas to help eliminate scarcity. To sustain civilization, we must coordinate advanced technology and available resources within a humane global systems approach. For instance, the characteristics of the population in a given area will determine how many hospitals and schools are built and the equipment needed. Some medical systems will be mobile and others will be prefabricated on land and sea.
An interdisciplinary team of qualified personnel, in line with the project's requirements, will work on automated systems to produce and supply goods and services on a massive scale. These can be the armies of the future, a large peaceful mobilization to restore and preserve the earth and its people. This has never been done before and can only be done when money is no obstacle. The question is not do we have the money, but do we have the resources and means to realize this new direction.
16. What can be "the turning point" of the future? Do you have any idea about it?
I see the "the turning point" of the future as resulting from a social and economic breakdown of existing social designs as older values become less effective. The direction we take will be forced by social circumstances and the march of events. Unless we accept responsibility for a more appropriate social design, we are bound to repeat the same cycle of war, poverty, hunger, homelessness, crime, territorial disputes, etc. Only with the intelligent management of earth's resources can we overcome these problems. Our social designs must also reflect the carrying capacity of the earth and its resources. We must someday realize that the only solution is to mandate that all resources are the common heritage of all.
17. How would you describe the recent economic crisis? Can it be a lesson in today's society?
This could be a useful lesson if it resulted in a direction where this would not occur again. But most people aren't aware of the prime causes of social development and how that affects their values and behavior. They do not learn anything from it, despite going through the suffering. There have always been wars, and booms & busts, but most people don't seem to learn much from them.
Unfortunately, even when rational solutions are presented, people are not educated enough to assess the validity of alternative proposals. Most people are not trained in methods of critical thinking, but only in how to perform a task to earn a living.
18. By the way, what do you think about the "New World Civilization"?
I must emphasize that the approach to global governance I advocate has nothing whatever in common with the aims of an elite to form a world government with themselves and large corporations in control, with the vast majority of the population subservient to them. My vision of globalization empowers each person to be the best they can be, and to not live in subjugation to a corporate governing body.
19. You couldn't just plop the first city down and expect people to respect it.... you would need to slowly develop the cities as it becomes harmonized with the evolving social consciousness. What are some of the steps to accomplish this?
We cannot, as you mention "plop the first city down and expect people to respect" or accept it. First people have to be informed about this direction and it has to be presented in an acceptable manner for the general public. We feel we need to present a film that would help to introduce a sustainable value system and that this is needed prior to the building of the city or the planning center. This new sustainable value system is needed in order to get us from here to there. It will depict a set of values more appropriate to our needs to survive and thrive.
This film will be designed to provide the necessary information that will help develop a global sustainable culture by providing the means of harnessing clean sources of energy and a relevant educational system free of nationalism and propaganda. It will attempt to unify all nations by providing them with methods of overcoming their limitations. For example nations that do not have arable land for the growth of food stuff will be provided with the methods of hydroponic agriculture. It will also demonstrate to people the design parameters for sustainable cities and adequate international transportation system for goods and services. These cities will contain housing, industry, wind farms, photo voltaics, heat concentrator, health care, education, and all of the other necessities essential to the improvement of all members of society. Many cities will be self sufficient.
The film will identify the problems and the best methods with today's technologies to overcome many of the problems that plague the world today. It will show how to provide a sustainable diet for the worlds hungry. It will deal with methods of providing health care to all the worlds' people through efficient mobile transportation of medical equipment and staff by utilizing air, land and sea similar to emergency systems.
It will also provide methods and processes for desalinization without the use of fossil fuels by heat concentrators, mobile photovoltaic systems, wind generators and more. Where feasible we will harness all moving water streams such as the Gulf Stream, Icelandic current and other ocean currents that can be directed toward the development of energy.
The film will also depict how mass housing, cities, industrial plants, transportation and bridges can be developed in the shortest possible time by using prefabricated structural elements. It will show how the Polar Regions can be used to store seeds and food stuff for any international emergency. It will demonstrate how to develop canals and water ways to prevent flooding and other national disasters. It will portray processes that will help eliminate malaria and other diseases prevalent in underdeveloped countries.
There will be a great deal of computer animation used to depict these things in an comprehensive and exciting manner. The film would debunk the belief of a technical elite or any other advantage group controlling the system. It would show just what is achieved by applying the methods of science and technology to the way we live. It will demonstrate how decisions are arrived at, with the end goal of enhancing everyone's lives while maintaining a clean environment with no vested interest groups, thus surpassing the need for military systems.
The film differs from all others in that it will supply solutions and methodology for accomplishing a unified, sustainable global culture. This will have to be a sophisticated and well done presentation that will be both entertaining and informative.
The building of a new city alone will not accomplish the changes needed without preparing people with an acceptable direction to move towards and the values needed to accomplish this. The film would help inform and provide a possible, positive alternative to war and social upheaval. It would emphasize that which nations have in common; we all need clean air, water, arable land. It would set forth a relevant point of view for sustainability and an education system to maintain this new direction. This is not designed to impose a value system upon any nation, but to invite all nations to participate in the restoration of the environment, as well as a method for a positive future.
It will be a vehicle to gather people who are environmentally and socially concerned and provide them with more information about this direction. It would lay out an attainable blueprint. We could then form an organization to gain funds to do a first city which will be a planning center to further these aims.
20. What is, and what do you think about it, the relationship between habitat and place of living? Which variables do you consider in conceiving architecture, or even a city?
The city of the future must be designed as a totally integrated environment with clean renewable sources of energy, schools, shopping centers, health care, education, transportation, waste recycling, agriculture and entertainment. These city systems can not be built by architects alone but also require an interdisciplinary team of professionals such as sociologists, computer analysts, material scientists, environmental scientists, systems engineers, behavioral scientists, educators, etc..
21. I noticed a certain nearness between your thinking and the French architect Le Doux about the concept of ideal city: do you believe that the eighteenth century idea of ideal city could apply also to a future city?
There are no ideal cities any more than there is an ideal television set. The future requires flexibility and a capacity for change and an adaptation to newer concepts and technologies without any utopian notion of final development. I believe future generations will evolve their own social arrangements. I do not believe in any final frontiers, and the future will continue to undergo changes based upon successive phases of social development. Being civilized is an ongoing process and not attainable. The same is true for intelligence. An intelligent electrical engineer of 75 years ago could not get a job today. He would be educated in antiquated terms that evolved from earlier times.
22. What would you consider to be the most difficult technological hurdle to overcome before building the Circular City?
Social and cultural lag. All people are always immersed in a culture which is responsible for the levels of education. Today unfortunately most education is designed as propaganda rather than information related to the physical laws that govern all living and non-living systems.
23. Many of your designs seem to reflect retro-mod trends. What was your thinking behind the shapes and the black/white façades of the structures?
Most of the designs of the city systems, industries, transportation and associated industrial requirement such as automation and cybernetics are based upon the physical carrying capacity of Earth and its population. The design parameters are extracted from the physical equipment that exists along with today's technology and personnel.
24. What would be done with the old cities?
Most of the old cities would be leveled and mined for their resources. They are too inefficient to maintain. Some of the cities would be set aside as museum cities.
25. What main concepts do you keep in mind whenever you design structures or transportation?
Keeping it simple and efficient, the availability of resources and the methods for carrying out structural design.
26. Can you briefly describe the process you used in designing the Circular City? What factors were most important?
The factors that were most important were to design a self-sufficient system where schools, transportation, housing, agriculture, health care, research facilities for innovation, and a productive healthy lifestyle for all were incorporated into the total design.
