ZEITGEIST MOVEMENTS CYBERNATION

Creating a Cybernetic Post Humanity Post-Humanity

The Zeitgeist Movement: Creating a Post-Humanity through Cybernetics Humanity

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Contents
Jacque Frescos Technocratic Vision ................................................................................................... 3 General Commentary.......................................................................................................................... 4 Commentary on Cybernated Government ..................................................................................... 5 Commentary on University of Global Resource Management ....................................................... 7 Commentary on Venus Project University.......................................................................................... 7 College for technocratic central planners ....................................................................................... 7 The City Systems ............................................................................................................................... 10 Total City Systems ......................................................................................................................... 10 Cybernated Government .............................................................................................................. 11 University of Global Resource Management ................................................................................ 12

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Jacque Frescos Technocratic Vision

[] Eventually the central cybernated systems will coordinate all of the machinery and equipment that serve the entire city, the nation and ultimately the world.

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General Commentary
One can be but not impressed by The Venus Projects vision of the future; gleaming, orderly, geometric and clean city scapes with ultra modern architectural structures, but there is more than meets the eye on the purpose of The Venus Projects visual extravaganza. While officially separate, The Venus Project (TVP) is the practical arm of The Zeitgeist Movement (TZM). Both are a creation of Jacque Frescos attempts at creating a planned society based on scientific method, a technocracy. While VP has the best of intentions and its followers seeking a solution to the present economic crisis, there are serious questions posed by the premises presented in the Venus Project.

The most contentious premises are City Systems, Cybernated Government, and University of Global Resource Management.

City Systems: Facilities are given instead of traded, earned or built by the citizens of the city. There is no sense of ownership, not of personal identity, individuality or aesthetic style. Access to the city facilities but there is not ownership and a thin sense of control of how the city operates. The administrative authority of councils, local politicians and mayor are missing as a human factor in the interaction of the people and the administration of the city. The given assumption that the city is created perfect and can neither improve, change or fail to meet expectations. The use of the technology in the city system is to abolish basic physical activity of work and productivity, in other words, it makes people redundant to the operation and existence to the city. If there are not jobs, no need for professions, no need for basic manual labour, what are the citizens to do? Round the clock leisure and other creative activities, thus making whatever abilities, talents, interests and skills redundant if not useless. People without purpose, no need for what they have to offer or opportunity find meaningful work to both self and society. There is an assumption for constant growth and fulfilment however; the statement fails due to the presumption that of complete knowledge about every single individual occupying the city into the future by the architect or city managers, human or otherwise. This impinges on the adaptation by the city systems and ability to deal new threats and opportunities as it can not adapt. How can the needs be assumed to be predicted other than providing all the functions possible yet disregard personality, personal choice and style of people? The very core of humanity, the individuality and uniqueness of each person? There is a blanket conceit about the finalism of perfection by TVP City designers.
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Commentary on Cybernated Government

The main contentions against the Cybernated Government are: The Cybernated Society claims that existing form of government is outmoded; it means democracy is of no use as a system of representation in the concept of Cybernated Government. There is no popular representation or participation by the populace in the process of government. The VP argues that it elevate the spiritual and intellectual potential of people yet fails the first consultation test with the people and its individuals. Goods are services are given rather than demanded, it means that it is dictated from above determination as to what people need. It makes assumptive satisfaction. Cybernation; this concept argues for networking of computers and automated systems not just controlling the VP city, but the entire planet itself. It removes the ability of people to change how the city operates to suit, adapt or change. More over, it claims that such Cybernation should become the artificial nervous system running the planet and the peoples environment. The scope has a totalitarian aspect, machine systems affect, control, and change human behaviour, socialisation and conditioning. This is referred as the Social Complex (society). This is achieved by a comprehensive system of sensors to maintain stasis in the potential global management system. Fresco argues for complete integration of culture, people and computer systems as a way to serve the said society. This view does not create independence from technology, it creates a symbiotic relationship, and it is not known how this will affect the evolution of the human culture into the distant future. Jacque Fresco claims that the question of efficiency and effective demands integration of technology and human society is the said city and global state (Cybernetics). The reason is to achieve symbiosis with technology rather than maximising the utility to human society. The goal stated is to shape new world civilisation through the cybernation process, consent is not sought by the ruling technocracy (Zeitgeist Government, VP Management or Cybernation computer systems) from the population inhabiting such city. An imperative for such system to work is to dispose of the existing monetary system Fresco says. To build such Cybernated global society, it requires access and control to global resources by way of some of form of global government.

