This is the long-awaited sequel to "Zeitgeist" the movie which was about (part 1) origins of and commonalities of world religions, (part 2) 9/11 was an inside job, get over it, and (part 3) emerging fascist patterns-- RFID chips, etc.
"Addendum" is quite different and optimistic, by comparison.
It is about how our scarcity-based economic system is failing because it is no longer relevant. In fact, nearly all of our existing institutions-- banking system, organized religion, industry, so-called education system, business are obsolete in an era of technologically-enabled, sustainable abundance.
The "Venus Project" is held up as a vision of a global society that would no longer require many of these outdated institutions. There is a good deal of Carl Sagan influence with a science-based spirituality ("We are star-stuff harvesting star-light"). In the Venus project, all energy comes from solar, wind, geothermal and tides. Jets and most cars are replaced with maglev 4000 mph trains in tubes. People are essentially free to pursue education, spiritual growth, psychological wholeness, artistic expression, scientific exploration, etc., because it is no longer necessary to earn money to live-- the automated technological systems provide everything.
(Doesn't appear to address Malthusian concerns at all-- if births continue and human longevity expands, though they do hint at expanding off-planet eventually).
Best of all, "Addendum" aims to get us all to sign up at http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com, which will be operational on 10 October 2008. In the closing segment, the film portrays a broad range of individuals dropping their false Gods of money, religion, glamor, weapons, etc. on the sidewalk in a place like Times Square while surrounded by swirling blurs of others still strapped in the treadmills. The imagergy is as fantastic as anything in Koyaanisquatsi.
Finally, the film prescribes a number of first steps to disengaging from the dominant paradigm. Getting out of the credit system, not letting your friends sign up for military, getting your house off-grid, ignoring/shunning corporate media and so on-- a wonderful place to begin. The key is non-participation of any kind in the dysfunctional institutions that surround us and are failing and shifting our alliances to emerging sustainable and healthy modalities.
I give the film 5 stars!
FRED-- I would nominate this film for inclusion in the TT courseware, perhaps alongside "Money Masters" although it touches on much more.
~ Digital money ~ because it's sanitary ~
Wouldn't that be a good advertising pitch?
I think digital money is a great way to go, subject of course by it being controlled by no one. Instead of foreclosures by those trapped in greed we surrender all titles to the Holy One. Instead of global economic misery let there be a global jubilee! All debts forgiven. Should be a piece of angel cake since most of it was never monetized anyway.
Blessings, Cirq and thanks for the great post!
A decentralized form of digital money (no one controls it) is an interesting concept. It might be possible if each person of group of people could cryptographically "mint" their own e-currency, backed by whatever goods or services they were able to contribute to the larger economy. It would be rather complicated though.
The Venus Project, as far as I can tell from the film, envisions a post-monetary system-- no cash registers, no money, no advertisers, no planned obsolescence, no accountants, no taxes. It's a little like Star Trek without the replicators. I'm not sure who's responsible for maintaining machines or designing the new machines. I don't know how they address management of finite resources (Lithium for batteries, cobalt for magnets, etc.).
It's envisioned as a gift culture-- to each according to their need/desire, from each according to their ability/joyful contribution. I'm still a bit skeptical about how we would get from here to there, and if someone is responsible for running all the machines, how would the society prevent this class of uber-designers from exerting undue influence/power over others?
Maybe the interim would be a self-contradictory structure, say "Socialism, Inc.", for example that would serve as an economic buffer between the new gift culture (represented by the shareholder-employees of Socialism Inc.) and the external, conventional economy.
Here are links to both of the Zeitgeist videos
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5547481422995115331&hl=en
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912
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