27. What kind of change do you expect in architecture?
Ending pollution and waste while keeping a high standard of living will require profound changes in the way we plan cities and conduct human affairs.
While some advocate modifying existing cities and spend lots of time and resources attempting to update them, I find such attempts inadequate. Modification carries a large price in dollars and sustaining resources. Modifying and building onto what we have means supporting older infrastructure and energy requirements, a high cost for operation and maintenance thereof, overall inefficiency, and detrimental effects on occupants. It is less expensive to build new cities from the ground up than to restore and maintain old ones, just as it is more efficient to use state-of-the art production methods than to upgrade obsolete factories.
The innovative multi-dimensional circular cities I propose use the most sophisticated resources and construction techniques. The geometrically elegant circular arrangement, surrounded by parks and gardens, is designed to operate with a minimum expenditure of energy while obtaining the highest possible standard of living. The city would use totally clean technology in harmony with the local ecology.
When we see a city as a biome that grows and adapts, and requires energy, food, water, disposal systems, and arteries for transportation of goods and people, our ideas about space and permanence change dramatically. Our present haphazard growth patterns reflect available space and access rather than cohesive planning. Joining city elements together in a predetermined way conserves energy and provides easy access to all portions of the city. The prefabricated elements comprising the city would be designed to permit modification as needed. As newer materials come on line, the city design can be continuously upgraded, while also keeping in mind new technological and structural progress, and evolving human patterns. All systems would be of an emergent nature and constructed to allow maximum latitude in accommodating change. This would permit the city to function as an evolving integrated organism rather than as a static structure.
The design and development of these new cities emphasize restoration and protection of the environment: in my view, technology without human concern is meaningless.
28. How would one choose a home?
An example of the wide range of choice available in a resource-based economy is the way one selects a house. For instance, a man and woman may visit an architectural design center and sit in front of a clear hemisphere approximately six feet in diameter. The woman describes the type of house she would prefer and her areas of interest. The house appears as a 3-dimensional image in the center of the hemisphere. It rotates slowly to present a view of the interior and exterior. Then the man describes his major interests and preferences and suggests a larger balcony. The 3-dimensional image is adjusted. When they have finished requesting changes, the computer presents various alternatives to consider. They will also enter a sensorium to experience a walk-through of their preferred design and continue to make changes.
When they arrive at a final design, construction procedures are set in motion. The computer selects materials for efficiency and durability. None of the architecture is permanent and can be modified and updated at the request of the occupants.
This is real individual choice. In a monetary system, most live near their work with a house, car, and lifestyle they can afford (or all too often cannot afford), rather than one they prefer. Today we are only as free as our purchasing power permits. Lacking a true sense of self worth, many buy houses as status symbols just to impress others.
A resource-based economy changes the nature of our dwellings from that of status symbol, or just basic shelter, to a reflection of individuality and personal interests.
29. Is everything going to be easier than today regarding the materials we use at home, for example, white goods, furniture, etc.? Then, how is it going to be changed?
In the future, people may be shielded from weather by electronic means. Newer technologies may make walls transparent so that occupants can view the surrounding landscape without those on the outside being able to see in. Daylight could be softened and subdued according to the preferences of the occupants. Dwellings could provide a barrier to sound, insects, and dust, while also maintaining an optimal internal temperature. The building's materials may generate energy and control the surrounding climate.
The home will be engineered to do its own maintenance. For example, a floor surface could be ceramic without the grout. It will be micro-etched so that moisture or fungus cannot adhere. There would be many sensors throughout the home for optimal cleanliness, interaction with the occupants to meet their needs, and for energy conservation. In some cases, the interior walls and ceiling will be luminescent rather than using any single source of light. Color would change on demand. Speaker systems and other electronic devices could be an inherent part of the structure. The telephone may be invisible and a component part of the interior structure. It may focus sound to the location of your ear. The furnishings may consist of totally different configurations that automatically adjust to our bodies as we move.
30. In your project new social mentality is introduced. What novelties in architectural forms and constructions does the Venus project offer?
While some advocate the modification of existing cities and spend much time and resources attempting to update them, we find such attempts inadequate. Modification carries a large price in dollars and sustainable resources. Modifying and building on what we have means we must continue to support a combination of older systems' infrastructure and energy needs, their high cost of operation and maintenance, and their overall inefficiency, not to mention their detrimental effect on the occupants. It is actually less expensive to build newer cities from the ground up than to restore and maintain the old ones, just as it is far more efficient and less costly to design a flexible, state of the art production method than to attempt to upgrade an obsolete factory.
To live in a world without pollution and waste, yet keep parks, playgrounds, art and music centers, schools, and health care available to everyone without a price tag, profound changes are required in the way we plan our cities and conduct human affairs. To support this new aim and direction, our city designs, industrial plants, waterways, energy systems, production and distribution centers, and transportation systems must be re-designed and operated as a coherent, integrated, global energy system enabling them to be safe, clean, and energy efficient. In this way we can use our technology to overcome resource shortages, provide universal abundance and protect the environment.
In this society, construction techniques would be vastly different from those employed today. It would combine the most sophisticated utilization of available resources and construction techniques. Self-erecting structures would prove most expedient and efficient in the construction of industrial plants, bridges, buildings and eventually the entire global infrastructure.
This would not create cookie-cutter cities. The notion that intelligent overall planning implies mass uniformity is absurd. Cities would be uniform only to the degree that they would require far less materials, save time and energy and yet be flexible enough to allow for innovative changes, while maintaining the highest quality possible to support the local ecology - both human and environmental. Utilizing technology in this way would make it possible for a global society to achieve social advancement and worldwide reconstruction in the shortest time possible.
The circular arrangement employs a systems approach, efficiently applying resources and energy conservation, ease of fabrication and relative freedom from maintenance. The process of assembling entire cities through the standardization of basic, structural systems prefabricated in automated plants and often assembled on site, permits a wide range of flexibility in design and takes advantage of interchangeable units to permit changes for new and innovative installations. All systems would be of an emergent nature and constructed to allow the maximum latitude in accommodating change. This could permit the city to function as an evolving, integrated organism rather than a static structure. It is far less expensive to build entire efficient sustainable cities even in today's monetary system because we only design one eighth of the circular city and reproduce it.
The buildings would be so designed for easy assembly or disassembly. In this way cities could take on new and different appearances depending on their function. Each would be unique. This approach does not reduce the lives of people to a subsistence level; rather, it makes available all the amenities that modern science and technology can provide. Even the wealthiest people of today could not achieve a standard of living equal to that of a resource-based economy.
31. What kind of change do you expect in health equipment?
Health equipment will be in each home and it will automatically monitor the physical conditions of the occupants. It will make various adjustments to maintain optimal health.
32. What kind of change do you expect in communication?
Communication will be more signal and less noise. People will be educated in a much more precise and productive language. The language used by the average person is inadequate for resolving conflicts, but the language of science is free from ambiguities and the conflicts found in everyday emotionally-driven language. It is deliberately designed - as opposed to having evolved haphazardly through centuries of cultural change - to state problems in terms that are verifiable and readily understood by those who use it. Much of today's confusion is the result of our inability to state problems precisely. When one can state problems precisely, we are more than half way to the solutions.
Most technical strides would have been unattainable without this improved communication language. Without a common descriptive language, we wouldn't have been able to prevent disease, increase crop yields, talk over thousands of miles, or build bridges, dams, transportation systems, and the other technological marvels of this computerized age.
Unfortunately, the same is not true of conversational language. Attempts to discuss or evaluate newer concepts in social design are greatly limited by existing systems and beliefs.