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Fresco conceals the real process involved in the TVP and TZM by the careful choice of wordscommon heritage of the earths people. This means an actual transfer of control or ownership passing to the Zeitgeist Government to use. Only by having control over the world economic resources or global commons (The Global Commons, a United Nations prerogative arising from The Commission on Global Governance, Agenda 21 and the Rio Summit 1990s), can such global project go ahead. In conventional political definition, this is a world state monopoly control or ownership of resources, a form of applied communism. To paraphrase Communist Manifesto at point 1: Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes. The second remarkable feature of the TVP and TZM is the Moneyless Economy. Fresco in his TZM site argues that economic instability, warfare, waste, and class distinctions are abolished by eliminating money from the economy.

Resource-based Economy, new name for global state monopoly of earths natural resources.

However, what remains then is a sole global monopoly of resources by the Venus Project network of cities; it needs a form of allocating resources for the production, distribution and consumption by the citizens. A form of accounting is required. With labour rendered obsolete in the VP society then allocations would come as flat allocation of resources calculated by the cybernated government (the government) based on an estimated daily consumption. In TVP, there is no concept of personal ownership of property or control thereof, so clothing, food, water, housing, entertainment, meaningful productive activity would be allocated by the VP government till the Cybernated Governance comes online.

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TZP and TVP have a socialist aversion to profit, Capitalism, Market System and Liberal Democracy Politics. It argues obsolescence yet degenerates into a scientifically managed utopia itself without seeing it by its followers and creator. Previous technocracy used the concept of Energy Accounting (Technocracy Inc USA) as a system for allocating resources, it is not clear from the description provided by TVP how the accounting unit will operate. However, what is emerges is a rationing economy to overcome the question of a non-existing market economy. In this hypothetical scenario, such society renders global control over what citizens consume to the global technocratic authority and later the Cybernated Government managing the network of VP cities around the world.

See more about state monopoly of property in the Communist Manifesto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Communist_Manifesto

Commentary on University of Global Resource Management

Commentary on Venus Project University

College for technocratic central planners
This educational institution trains the elite global planners, the technocracy in charge of managing the global economic resources. It refers to testing group, suggesting experimental nature for each consecutive stage of application and implementation of the Zeitgeist vision. The question arises as to the experimentation required for it to work. Given the character of Cybernation; would micro communities of humans and cybernetic systems be employed? Would it be ethical to test and experiment on human communities representative of the global community? There does a level of cultural diversity exist in Humanity at large; would such experimentation require prior homogenisation of cultural diversity to make practicable application across diverse ethnic and cultural groupings of such cities and technologies?

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Given the elite nature of the Zeitgeist Society and system of government, it is questionable whether consent would be demanded from the global technocracy to effect its plan. We can only glean and extrapolate the activities from the Venus Projects site. From the general literature on TZM, TVP and Transhumanism, something more radical seems to be envisaged with the concept of Cybernetics and its integration into planetary management. The potential use of cybernetic technology to enhance individuals in the experimental stages at the universitys testing grounds. Transhumanism, Post-Humanism and Extropianism come to mind in regards to Cybernetics. The integration of living biological systems (people) to technology (Cyborg), first with TVP cities and later more intimately into every citizen of TVP as one collective whole. The suggestion is vague from the document yet it is there, the full answer may lie elsewhere to find the final end goals of TVP and the TZM. We can extrapolate from the literature written about Transhumanism that the ideal human state is to achieve immortality, body part replacement, mind download (integration with the hypothetical global brain), artificial intelligence, and reconfiguration of human DNA and amplification of mental and physical prowess. By such time nanotechnology, Virtual Reality and Robotics should have come into full practical application, we can make an educated guess as to their implications in the context of Cybernation. The question posed by this experimentation and individuals living in this hypothetical VP society, is that it poses an imbalance of power and thus potential for conflict. We have an all powerful technocracy in control of all resources, its population utterly dependant on its living and sustenance. What happens if the populace refuses to accept radical cybernation (integration into the global computer network itself)? What if the Zeitgeist Technocracy or by then the Cybernated Governance (a possible general AI) decides to implement full and radical integration for the sake of maximizing efficiency and complete connectivity? What choices will the people have in it to resist and combat it? In real terms - NIL.

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Reproduction of this document does not intend breach, for educational purposes only. Fair Use Only

CYBERNETIC UTOPIA

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The City Systems

Total City Systems
It would be far easier and would require less energy to build new, efficient cities than to attempt to update and solve the problems of the old ones. The Venus Project proposes a Research City that would use the most sophisticated available resources and construction techniques. Its geometrically elegant and efficient circular arrangement will be surrounded by, and incorporated into the city design, parks and lovely gardens. This city will be designed to operate with the minimum expenditure of energy using the cleanest technology available, which will be in harmony with nature to obtain the highest possible standard of living for everyone. This system facilitates efficient transportation for city residents, eliminating the need for automobiles.

