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The Zeitgeist Movement is a worldwide grassroots movement advocating broad social change concepts, the most significant of which is the transition of modern global society from a monetary based economy to a resource-based economy. The movement describes itself as the activist arm of the The Venus Project, which is the lifelong work of industrial designer and social engineer Jacque Fresco. As of March 16, 2009 the movement claimed to have approximately a quarter-million members.

The Zeitgeist Movement is named after the documentary films produced, written, and narrated by Peter Joseph and released online. Zeitgeist: The Movie, was released in 2007 and a sequel, Zeitgeist: Addendum, was released in 2008. A third film with the working title Zeitgeist III, is scheduled to be released in October of 2010. Peter Joseph has stated that its topics will focus on human behavior, technology, and rationality.

The movement currently maintains a large group on Facebook.

Resource-based economy

see also: Natural resource economics

Fresco's concept of a resource-based economy replaces the need for the monetary economy we have now, which is "scarcity-oriented" or "scarcity-based". Fresco argues that the world is rich in natural resources and energy and that with modern technology and judicious efficiency the needs of the global population can be met with abundance, while at the same time removing the current limitations of what is deemed possible due to notions of economic viability.

He gives this example to help explain the idea:

At the beginning of World War II the U.S. had a mere 600 or so first-class fighting aircraft. We rapidly overcame this short supply by turning out more than 90,000 planes a 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, nor did we have enough gold; but we did have more than enough resources. It was the available resources that enabled the US to achieve the high production and efficiency required to win the war. Unfortunately this is only considered in times of war.

— Jacque Fresco

Fresco states that for this to work, all of the Earth's resources must be held as the common heritage of all people and not just a select few; and the practice of rationing resources through monetary methods is irrelevant and counter-productive to our survival.

Zeitgeist Day

The Zeitgeist Movement has labeled March 15 as Zeitgeist Day. On this day the movement has local gatherings to learn and share information with all interested individuals. In 2008 there were 1800 events held in 70 nations around the world. In 2009, among other events, Peter Joseph and Jacque Fresco spoke to a crowd of around 900 at the Borough of Manhattan Community College for over 2 hours

Radio Address

Currently, Peter Joseph maintains a bi-weekly radio address, which is broadcast every other Wednesday on Blogtalkradio, a website which allows users to host live internet radio shows. These broadcasts discuss the progress of the movement and answer questions sent in by listeners about the concept of a resource-based economy. Joseph also discusses issues with Jacque Fresco and Roxanne Meadows.

There are two other known blogtalk radio shows dealing with The Zeitgeist Movement, Resource Based Economies and The Venus Project, all affiliated with The Movement. One which is known as V-Radio is hosted by former Libertarian Congressional candidate Neil Kiernan Stephenson, who in 2008 ran for Congress and was endorsed by former Democratic Presidential candidate Mike Gravel.

Ban from StudiVZ

In June 2009, the German networking site StudiVZ shut down The Zeitgeist Movement's group, which reportedly had around ten thousand members , and sent a letter to the group's administrator stating that the reason for the ban was Anti-Semitic tendencies expressed by the group's members. The group has vehemently denied this accusation, particularly on the forum of The Venus Project's website. Members stated that the accusation made an unfair association to groups which supported Jewish world domination conspiracy theories.

Media Reviews

On April 30, 2009, Rhonda Swan of Palm Beach Post wrote:

Who can argue with such a movement? What we have never has worked for the benefit of society as a whole. How much longer can we really expect it to last? Isn't keeping our current system and expecting something different from what it's always given us insanity?

— Palm Beach Post

On March 17, 2009, the New York Times wrote:

"The mission of the movement is the application of the scientific method for social change,” Mr. Joseph announced by way of introduction. The evening, which began at 7 with a two-hour critique of monetary economics, became by midnight a utopian presentation of a money-free and computer-driven vision of the future, a wholesale reimagination of civilization, as if Karl Marx and Carl Sagan had hired John Lennon from his “Imagine” days to do no less than redesign the underlying structures of planetary life.

— New York Times

Further reading

• Edward Bellamy, Equality (D. Appleton & Co. 1897).
• John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 2004).
• Jeremy Rifkin, The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era, (Tarcher/Penguin; Updated Edition 2004).

See also

• The Venus Project
• Natural resource economics
• Zeitgeist: The Movie

References

1. Joseph, Peter (February 2009). "Movement Orientation Guide:THE ZEITGEIST MOVEMENT - OBSERVATIONS AND RESPONSES" (PDF). Activist Orientation Guide. www.thezeitgeistmovement.com. Retrieved 2009-04-08. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
2. FEUER, ALAN (March 16, 2009). "They've Seen the Future and Dislike the Present". New York Region. New York Times. Retrieved 2009-04-08.
3. The Zeitgeist Movement Public Forum, Radio Address, Full Q & As (from Peter), available at http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=1905&func=showcat&catid=232. Retrieved on 2009-05-31
4. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55303891744
5. "Resource based economy". Venus Project. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
6. "CELEBRATING ZEITGEIST DAY". Cultural news (in The Santiago Times). Tuesday, 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
7. "They've Seen the Future and they Dislike the Present". Cultural news (in The New York Times). 16 March 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
8. http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_kunena&Itemid=1905&func=view&catid=229&id=137493
9. Rhonda Swan (April 30, 2009). "COLUMN: A dream worth having". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 04, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
10. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/nyregion/17zeitgeist.html?_r=1

External links

• Official Website
• The Zeitgeist Movement Video Orientation
• Zeitgeist & Zeitgeist: Addendum (Google Video)

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from July 2009
• Social movements
• Economic ideologies