33. What kind of change do you expect in transport?
Transportation will be rapid, clean, silent, and safe. In the new cybernated cities, mag-lev transveyors will move horizontally, vertically, and circumferentially within and without. Over long distances, people can travel in trains inside tunnels. The trains could electrically repel air away from their surface, thereby diminishing skin resistance and permitting speeds up to three thousand miles an hour. This could replace most aircraft.
34. Is it possible to see flight cars in the near future?
Individual transport systems would be inefficient compared to integrated transveyors. I see totally integrated global transportation systems for freight and passengers. This integrated transportation network would consist of maglev transveyors, submarines freighters, boats, VTOL type aircraft, and vector-jet systems. I regard these methods as the most energy-efficient transportation systems available with today's technology.
35. What kind of change do you expect in urban development?
In these new total city system designs, all aspects of the city are well integrated. For example, in the agricultural belt electronic probes embedded in the soil automatically inventory the water table, soil conditions, nutrients, etc., and act appropriately without requiring human intervention as conditions change. This industrial electronic feedback could be applied to the entire system.
The new city would be an environment featuring clean air and water, health care, good nutrition, entertainment, housing, access to information, and education for all. It would have art and music centers, fully-equipped machine shops, science labs, hobby and sports areas, and manufacturing districts. These new cities would provide recreation within a short distance of the residential district. This technology is inevitable. Waste recycling, renewable and clean power generating systems, and other services would be managed by integrated cybernated methods. Life styles and personal preferences are totally decided on by the individual.
Some of the cities would be circular while others may be linear, underground, or constructed as floating cities in the sea. Eventually, many cities may be designed as total enclosure systems much like cruise ships outfitted for a six-month cruise.
36. From a technological point of view - is the Venus project real?
Technically The Venus Project is feasible today.
1. What is The Venus Project?
Very briefly, The Venus Project is an organization that proposes a feasible plan of action for social change; a holistic global socio-economic system called a Resource Based Economy that works toward a peaceful and sustainable global civilization. It outlines an alternative to strive toward where human rights are not only paper proclamations, but also a way of life.
The Venus Project presents an alternative vision for a sustainable world civilization unlike any political, economic or social system that has gone before. It envisions a time in the near future when money, politics, self and national-interest have been phased out. Although this vision may seem idealistic, it is based upon years of study and experimental research. It spans the gamut from education, transportation, and clean sources of energy to total city systems.
Many people believe that what is needed is a higher sense of ethical standards and the enactment of international laws and treaties to assure a sustainable global society. Even if the most ethical people in the world were elected to political office, without sufficient resources, we would still have many of the same problems we have today. As long as a few nations control most of the world's resources and profit is the bottom line, the same cycle of events will prevail.
As global challenges and scientific information proliferate, nations and people face common threats that transcend national boundaries. Overpopulation, energy shortages, global warming, environmental pollution, water scarcity, economic catastrophe, the spread of uncontrollable disease, and the technological displacement of people by machines threaten each of us. Although many people are dedicated to alleviating those conditions, our social and environmental problems will remain insurmountable as long as a few powerful nations and financial interests maintain control of and consume most of the world's resources and the monetary system prevails.
If we really wish to put an end to our ongoing international and social problems, we must declare Earth and all of its resources as the common heritage of all of the world's people.
Earth is abundant and has plentiful resources. Our practice of rationing resources through monetary control is no longer relevant and is counter-productive to our survival. Today we have highly advanced technologies, but our social and economic system has not kept up with our technological capabilities. We could easily create a world of abundance for all; free of servitude and debt based on the carrying capacity of Earth resources. With the intelligent and humane application of science and technology, humanity can guide and shape the future together while protecting the environment. We don't have enough money to accomplish these ends, but we do have more than enough resources.
2. What is a Resource-Based Economy?
To transcend these limitations, The Venus Project proposes we work toward a worldwide, resource-based economy, a holistic social and economic system in which the planetary resources are held as the common heritage of all the earth's inhabitants. The current practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant, counter-productive, and falls far short of meeting humanity's needs.
Simply stated, within a Resource Based Economy we will utilize existing resources - rather than money - to provide an equitable method of distribution in the most humane and efficient manner. It is a system in which all goods and services are available to everyone without the use of money, credits, barter, or any other form of debt or servitude.
To better understand a resource-based economy, consider this. If all the money in the world disappeared overnight, as long as topsoil, factories, personnel and other resources were left intact, we could build anything we needed to fulfill most human needs. It is not money that people require, but rather free access to most of their needs without worrying about financial security or having to appeal to a government bureaucracy. In a resource-based economy of abundance, money will become irrelevant.
We have arrived at a time when new innovations in science and technology can easily provide abundance to all of the world's people. It is no longer necessary to perpetuate the conscious withdrawal of efficiency by planned obsolescence, perpetuated by our old and outworn profit system. If we are genuinely concerned about the environment and our fellow human beings, if we really want to end territorial disputes, war, crime, poverty and hunger, we must consciously reconsider the social processes that led us to a world where these factors are common. Like it or not, it is our social processes - political practices, belief systems, profit-based economy, our culture-driven behavioral norms - that lead to and support hunger, war, disease and environmental damage.
The aim of this new social design is to encourage an incentive system no longer directed toward the shallow and self-centered goals of wealth, property, and power. These new incentives would encourage people toward self-fulfillment and creativity, both materially and spiritually.
3. Why do you feel that an approach as revolutionary as The Venus Project is necessary?
Our current system is not capable of providing a high standard of living for everyone, nor can it ensure the protection of the environment because the major motive is profit. Businesses aren't entirely to blame; they are forced to operate this way in order to retain the competitive edge. Additionally, with the advent of automation, cybernation, and artificial intelligence, there will be an ever-increasing replacement of people by automated systems. As a result, fewer people will be able to purchase goods and services even though our capability to produce an abundance will continue to exist. This is well-documented in Jeremy Rifkin's book The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-market Era (Putnam, 1995). The Venus Project offers a fresh approach that reverses the negative aspects experienced in our current applications of automation and artificial intelligence. This project eliminates the disastrous consequences that such approaches can have on our society, i.e. the displacement of millions of workers, skilled and unskilled alike.
4. Isn't it just decent people that we need in government?
It is not enough to criticize, point out the shortcomings of society, or advocate that people of high moral character be elected into office; this would do little to advance civilization. What is needed is the intelligent management of the world's resources, and a comprehensive and workable arrangement of environmental and social affairs that are in strict accord with existing resources and the carrying capacity of our planet. Even with the election of men and women of impeccable character into government, without available resources and advanced technology, war, poverty, and corruption will prevail no matter how many new laws are passed or treaties signed. It is not democracy that elevated our standard of living, it is our resources, water, arable land, and new technology. Rhetoric and paper proclamations are irrelevant in the management of human and social affairs.
5. Elaborate a bit, if you will, on your views regarding money.
If all the money in the world were destroyed, as long as we have sufficient arable land, the factories, the necessary resources, and technical personnel, we could build anything and even supply an abundance. During the Depression, there were vacuum cleaners in store windows and automobiles in car lots. The Earth was still the same place. There was just no money in people's wallets and very little purchasing power. At the beginning of World War II, the U.S. had about 600 first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short-supply by turning out over 90,000 planes per year. The question at the start of World War II was: Do we have enough funds to produce the required implements of war? The answer was No, we did not have enough money or gold, but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources and technical personnel that enabled the U.S. to achieve the production and efficiency required to win the war.