The Venus Project's Circular City arrangement is comprised of the following:

1. The central dome or theme center will house the core of the cybernated system, educational facilities, access center, computerized communications, networking systems, and health and child care facilities. 2. The buildings surrounding the central dome provide the community with centers for cultural activities such as the arts, theater, exhibitions, concerts, access centers, and various forms of entertainment. 3. Next is the design and development complex for this research and planning city. The design centers are beautifully landscaped in natural surroundings. 4. Adjacent the research facilities are dining and other amenities. 5. The eight residential districts have a variety of free form unique architecture to fulfil the various needs of the occupant. Each home is immersed in lovely gardens isolating one from another with lush landscaping. 6. Areas are set aside for renewable clean sources of energy such as wind generators, solar, heat concentrating systems, geothermal, photovoltaic and others. 7. Next are the indoor hydroponic facilities and outdoor agricultural belts which will be used to grow a wide variety of organic plants without the use of pesticides. 8. A circular waterway for irrigation and filtration surrounds the agricultural belt. 9. The outermost perimeter is utilized for recreational activities such as biking, golfing, hiking and riding, etc. All the facilities are available to everyone without cost in a resource based economy.

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The sole purpose of this sophisticated technology is to free people from boring monotonous tasks, make available a much higher standard of living, and provide more leisure time. With an opportunity for constant growth and achievement people could have the time and freedom to choose the lifestyle they find most fulfilling. The city is designed to serve the needs of every member of society.

Cybernated Government

The Venus Project calls for a cybernated society in which computers could replace the outmoded system of electing politicians that in most cases represent the entrenched vested interests. This new technology will not dictate or monitor individual's lives, as in The Venus Project this would be consider socially offensive and counterproductive. Books such as 1984 and Brave New World, and motion pictures such as Blade-Runner and Terminator 2 have spawned fear in some people regarding the takeover of technology in our society. The Venus Project's only purpose is to elevate the spiritual and intellectual potential of all people, while at the same time providing the goods and services that will meet their individual and material needs. Cybernation is the linking of computers with automated systems. Eventually the central cybernated systems will coordinate all of the machinery and equipment that serve the entire city, the nation and ultimately the world. One can think of this as an electronic autonomic nervous system extending into all areas of the social complex.

For example, in the agricultural belt the computers could automatically monitor and maintain the water table, soil chemistry, and coordinate the planting and harvesting of crops. In the residential sector, the system could maintain environmental cleanliness and the recycling of waste materials. In addition, to ensure the efficient operation of the city's various functions, all of the processes and services could be equipped with electronic environmental feedback sensors.

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These sensors could be coordinated with redundant, back-up systems that could operate in the event of failure or breakdown of the city's primary systems. Only when cybernation is integrated into all aspects of this new and dynamic culture can computers appropriately serve the needs of all people. No technological civilization can ever operate efficiently and effectively without the integration of cybernetics as an integral part of this new world civilization. These proposals, from an engineering standpoint, seem fantastic and unfeasible within the present monetary system; and they are. The sums involved in ventures of this magnitude would be too huge and inconceivable. No government today can possibly afford this prodigious undertaking. All of this could only be accomplished in a resource-based world economy where all of the world's resources are held as the common heritage of all of the earth's peoples.

University of Global Resource Management

This University of Global Resource Management and Environmental Studies, or "worlduniversity," is a testing ground for each phase of development. This would be a dynamic, continually evolving research institute open to all of society. Student performance would be based on "competence accreditation," and research findings would be periodically applied directly to the social structure to benefit all members of the world society. People will live in these experimental cities and provide feedback on the reliability and serviceability of the various structures. This information would be used to formulate modifications to structures so that maximum efficiency, comfort, and safety is assured. This facility is also used to develop modular construction systems and components that can be installed to serve a wide range of needs and preferences. In most instances, the external appearance of the buildings will reflect the function of the building - they are designed "from the inside out."

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Skyscrapers

These skyscrapers would be constructed of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete, steel and glass. They will be stabilized against earthquakes and high winds by three massive, elongated, tapered columns. These support structures will surround the cylindrical central tower, which is 150 feet wide. This tripod-like structure is reinforced to diminish compression, tension, and torsion stresses. These super-size skyscrapers will assure that more land will be available for parks and wilderness preserves, while concurrently helping to eliminate urban sprawl. Each one of these towers will be a total enclosure system containing an access center, as well as childcare, educational, health, and recreational facilities. This will help alleviate the need to travel to outside facilities. If we do not maintain a balance between the population and the earth's carrying capacity we may have to move our cities not only skyward and seaward, but subterranean as well.

Some of Jacque Frescos building structures, a feature of the planned global society in The Venus Project

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Subterranean Cities

For inhospitable regions of the planet, such as polar and desert areas, underground cities would provide entirely comfortable homes for many. Numerous elevators will readily allow residents to enjoy skiing and other recreational activities on the surface. The primary source of power for these cities, where feasible, would be geothermal energy.

Document accessed 13 May 2012 Venus Project Technology City Systems http://thevenusproject.com/en/technology/city-systems

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