Alex Steffen is American writer, blogger, futurist, editor and self proclaimed “bright green environmentalist”.
Bright green environmentalism is a wing of sustainability movement that is promoting social and technological change through development of smarter designs, technologies, infrastructures and business practices, rather than by more traditional protests and political pressure. He has written for magazines such as Business Week or Wired. He is a founder of an influential WorldChanging.com blog which is taking a big-picture approach on sustainability. What follows is a very inspirational speech that was given by Alex in Danish Architecture Center in Copenhagen and it is a very extended answer of question I asked in the title of this article. Contemplating about 20 necessary steps to move toward more sustainable civilization he make us aware that sustainability is not just windmills, organic carrots and electric cars. Enjoy the speech as much as I did.
I just love sci-fi movies for their ability of certain juxtaposition to our present society. The more into the future you go, the more abstraction appears in fantastic pseudo-realities of sci-fi cinema. The more juxtaposition to our world today!
Alex Rivera’s Sleep Dealer is not trying to reach into a far future and we can painfully see the accusations (of) and hidden messages to our present society.
Even-thou you may think, that the modular tower on the picture above is looking like from another planet, it is not the planet Venus which gave name to the Venus project. It is actually Venus, Florida. A 21.5-acre research center from where the Venus Project NGO operates. I came across the “Future by Design” movie on YouTube a two weeks ago and I became fascinated. First I thought that Jacques Frescos work (American Futurologist,Philosopher and Architect Jacque Fresco is the Mastermind behind the whole project) is just a futuristic architectural and designer vision and somehow I lacked the political dimension of the whole endeavour, but the more I investigate the more I believe, that the Venus project has something to offer. Not only a viable scientific alternative to the outdated technological processes used by most of the industry and society as whole today, but also an economical alternative to our chronically ill monetary economic system.
As soon as I found out, that the Venus project is also behind the popular “Zeitgeist” documentary, there was no doubt that Mr.Fresco does have a clear vision on “How to move from our collapsing monetary economy to his Utopian alternative”.
I also find out that there is a second part of the movie “Zeitgeist:Addendum”, which features some interviews with Fresco himself. You can find both of those movies in my documentary section.
Personally I find the political and sociological dimension of the Venus Project a bit underestimated, (I am not satisfied with the claim that political leadership will be not necessary in resource-based, high-tech, cybernated and automated society) but I’m pretty sure that there is a lot more happening behind the curtain, than you can learn from the official website. And as the documentary started a whole movement already, there is a door open for further development of the general ideas of resource-based economy proposed by the project. I am definitely sympathetic with the idea of all resources available for everybody, but it looks too much like communism for me. And as I grew up in communist country I know that the corruption will always find its ways. In other words; We can be all equal, but some will be always more equal than the others. I think that the idea of completely getting rid of the monetary system is a bit obsolete and too much utopian, and that we shut better look for some transitional hybrid economy. Where Frescian resource-based cities and communities, still produce and trade with the outside “old” world on basis of state controlled currencies. Some other forms of alternative currencies could be also developed on the way.
I am also not very sympathetic with Frescos vision of religion. If you embark on such a monumental journey as Jacque Fresco did with his Venus Project, you would be better off looking for allies rather than for enemies. Even-thou I agree with the bottom-line and with the statement that religion is false, I can see no problem why should religious communities not prosper in Frescos futuristic cities.
Check the links on the bottom of this article and enter into the brave new world of Mr.Jacque Fresco, as he truly is a present day DaVinci.