It appears that the real wealth of any nation is in its natural resources and its people who are working toward a more humane life-style through the elimination of scarcity. All social systems, regardless of the political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social mores, ultimately depend upon natural resources -- i.e. clean air and water and arable land area -- and the industrial equipment and technical personnel for a high standard of living. The money- based system was designed hundreds of years ago and was hardly appropriate for that time. We still utilize this same outmoded system, which is probably responsible for most of today's problems. I have no doubt that even the wealthiest person today would be far better off in the high-energy society that The Venus Project proposes.
6. What are some of the detrimental effects of The Monetary System?
There are many disadvantages to using this old method of exchange for goods and services. We will consider just a few here and let you add to this list on your own.
1. Money is just an interference between what one needs and what one is able to get. It is not money that people need, it is access to resources.
2. The use of money results in social stratification and elitism based primarily on economic disparity.
3. People are not equal without equal purchasing power.
4. Most people are slaves to jobs they do not like because they need the money.
5. There is tremendous corruption, greed, crime, embezzlement, and more caused by the need for money.
6. Most laws are enacted for the benefit of corporations, which have enough money to lobby, bribe, or persuade government officials to make laws that serve their interests.
7. Those who control purchasing power have greater influence.
8. Money is used to control the behavior of those with limited purchasing power.
9. Goods such as foods are sometimes destroyed to keep prices up; when things are scarce prices increase.
10. There is tremendous waste of material and strain on available resources from superficial design changes for newer later fads each year in order to create continuous markets for manufacturers.
11. There is tremendous environmental degradation due to the high cost of better methods of waste disposal.
12. The Earth is being plundered for profit.
13. The benefits of technology are only distributed to those with sufficient purchasing power.
14. Most important, when the corporation's bottom line is profit, decisions in all areas are made not for the benefit of people and the environment, but primarily for the acquisition of wealth, property, and power.
7. You mentioned economic collapse in your book. Do you believe this is the only way our society can escape a monetary economy?
No government in history has ever planned ahead and directed society into the next phase of social evolution. Established orders want to perpetuate themselves. Unfortunately, it may take an economic breakdown and people becoming disillusioned with their leaders before they will seek an alternative social direction Social change was always brought about by economic collapse, corruption in government, abuse of the population, etc. Governments are generally comprised of businessmen, lawyers, and other self-appointed individuals with personal and corporate interest rather than upgrading society as a whole.
8. Wouldn't there be Resistance of the Rich and Powerful?
What you had to say about the rich and powerful being resistant to such a society in many cases is true, however if they keep using automation in their industries, as they have to in order to compete, millions of people will be replaced by machines. This includes not only the assembly line workers but also doctors, engineers, architects and the like. As they lose their purchasing power, the very industries that depend on them can no longer function. This will bring an end to the old outworn monetary system. It is not a question of them giving up their industries; it is that their greed will eventually render them obsolete.
Only when science and technology are used with human concern in a world in which all of the earth's resources are held as the common heritage of all of the earth's people can we truly say that there is intelligent life on earth.
9. In the idea of future, do you think that the regional differences will still have the greatest influence as they do today? Or will these differences disappear?
Our problems today are enormous and global in their scope and impact. They cannot be solved by any one nation. The concept of common good is global in nature, but local in implementation.
We must start with what we have in common. All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources like clean air and water, arable land, and the technology and personnel to maintain a high standard of living. This can be accomplished through the intelligent and humane application of science and technology using a global systems approach. When money and self interests are outgrown, interaction between nations won't be based on self interest, but on mutual interest. This approach will help eliminate artificial boundaries that separate people.
10. What types of pressures would be alleviated in The Venus Project's designs?
The greatest lesson we might learn could be that human beings free of debt, insecurity, and fear become much more amiable. No one will be out to sell anyone anything or to deprive another of possessions or money. In a resource-based economy, the basis for unhealthy human aggression will be outgrown. People will no longer be burdened by the nagging concerns that consume so much of our attention, such as mortgages, health care costs, fire insurance, economic recession, the loss of jobs, depression and taxes. With the elimination of these burdens and the removal of the conditions that create feelings of envy, greed, and competition, our lives would be far more meaningful. For the first time we may begin to know what it means to be human.
As we enhance the lives of others, protect our environment, and work toward abundance, all our lives can become richer and more secure. If these values were put into practice, it would enable all of us to achieve a much higher standard of living within a relatively short period of time; a standard of living that would be continuously improved.
People would be free to pursue whatever constructive endeavor they choose without the economic pressures, restraints, and taxation that are inherent in the monetary system. By constructive endeavor, we mean anything that enhances the lives of the individual and others. When education and resources are available to all without a price tag, there will be no limit to human potential. With these major alterations, people would eventually live longer, more meaningful and healthier lives. The measure of success would be the fulfillment of one's individual pursuits rather than the acquisition of wealth, property, and power.
11. What is the single most important aspect of the project?
The single most important aspect of the project is the social direction of all nations working together on the restoration of the environment in a resource-based economy. The aim is to establish all of the Earth's resources as the common heritage of all of the world's people. This we see as the only process to end the present cycle of events of war, poverty, hunger, political corruption, and environmental degradation. The technology that we present can make it possible for the global population to obtain a very high standard of living that is higher than ever imagined possible.
We could eventually surpass the artificial boundaries that divide people. If you fail to grasp the significance consider this: in the United States when the states joined together the militias disappeared at the borders and Americans were free of territorial disputes. This same process can be applied globally where all science and technology are utilized for the benefit of all of Earth's inhabitants.
12. What is the Plan?
It is far more efficient to build new cities as self-contained systems from the ground up than to restore and retrofit old ones. New cities can take advantage of the latest technologies and be clean, safe, and desirable places to live. In many instances, a circular arrangement will be utilized.
We need a current survey of all available planetary resources. The first experimental city or planning center will conduct a global survey of arable land, production facilities, transportation, technical personnel, population, and all other necessities required for a sustainable culture. This survey will enable us to determine the parameters for global planning for humanizing social and technological development, based on the carrying capacity of Earth and the needs of its people. This can best be accomplished with a constantly updated, computerized model of our planetary resources.
The function of the first city is to test the validity of design parameters and make necessary changes as needed. It will further this new social direction on many fronts with books, magazines, TV, radio, seminars, theater, and theme parks , as well as designing and experimenting with automated building processes for the next city. Research will also seek the development of clean alternative energy sources, and to overcome shortages through the development of new materials.
The new system will provide all the necessities required to support people during the transitional period. To sustain civilization, we must coordinate advanced technology and available resources within a humane global systems approach. For instance, the characteristics of the population in a given area will determine how many hospitals and schools are built and the equipment needed. Some medical systems will be mobile and others will be prefabricated on land and sea.
During the transition, scarcity regions will be provided with heat concentrators for cooking and sterilizing water. Food for those areas can be dehydrated and compressed to save shipping space. The packaging will be biodegradable and may double as non-contaminating fertilizers. Regions without arable land will use hydroponic farms, land-based fish farms, and sea farming. Energy will come from wind, solar, heat concentrators, photovoltaic, wave, biomass, geothermal and other sources.
An interdisciplinary team of qualified personnel, in line with the project's requirements, will work on automated systems to produce and supply goods and services on a massive scale. These can be the armies of the future, a large peaceful mobilization to restore and preserve the earth and its people. This has never been done before and can only be done when money is no obstacle. The question is not do we have the money, but do we have the resources and means to accomplish this new direction.
