The Best That Money Can't Buy - Beyond Politics, Poverty and War

by Jacque Fresco

Introduction

FEW TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENTS are as impressive as the ability to see our own planet from outer space. The beautiful sphere suspended against the black void of space makes plain the blond that the billions of us on Earth have in common. This global consciousness inspires space travellers who then provide emotional and spiritual observations. Their views from outer space awaken them to a grand realization that all who share our planet make up a single community. They think this viewpoint will help unite the nations of the world in order to build a peaceful future for the present generation and the ones that follow.

Many poets, philosophers, and writers have criticized the artificial borders that separate people preoccupied with the notion of nationhood. Despite the visions and hopes of astronauts, poets, writers, and visionaries, the reality is that nations are continuously at war with one another, and poverty and hunger prevail in many places throughout the world, including the United States. So far, no astronauts arriving on Earth with this new social consciousness has proposed to transcend the world’s limitations with a world where no national boundaries exist. Each remains loyal to his/her particular nation-state, and doesn’t venture beyond patriotism – “my country, right or wrong” – because doing so may risk their positions.

Most problems we face in the world today are of our own making. We must accept that the future depends upon us. Interventions by mythical or divine characters in white robes descending from the clouds, or by visitors from other worlds, are illusions that cannot solve the problems of our modern world. The future of the world is our responsibility and depends upon decisions we make today. We are our own salvation or damnation. The shape and solutions of the future depend totally on the collective effort of all people working together.

Science and technology race into the future revealing new horizons in all areas. New discoveries and inventions appear at a rate never seen before in history and the rate of change will continue to increase in the years to come. Unfortunately, books and articles attempting to describe the future have one foot rooted in the past, and interpret the future through today’s concepts and technology. Most people are comfortable and less threatened with this perspective on change. But they often react negatively to proposals suggesting changes in the way they live. For this reason, when speaking of the future, very few explore or discuss changes in our social structure, much less our values. People are used to the structures and values of earlier times when stresses and levels of understanding were different. An author who wants to publish steers clear of such emotional and controversial issues. But we feel it is time to step out of that box. In this book we will freely explore a new future—one that is realistically attainable and not the gloom and doom so often presented today. Few can envision a social structure that enables a “Utopian” life style as compared to today’s standards, or that this lifestyle could be made available without the sweat of one’s brow.

Yet thanks to our labor-saving machines and other technological advances, the lifestyle of a middle class person today far exceeds anything that even kings of the past could have experienced. Since the beginning of the machine age, humankind has had a love/hate relationship with its mechanical devices. We may like what the machines do for us, but we don’t like what they do to us. They take away our means of making a living, an sometimes our sense of purpose which derives from thousands of years in which hand labor was the primary means of meeting human needs. Many fear that machines are becoming more and more complex and sophisticated. As dependence on them grows, we give up much of our independence and come to resemble them as passionless unfeeling automations whose sole purpose is work, work, work. Some fear that these mechanical children may develop minds and wills of their own and enslave humanity. Many worry about conformity and that our values and behaviors will change so that we lose the very qualities which make us human.

The purpose of this book is to explore visions and possibilities for the future that will nurture human growth and achievements, and make that the primary goal of society. We will discuss the many options and roles individuals will play in this cybernated age in which our world is rebuilt by prodigious machines and governed by computers. Most writers of the twentieth century who presented a vision of the future were blinded by national ego or self-centeredness, and didn’t grasp the significance and meaning of the methods of science as they might be applied to the social system. Although it may appear that the focus of this book is the technology of the future, our major concern is the effect a totally cybernated world would have on humanity and on the individual. Of course no one can predict he future with precision. There are simply too many variables. New inventions, natural and man-made disasters, and new uncontrollable diseases could radically alter the course of civilization. While we cannot predict the future, we will most surely live it. Every action and decision we take – or don’t – ripples into the future. For the first time we have the capability, the technology, and the knowledge to direct those ripples.

When applied in a humane matter, the coming cybernated age could see the merging of technology and cybernetics into a workable synergy for all people. It could achieve a world free of hunger, war, and poverty – a world humanity has failed to achieve throughout history. But if civilization continues on its present course, we will simply repeat the same mistakes all over again.

If we apply what we already know to enhance life on Earth, we can protect the environment and the symbiotic processes of living systems. It is now mandatory that we intelligently rearrange human affairs so as to live within the limits of available resources. The proposals of this book show limitless untapped potentials in the future application of new technologies where our health, intellect, and well-being are involved. These are potentials not only in a material sense but they also involve a deep concern for one another. Only in this way can science and technology support a meaningful and humane civilization.

Many of us who think seriously about the future of human civilization are familiar with stark scenarios of this new millennium – a world of growing chaos and disorder, soaring populations, and dwindling natural resources. Emaciated children cry out from decayed cities and areas urban sprawl, air and water pollution, and escalating crime take a toll on the quality of life even for those who consider themselves removed from these conditions. Even the very wealthy are at a tremendous disadvantage because they fail to grasp the damage from technology applied without social concern.

Given the advances in science and technology over the last two hundred years, one may well ask: “does it have to be this way?” There is no question that the application of science and technology can carry us with confidence and assurance into the future. What is needed is a change in our direction and purpose. Our main problem is a lack of understanding of what it means to be human and that we are not separate from nature. Our values, beliefs, and behavior are as much a part of natural law as any other process. We are all an integral part of the chain of life.

In this book we present an alternative vision of a sustainable new world civilization unlike any social system that has gone before. Although this vision is highly compressed, it is based upon years of study and experimental research. We call for a straightforward redesign of our culture in which the age-old problems of war, poverty, hunger, debt, and unnecessary suffering are viewed not only as avoidable, but also as totally unacceptable. Anything less results in a continuation of the same catalog of problems inherent in the present system.

Download FULL Book

Full Length Documentary:

TheVenusProject.com
Donate to the Project
Image Source