Phase One
The first phase of The Venus Project's long-term plans is already underway. Jacque Fresco, futurist, inventor, industrial designer, and founder of The Venus Project, and his associate Roxanne Meadows, have constructed a 22-acre research center in Venus, Florida to help present the proposals of The Venus Project. Four DVDs, pamphlets, and the book, The Best That Money Can't Buy: Beyond Politics, Poverty, and War, have been created to help raise awareness about this project and its many proposals. Hundreds of futuristic models, plus many computer animations and renderings, have been completed to help visualize this attainable future.
A major documentary on the life and work of Jacque Fresco is available completed by William Gazecki, an Academy Award nominated and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker.
www.FutureByDesignTheMovie.com
Also our latest documentary "Paradise or Oblivion" about the aims and directions of The Venus project can be viewed at www.ParadiseOrOblivion.com
Phase Two
Phase Two includes the production of a full-length feature film depicting how a world embracing the proposals advanced by The Venus Project would work. This film would provide a positive vision of a peaceful society in which all human beings form a global family on planet Earth. A civilization where all people engage in the pursuit of a better understanding of the world they share. This film has been designed to be an entertaining and educational experience for both adults and children. It also provides a methodology for bridging differences between nations.
Phase Three
To test its designs and proposals, The Venus Project is working toward putting its ideals into practice with the construction of an experimental research city. Blueprints for most of the initial technologies and buildings have begun. Fund-raising efforts are currently under way to help support the construction of this first experimental city. This new experimental research city would be devoted to working toward the aims and goals of The Venus Project which are:
1. Recognizing the world's resources as the common heritage of all Earth's people.
2. Transcending the artificial boundaries that separate people.
3. Evolving from money-based, nationalistic economies to a resource-based world economy.
4. Assisting in stabilizing the world's population through education and voluntary birth control in order to conform to the carrying capacity of Earth's resources.
5. Reclaiming and restoring the natural environment to the best of our ability.
6. Redesigning our cities, transportation systems, agricultural industries, and industrial plants so that they are energy efficient, clean, and able to conveniently serve the needs of all people.
7. Sharing and applying new technologies for the benefit of all nations.
8. Developing and using clean and renewable energy sources.
9. Manufacturing the highest quality products for the benefit of the world's people.
10. Requiring environmental impact studies prior to construction of any mega projects.
11. Encouraging the widest range of creativity and incentive toward constructive endeavor.
12. Outgrowing nationalism, bigotry, and prejudice through education.
13. Outgrowing any type of elitism, technical or otherwise.
14. Arriving at methodologies through careful research, rather than from mere opinions.
15. Enhancing communication in schools so that our language corresponds to the actual physical nature of the world.
16. Providing not only the necessities of life, but also offering challenges that stimulate the mind while emphasizing individuality over uniformity.
17. Finally, preparing people intellectually and emotionally for the changes and challenges that lie ahead.
Phase Four
After the experimental research city is built, a theme park is planned that will entertain and inform visitors about humane and environmentally friendly life-styles. It will feature intelligently designed cities; houses, high-efficiency, non-polluting transportation systems; advanced computer technology; and many other innovations that can add value to the lives of all people - in the shortest possible time.
We are quite aware that no one can actually predict the future. We can only extrapolate from present information and trends. Population growth, technological change, worldwide environmental conditions, and available resources are the primary data required for future projections.
There is no single philosophy or religious, political, scientific, or ideological point of view that someone would not take issue with. We feel certain, however, that the only aspects of The Venus Project that may appear threatening are those that we impose upon ourselves.
The Venus Project is neither Utopian nor Orwellian, nor does it reflect the dreams of impractical idealists. Instead, it presents attainable goals requiring only the intelligent application of what we already know.
We encourage you to become informed about our proposals in this project through our books, videos and seminars. If you identify with this direction, we encourage you to join with us and work toward its realization.
13. How do you see the collapse of the present system occurring?
Government and industry will continue to assign more and more responsibility for decision making to intelligent machines. Today's machines handle trillions of bits of information per second, far more than is manageable by any number of industrial or political decision-makers. They can also assemble and assign constantly updated information.
The other side of this trend is that so many people will be replaced; we will no longer have the purchasing power needed to sustain a monetary-based system that burdens the entire population and government with insurmountable debt.
As the old monetary system begins to displace more and more people by its reliance on automation, these people will cease to respect the authority of industry. The time-honored pattern of living in all industrial countries, the balancing of work and family interest, would become impossible to maintain for the majority of people displaced by automation.
As artificial intelligence develops, machines will be assigned the tasks of complex decision-making in industrial, military and governmental affairs. This would not imply a take-over by machines. Instead, it would be a gradual transfer of decision-making processes to machine intelligence as the next phase of social evolution.
Many people believe that government leaders bring about change with a deep concern for the well-being of their citizenry. Nothing could be further from the truth, nor did past shifts in society come about as the results of changes in the schools or the home. All established government systems tend to preserve and uphold their own interests and power-base.
The real forces responsible for change have more to do with unforeseen, external events or biosocial pressures that physically alter our environment and established social arrangements: for example, the infusion of machines and processes that replace people and remove their means of making a living, adverse natural conditions of drought, flood, storm, and earthquake, manmade disasters of economic oscillations, or some outside threat of hostile nations.
14. How do we get from here to there?
The Venus Project is in the process of introducing a set of values and procedures that may enable us to achieve social nucleation. Our project will provide the designs and blueprints for a prototype community to test the validity of our proposals; we will strive to achieve a relevant orientation by which people may adapt intellectually and emotionally to our new technological age. We feel that anything short of overall social design would be inappropriate and ineffective.
Since we begin in a monetary-based society, the means for raising funds to construct this experimental community can be accomplished in several different ways. One is through the production of a major motion picture depicting the advantages of this new social system for all of the world's people. Another possibility is the building of a theme park where visitors would actually experience some of the many benefits of The Venus Project's proposals. Books, videos, blueprints, models, a movie script, and the 21-acre research and development center have already been completed.
Any funds raised by these proposed projects, along with contributions, publications, videos, seminars, lectures, and grants, will be used to help initiate and construct the first experimental city.
Our proposals are submitted to the general public and to all educational institutions. We invite your participation. If enough people find the proposals acceptable and join with us in this new advocacy, we could form the nucleus of an organization to more forcefully implement the aims of The Venus Project.
During the great depression of 1929 when banks failed and people were laid off, things seemed hopeless. Those conditions brought about new organizations to address the many problems--everything from Mankind United, Socialism, Communism, Technocracy, and The World Federalist. They produced social awareness on a large scale. These conditions are sometimes referred to as bio-social pressures or the march of events.
At present, people are not well enough informed to devise a relevant and workable social system through rational methods. The Venus Project will not be installed by today's political leaders who are not appointed to change things but to keep things as they are. It is only through the failure of existing social institutions and political incompetence that people will seek other possible social alternatives. They are mainly motivated by severe conditions that threaten their safety and existence.
No nation today is about to give up its sovereignty for a social arrangement that has never been tried. Therefore it will take a social breakdown to stimulate the search for alternative social designs. This has been the case throughout human history.
The Breakdown
The Venus Project can not be put into practice on a global scale until the economic systems of the world fail to provide for the needs of people.
What will bring about the collapse of the world's monetary systems is the infusion of automation and the outsourcing of jobs. This includes not only assembly line workers but also doctors, engineers, architects, and the like. As workers and professionals lose their purchasing power, the industries that depend on them can no longer function. This will bring an end to the monetary system. It is not a question of owners giving up their industries so much as the fact that people will not have the purchasing power to sustain this system. Even the motion picture industry is generating computerized people who will replace many TV announcers and personalities. This breakdown is already well underway on a global scale.
While these drastic conditions will help produce the motivation for social change, no individual or organization has laid out what changes are necessary and how to bring them about. Our current system is not working. Unless people are aware of, or knowledgeable about what is needed, they will continue to repeat the same mistakes--war, recession, boom and bust, hunger, poverty, and much unnecessary human suffering.
The aims of The Venus Project cannot be achieved until people become aware of its proposals and aims. To introduce to the world this new social direction, the best vehicle is a major motion picture. It will present simply and understandably the advantages to all nations of participating in a resource-based economy. This film will be both entertaining and educational. It would present the limitless possibilities of an evolving society which surpasses politics, poverty, money, and war.
A major film could reach the largest number of people the world over in the shortest possible time. We feel it is necessary to produce this motion picture in advance of the social breakdown to help prepare people for this transition and present them with a direction to work toward. There is a lot of work to be done. We hope enough people will become aware of the proposals of The Venus Project before social collapse, so that this new social design may be implemented.
Therefore, our main objective is education through the media. If enough people learn about this direction, accept these proposals, and wish to organize to bring it about, we will then work toward the building of a first experimental city. The Venus Project has designs and blueprints for a prototype community.
To further clarify:
Experimental City
The Venus Project proposes the building of a new experimental city whose purpose is two-fold:
(1) To test the workability of The Venus Project's designs and proposals, and to provide the information necessary to enable people to adjust intellectually and emotionally to social transition.
(2) To establish a permanent planning center that will be used for future long and short-term planning of global projects to help implement a resource-based economy and overcome scarcity, hunger, poverty, and other social ills.
This would not be a private enterprise venture for a select few but would be an open city for the public to visit. The proposed circular configuration of these new cities is not just stylized architectural conceptualizations; they are the result of years of research into providing an environment that can best serve the needs of the inhabitants and yet conserve resources. Without extensive knowledge of the symbiotic relationship between humanity and its environment, it would be extremely difficult to develop workable solutions to our many problems. The Venus Project has taken this and many other factors into careful consideration.
The decisions of a transitional government in this environment would be based upon what is needed to reach the goals of a humane, environmentally sound, and technically sustainable society.
Like all other innovative social projects, it starts out with a few devoted people who dedicate their time to informing others about the humane benefits of this new direction. People are invited to help in whatever capacity they can during the initial phases of the new experimental city. An interdisciplinary team of systems engineers, computer programmers, architects, city planners, sociologists, educators, etc would also be needed.
The design of The Venus Project does not regard environmental conditions as fixed or static. We must allow for adaptation within the system as a continuous process. This will avoid perpetuating temporary arrangements beyond their period of usefulness.
This circular design could be the prototype for a series of new cities to be constructed in various places throughout the world. The rate of progression will depend upon the availability of funds raised and how many people identify with, participate in, and support this direction.
As these new communities develop and become more widely accepted, they may very well form the basis of a new society, preferably through the process of evolution rather than revolution.
The Venus Project does not advocate dissolving the existing free-enterprise system--we believe it will come to an end of its own accord as a part of social evolution. We encourage you to become better informed about the proposals of this project through our books and videos, and invite you to join with us in working toward the realization of a new civilization that could provide a better life for everyone.
In Conclusion
Many people want to know what to do immediately to help bring about global unification. If you identify with the proposals of The Venus Project, you can help bring it about by learning more about us through our books and DVD's. You can help promote this direction in any way you are able. Speaking to others about these ideas, fund raising, grant writing, helping with publicity, promoting lecture tours, or helping to produce promotional materials will all help. If you are in a position to initiate the motion picture this would be very important. There is a lot to do and we need the help of many people in bringing these ideas to the public.
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, they will help form the nucleus of an organization to carry out our aims.
The future is our responsibility; if we fail to accept this responsibility, others will do our thinking for us.
15. What are the first steps taken toward a global resource based economy?
After agreement is attained by nations to move toward unification and sharing of the earth's resources, a global survey of available resources, technical personnel, production plants, arable land etc. has to be done to provide us with sufficient information in order to ascertain the parameters of social design. During the initial phase the cybernated system being developed will serve as a data bank to tell us what is available. This will enable us to proceed with the design. The major initial task will be to provide food, water, shelter medical care and clean sources of energy.
During the transition, scarcity regions will be provided with heat concentrators for cooking and sterilizing water. Food for those areas can be dehydrated and compressed to save shipping space. We would extrude many food products which consist of high protein foods containing most of the necessary nutrients to sustain those in the underdeveloped regions. The packaging will be biodegradable and may double as non-contaminating fertilizers. Regions without arable land will use hydroponic farms, land-based fish farms, and sea farming.
Most of the world's universities will partake in the basic designs of cities, production facilities, transportation of goods and services. The basic design parameters are the aims and end goals of The Venus Project. Some of these may be the efficient, economic and safe utilization of resources for the benefit of people and the environment while considering the recycling of materials. The units of construction would be easily assembled and disassembled by prefabrication, automation and shape memory materials.
Clean sources of energy will be a priority in all of the infrastructure. Energy will come from wind, solar, heat concentrators, photovoltaic, wave, biomass, geothermal and other sources.
Although many ideas will be submitted, the methods of selecting will be based upon energy determinants or the required energy to produce a given product. There will be many materials that will not be readily available. The research departments throughout the world will be assigned the tasks of developing alternative systems and materials to overcome shortages. One must remember that the research and development does not depend on funding and resources will be assigned where most needed so development will be tremendously accelerated.
Along with these developments we need emergency contingency departments that can act immediately in the event of any unforeseen events.
The function and use of computers will be to provide information on what is available during the transition from a monetary to a resource based economy. As the needs mentioned above are being initiated, the automated systems will be in development to help eliminate shortages.
All media will be used to expose people to this new emergent direction.
The new system will provide all the necessities required to support people during the transitional period. People will be working in all areas to help eliminate scarcity. To sustain civilization, we must coordinate advanced technology and available resources within a humane global systems approach. For instance, the characteristics of the population in a given area will determine how many hospitals and schools are built and the equipment needed. Some medical systems will be mobile and others will be prefabricated on land and sea.
An interdisciplinary team of qualified personnel, in line with the project's requirements, will work on automated systems to produce and supply goods and services on a massive scale. These can be the armies of the future, a large peaceful mobilization to restore and preserve the earth and its people. This has never been done before and can only be done when money is no obstacle. The question is not do we have the money, but do we have the resources and means to realize this new direction.
16. What can be "the turning point" of the future? Do you have any idea about it?
I see the "the turning point" of the future as resulting from a social and economic breakdown of existing social designs as older values become less effective. The direction we take will be forced by social circumstances and the march of events. Unless we accept responsibility for a more appropriate social design, we are bound to repeat the same cycle of war, poverty, hunger, homelessness, crime, territorial disputes, etc. Only with the intelligent management of earth's resources can we overcome these problems. Our social designs must also reflect the carrying capacity of the earth and its resources. We must someday realize that the only solution is to mandate that all resources are the common heritage of all.
17. How would you describe the recent economic crisis? Can it be a lesson in today's society?
This could be a useful lesson if it resulted in a direction where this would not occur again. But most people aren't aware of the prime causes of social development and how that affects their values and behavior. They do not learn anything from it, despite going through the suffering. There have always been wars, and booms & busts, but most people don't seem to learn much from them.
Unfortunately, even when rational solutions are presented, people are not educated enough to assess the validity of alternative proposals. Most people are not trained in methods of critical thinking, but only in how to perform a task to earn a living.
18. By the way, what do you think about the "New World Civilization"?
I must emphasize that the approach to global governance I advocate has nothing whatever in common with the aims of an elite to form a world government with themselves and large corporations in control, with the vast majority of the population subservient to them. My vision of globalization empowers each person to be the best they can be, and to not live in subjugation to a corporate governing body.
19. You couldn't just plop the first city down and expect people to respect it.... you would need to slowly develop the cities as it becomes harmonized with the evolving social consciousness. What are some of the steps to accomplish this?
We cannot, as you mention "plop the first city down and expect people to respect" or accept it. First people have to be informed about this direction and it has to be presented in an acceptable manner for the general public. We feel we need to present a film that would help to introduce a sustainable value system and that this is needed prior to the building of the city or the planning center. This new sustainable value system is needed in order to get us from here to there. It will depict a set of values more appropriate to our needs to survive and thrive.
This film will be designed to provide the necessary information that will help develop a global sustainable culture by providing the means of harnessing clean sources of energy and a relevant educational system free of nationalism and propaganda. It will attempt to unify all nations by providing them with methods of overcoming their limitations. For example nations that do not have arable land for the growth of food stuff will be provided with the methods of hydroponic agriculture. It will also demonstrate to people the design parameters for sustainable cities and adequate international transportation system for goods and services. These cities will contain housing, industry, wind farms, photo voltaics, heat concentrator, health care, education, and all of the other necessities essential to the improvement of all members of society. Many cities will be self sufficient.
The film will identify the problems and the best methods with today's technologies to overcome many of the problems that plague the world today. It will show how to provide a sustainable diet for the worlds hungry. It will deal with methods of providing health care to all the worlds' people through efficient mobile transportation of medical equipment and staff by utilizing air, land and sea similar to emergency systems.
It will also provide methods and processes for desalinization without the use of fossil fuels by heat concentrators, mobile photovoltaic systems, wind generators and more. Where feasible we will harness all moving water streams such as the Gulf Stream, Icelandic current and other ocean currents that can be directed toward the development of energy.
The film will also depict how mass housing, cities, industrial plants, transportation and bridges can be developed in the shortest possible time by using prefabricated structural elements. It will show how the Polar Regions can be used to store seeds and food stuff for any international emergency. It will demonstrate how to develop canals and water ways to prevent flooding and other national disasters. It will portray processes that will help eliminate malaria and other diseases prevalent in underdeveloped countries.
There will be a great deal of computer animation used to depict these things in an comprehensive and exciting manner. The film would debunk the belief of a technical elite or any other advantage group controlling the system. It would show just what is achieved by applying the methods of science and technology to the way we live. It will demonstrate how decisions are arrived at, with the end goal of enhancing everyone's lives while maintaining a clean environment with no vested interest groups, thus surpassing the need for military systems.
The film differs from all others in that it will supply solutions and methodology for accomplishing a unified, sustainable global culture. This will have to be a sophisticated and well done presentation that will be both entertaining and informative.
The building of a new city alone will not accomplish the changes needed without preparing people with an acceptable direction to move towards and the values needed to accomplish this. The film would help inform and provide a possible, positive alternative to war and social upheaval. It would emphasize that which nations have in common; we all need clean air, water, arable land. It would set forth a relevant point of view for sustainability and an education system to maintain this new direction. This is not designed to impose a value system upon any nation, but to invite all nations to participate in the restoration of the environment, as well as a method for a positive future.
It will be a vehicle to gather people who are environmentally and socially concerned and provide them with more information about this direction. It would lay out an attainable blueprint. We could then form an organization to gain funds to do a first city which will be a planning center to further these aims.
20. What is, and what do you think about it, the relationship between habitat and place of living? Which variables do you consider in conceiving architecture, or even a city?
The city of the future must be designed as a totally integrated environment with clean renewable sources of energy, schools, shopping centers, health care, education, transportation, waste recycling, agriculture and entertainment. These city systems can not be built by architects alone but also require an interdisciplinary team of professionals such as sociologists, computer analysts, material scientists, environmental scientists, systems engineers, behavioral scientists, educators, etc..
21. I noticed a certain nearness between your thinking and the French architect Le Doux about the concept of ideal city: do you believe that the eighteenth century idea of ideal city could apply also to a future city?
There are no ideal cities any more than there is an ideal television set. The future requires flexibility and a capacity for change and an adaptation to newer concepts and technologies without any utopian notion of final development. I believe future generations will evolve their own social arrangements. I do not believe in any final frontiers, and the future will continue to undergo changes based upon successive phases of social development. Being civilized is an ongoing process and not attainable. The same is true for intelligence. An intelligent electrical engineer of 75 years ago could not get a job today. He would be educated in antiquated terms that evolved from earlier times.
22. What would you consider to be the most difficult technological hurdle to overcome before building the Circular City?
Social and cultural lag. All people are always immersed in a culture which is responsible for the levels of education. Today unfortunately most education is designed as propaganda rather than information related to the physical laws that govern all living and non-living systems.
23. Many of your designs seem to reflect retro-mod trends. What was your thinking behind the shapes and the black/white façades of the structures?
Most of the designs of the city systems, industries, transportation and associated industrial requirement such as automation and cybernetics are based upon the physical carrying capacity of Earth and its population. The design parameters are extracted from the physical equipment that exists along with today's technology and personnel.
24. What would be done with the old cities?
Most of the old cities would be leveled and mined for their resources. They are too inefficient to maintain. Some of the cities would be set aside as museum cities.
25. What main concepts do you keep in mind whenever you design structures or transportation?
Keeping it simple and efficient, the availability of resources and the methods for carrying out structural design.
26. Can you briefly describe the process you used in designing the Circular City? What factors were most important?
The factors that were most important were to design a self-sufficient system where schools, transportation, housing, agriculture, health care, research facilities for innovation, and a productive healthy lifestyle for all were incorporated into the total design.
27. What kind of change do you expect in architecture?
Ending pollution and waste while keeping a high standard of living will require profound changes in the way we plan cities and conduct human affairs.
While some advocate modifying existing cities and spend lots of time and resources attempting to update them, I find such attempts inadequate. Modification carries a large price in dollars and sustaining resources. Modifying and building onto what we have means supporting older infrastructure and energy requirements, a high cost for operation and maintenance thereof, overall inefficiency, and detrimental effects on occupants. It is less expensive to build new cities from the ground up than to restore and maintain old ones, just as it is more efficient to use state-of-the art production methods than to upgrade obsolete factories.
The innovative multi-dimensional circular cities I propose use the most sophisticated resources and construction techniques. The geometrically elegant circular arrangement, surrounded by parks and gardens, is designed to operate with a minimum expenditure of energy while obtaining the highest possible standard of living. The city would use totally clean technology in harmony with the local ecology.
When we see a city as a biome that grows and adapts, and requires energy, food, water, disposal systems, and arteries for transportation of goods and people, our ideas about space and permanence change dramatically. Our present haphazard growth patterns reflect available space and access rather than cohesive planning. Joining city elements together in a predetermined way conserves energy and provides easy access to all portions of the city. The prefabricated elements comprising the city would be designed to permit modification as needed. As newer materials come on line, the city design can be continuously upgraded, while also keeping in mind new technological and structural progress, and evolving human patterns. All systems would be of an emergent nature and constructed to allow maximum latitude in accommodating change. This would permit the city to function as an evolving integrated organism rather than as a static structure.
The design and development of these new cities emphasize restoration and protection of the environment: in my view, technology without human concern is meaningless.
28. How would one choose a home?
An example of the wide range of choice available in a resource-based economy is the way one selects a house. For instance, a man and woman may visit an architectural design center and sit in front of a clear hemisphere approximately six feet in diameter. The woman describes the type of house she would prefer and her areas of interest. The house appears as a 3-dimensional image in the center of the hemisphere. It rotates slowly to present a view of the interior and exterior. Then the man describes his major interests and preferences and suggests a larger balcony. The 3-dimensional image is adjusted. When they have finished requesting changes, the computer presents various alternatives to consider. They will also enter a sensorium to experience a walk-through of their preferred design and continue to make changes.
When they arrive at a final design, construction procedures are set in motion. The computer selects materials for efficiency and durability. None of the architecture is permanent and can be modified and updated at the request of the occupants.
This is real individual choice. In a monetary system, most live near their work with a house, car, and lifestyle they can afford (or all too often cannot afford), rather than one they prefer. Today we are only as free as our purchasing power permits. Lacking a true sense of self worth, many buy houses as status symbols just to impress others.
A resource-based economy changes the nature of our dwellings from that of status symbol, or just basic shelter, to a reflection of individuality and personal interests.
29. Is everything going to be easier than today regarding the materials we use at home, for example, white goods, furniture, etc.? Then, how is it going to be changed?
In the future, people may be shielded from weather by electronic means. Newer technologies may make walls transparent so that occupants can view the surrounding landscape without those on the outside being able to see in. Daylight could be softened and subdued according to the preferences of the occupants. Dwellings could provide a barrier to sound, insects, and dust, while also maintaining an optimal internal temperature. The building's materials may generate energy and control the surrounding climate.
The home will be engineered to do its own maintenance. For example, a floor surface could be ceramic without the grout. It will be micro-etched so that moisture or fungus cannot adhere. There would be many sensors throughout the home for optimal cleanliness, interaction with the occupants to meet their needs, and for energy conservation. In some cases, the interior walls and ceiling will be luminescent rather than using any single source of light. Color would change on demand. Speaker systems and other electronic devices could be an inherent part of the structure. The telephone may be invisible and a component part of the interior structure. It may focus sound to the location of your ear. The furnishings may consist of totally different configurations that automatically adjust to our bodies as we move.
30. In your project new social mentality is introduced. What novelties in architectural forms and constructions does the Venus project offer?
While some advocate the modification of existing cities and spend much time and resources attempting to update them, we find such attempts inadequate. Modification carries a large price in dollars and sustainable resources. Modifying and building on what we have means we must continue to support a combination of older systems' infrastructure and energy needs, their high cost of operation and maintenance, and their overall inefficiency, not to mention their detrimental effect on the occupants. It is actually less expensive to build newer cities from the ground up than to restore and maintain the old ones, just as it is far more efficient and less costly to design a flexible, state of the art production method than to attempt to upgrade an obsolete factory.
To live in a world without pollution and waste, yet keep parks, playgrounds, art and music centers, schools, and health care available to everyone without a price tag, profound changes are required in the way we plan our cities and conduct human affairs. To support this new aim and direction, our city designs, industrial plants, waterways, energy systems, production and distribution centers, and transportation systems must be re-designed and operated as a coherent, integrated, global energy system enabling them to be safe, clean, and energy efficient. In this way we can use our technology to overcome resource shortages, provide universal abundance and protect the environment.
In this society, construction techniques would be vastly different from those employed today. It would combine the most sophisticated utilization of available resources and construction techniques. Self-erecting structures would prove most expedient and efficient in the construction of industrial plants, bridges, buildings and eventually the entire global infrastructure.
This would not create cookie-cutter cities. The notion that intelligent overall planning implies mass uniformity is absurd. Cities would be uniform only to the degree that they would require far less materials, save time and energy and yet be flexible enough to allow for innovative changes, while maintaining the highest quality possible to support the local ecology - both human and environmental. Utilizing technology in this way would make it possible for a global society to achieve social advancement and worldwide reconstruction in the shortest time possible.
The circular arrangement employs a systems approach, efficiently applying resources and energy conservation, ease of fabrication and relative freedom from maintenance. The process of assembling entire cities through the standardization of basic, structural systems prefabricated in automated plants and often assembled on site, permits a wide range of flexibility in design and takes advantage of interchangeable units to permit changes for new and innovative installations. All systems would be of an emergent nature and constructed to allow the maximum latitude in accommodating change. This could permit the city to function as an evolving, integrated organism rather than a static structure. It is far less expensive to build entire efficient sustainable cities even in today's monetary system because we only design one eighth of the circular city and reproduce it.
The buildings would be so designed for easy assembly or disassembly. In this way cities could take on new and different appearances depending on their function. Each would be unique. This approach does not reduce the lives of people to a subsistence level; rather, it makes available all the amenities that modern science and technology can provide. Even the wealthiest people of today could not achieve a standard of living equal to that of a resource-based economy.
31. What kind of change do you expect in health equipment?
Health equipment will be in each home and it will automatically monitor the physical conditions of the occupants. It will make various adjustments to maintain optimal health.
32. What kind of change do you expect in communication?
Communication will be more signal and less noise. People will be educated in a much more precise and productive language. The language used by the average person is inadequate for resolving conflicts, but the language of science is free from ambiguities and the conflicts found in everyday emotionally-driven language. It is deliberately designed - as opposed to having evolved haphazardly through centuries of cultural change - to state problems in terms that are verifiable and readily understood by those who use it. Much of today's confusion is the result of our inability to state problems precisely. When one can state problems precisely, we are more than half way to the solutions.
Most technical strides would have been unattainable without this improved communication language. Without a common descriptive language, we wouldn't have been able to prevent disease, increase crop yields, talk over thousands of miles, or build bridges, dams, transportation systems, and the other technological marvels of this computerized age.
Unfortunately, the same is not true of conversational language. Attempts to discuss or evaluate newer concepts in social design are greatly limited by existing systems and beliefs.
33. What kind of change do you expect in transport?
Transportation will be rapid, clean, silent, and safe. In the new cybernated cities, mag-lev transveyors will move horizontally, vertically, and circumferentially within and without. Over long distances, people can travel in trains inside tunnels. The trains could electrically repel air away from their surface, thereby diminishing skin resistance and permitting speeds up to three thousand miles an hour. This could replace most aircraft.
34. Is it possible to see flight cars in the near future?
Individual transport systems would be inefficient compared to integrated transveyors. I see totally integrated global transportation systems for freight and passengers. This integrated transportation network would consist of maglev transveyors, submarines freighters, boats, VTOL type aircraft, and vector-jet systems. I regard these methods as the most energy-efficient transportation systems available with today's technology.
35. What kind of change do you expect in urban development?
In these new total city system designs, all aspects of the city are well integrated. For example, in the agricultural belt electronic probes embedded in the soil automatically inventory the water table, soil conditions, nutrients, etc., and act appropriately without requiring human intervention as conditions change. This industrial electronic feedback could be applied to the entire system.
The new city would be an environment featuring clean air and water, health care, good nutrition, entertainment, housing, access to information, and education for all. It would have art and music centers, fully-equipped machine shops, science labs, hobby and sports areas, and manufacturing districts. These new cities would provide recreation within a short distance of the residential district. This technology is inevitable. Waste recycling, renewable and clean power generating systems, and other services would be managed by integrated cybernated methods. Life styles and personal preferences are totally decided on by the individual.
Some of the cities would be circular while others may be linear, underground, or constructed as floating cities in the sea. Eventually, many cities may be designed as total enclosure systems much like cruise ships outfitted for a six-month cruise.
36. From a technological point of view - is the Venus project real?
Technically The Venus Project is feasible today.
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