A New Direction For The World As A Whole
Just want to say upfront that I'm not here to argue/debate with anyone. Open discussion is invited.
The world is a mess. Debt is at something like 52 trillion globally. Countries owing other countries. War is perpetual, along with social violence, crime, poverty and environmental destruction. A billon or so people on the planet are starving to death, with an average of 34,000 children alone dying every single day from preventable poverty and disease (approximately one every 2.5 seconds). 50% of the world's population makes less than $2 a day. China is emerging as possibly the next superpower industrializing 5% each year, has secured 2 trillion dollars of US debt, is buying up infrastructure across North America and over the next ten years will put online 650 new coal-fired power plants that will double global greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
The central banks hold a world monopoly over the financial system, while 99% of society has to succumb to outright economic slavery in order to survive. As most of you know all currency within an economy is loaned from its central bank and then expanded through commercial banks, so in essence all money is actually debt. The enslaving part occurs with the application of interest of course, because the interest needed to pay back the loans isn't present in the money supply. Only the principal amount was loaned out, so perpetual debt is constant and can never be overcome. Not to mention, inflation, foreclosure's, bankruptcies, recessions and depressions are a natural by-product of the system.
Our elected politicians are put into power, not to change things but to keep things exactly as they are. Government is no longer an institution for the people, it simply acts as a parent corporation for all of the other corporations within its economy. For a nations true power stems from its economic prowess, or the overall strength of its economy, which means the success of the corporations within said economy is of the greatest importance. One only needs to look at the list of corporate lobbyists on all sides of the political equation to realize all the political parties goals are one in the same.
The most powerful nations of the earth are no longer countries, they are corporations, with the richest 1% of the population owning 40% of the earth's resources, and the richest 1% having the combined wealth of the poorest 4 billion people.
There are tons of social problems as well which I won't address, except to say that the competitive profit system, scarcity driven environment, mundane and intellectually de-stimulating employment options, 50% of which simply exist to perpetuate the economy, and outrageously bad education and health care system have created a population that can be selfish, ignorant, uninformed, uncaring, dumbed down and disconnected from reality on the best of days.
Is there a solution?
Yes. The vast majority of problems that we see in the world today can be eliminated completely if we simply re-orient our thinking about what is actually relevant to our survival, our daily lives, and our planetary environment. I am asking you to step back and take a look at the bigger picture.
The following is a 2009 presentation that presents and defines a definitive solution to most of our planetary problems, the propensity for great change within our social structure, as well as a drastically elevated standard of living for everyone.
I ask that you please watch the full presentation before you respond to this post. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to have an informed discussion. Thank you.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7043163636261#
I recently picked up a Macbook Pro so I'm unsure if its a settings issue or not but the video plays fine on my G5. If however, the videos don't start playing immediately, just let it load for 30 seconds and then nudge the play slider forward and then back to the beginning and it will start immediately.
Just as a reference note, I am an activist for this movement and aside from more major media, creative and scientific projects in the works, we are in the public education phase. We currently have just over 500,000 members in 63 countries and are expanding this new awareness at an unprecedented rate. If you identify with this new direction please get involved in whatever way that you can. This needs to be networked to literally hundreds of millions of people if we have any hope of moving toward a definitive transition out of the old system and into the new one. While the redesign of our planet is a massive undertaking, our biggest obstacle is in the form of corporate, government and other institutions that are unwilling to change.
If you don't identify with this new direction then simply don't do anything. Either way, I wish everyone happiness in their life.
P.S. Just watched this new presentation tonight and thought I'd include it here. It is geared towards people who are familiar with the first presentation, however it will illustrate clearly our present state of affairs and why we seriously need to change direction. It doesn't go into as much detail on the solution outlined in the above video so please watch that to clarify that aspect of the discussion.
http://vimeo.com/6346955
The world is a mess. Debt is at something like 52 trillion globally. Countries owing other countries. War is perpetual, along with social violence, crime, poverty and environmental destruction. A billon or so people on the planet are starving to death, with an average of 34,000 children alone dying every single day from preventable poverty and disease (approximately one every 2.5 seconds). 50% of the world's population makes less than $2 a day. China is emerging as possibly the next superpower industrializing 5% each year, has secured 2 trillion dollars of US debt, is buying up infrastructure across North America and over the next ten years will put online 650 new coal-fired power plants that will double global greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.
The central banks hold a world monopoly over the financial system, while 99% of society has to succumb to outright economic slavery in order to survive. As most of you know all currency within an economy is loaned from its central bank and then expanded through commercial banks, so in essence all money is actually debt. The enslaving part occurs with the application of interest of course, because the interest needed to pay back the loans isn't present in the money supply. Only the principal amount was loaned out, so perpetual debt is constant and can never be overcome. Not to mention, inflation, foreclosure's, bankruptcies, recessions and depressions are a natural by-product of the system.
Our elected politicians are put into power, not to change things but to keep things exactly as they are. Government is no longer an institution for the people, it simply acts as a parent corporation for all of the other corporations within its economy. For a nations true power stems from its economic prowess, or the overall strength of its economy, which means the success of the corporations within said economy is of the greatest importance. One only needs to look at the list of corporate lobbyists on all sides of the political equation to realize all the political parties goals are one in the same.
The most powerful nations of the earth are no longer countries, they are corporations, with the richest 1% of the population owning 40% of the earth's resources, and the richest 1% having the combined wealth of the poorest 4 billion people.
There are tons of social problems as well which I won't address, except to say that the competitive profit system, scarcity driven environment, mundane and intellectually de-stimulating employment options, 50% of which simply exist to perpetuate the economy, and outrageously bad education and health care system have created a population that can be selfish, ignorant, uninformed, uncaring, dumbed down and disconnected from reality on the best of days.
Is there a solution?
Yes. The vast majority of problems that we see in the world today can be eliminated completely if we simply re-orient our thinking about what is actually relevant to our survival, our daily lives, and our planetary environment. I am asking you to step back and take a look at the bigger picture.
The following is a 2009 presentation that presents and defines a definitive solution to most of our planetary problems, the propensity for great change within our social structure, as well as a drastically elevated standard of living for everyone.
I ask that you please watch the full presentation before you respond to this post. Otherwise, it is impossible for us to have an informed discussion. Thank you.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7043163636261#
I recently picked up a Macbook Pro so I'm unsure if its a settings issue or not but the video plays fine on my G5. If however, the videos don't start playing immediately, just let it load for 30 seconds and then nudge the play slider forward and then back to the beginning and it will start immediately.
Just as a reference note, I am an activist for this movement and aside from more major media, creative and scientific projects in the works, we are in the public education phase. We currently have just over 500,000 members in 63 countries and are expanding this new awareness at an unprecedented rate. If you identify with this new direction please get involved in whatever way that you can. This needs to be networked to literally hundreds of millions of people if we have any hope of moving toward a definitive transition out of the old system and into the new one. While the redesign of our planet is a massive undertaking, our biggest obstacle is in the form of corporate, government and other institutions that are unwilling to change.
If you don't identify with this new direction then simply don't do anything. Either way, I wish everyone happiness in their life.
P.S. Just watched this new presentation tonight and thought I'd include it here. It is geared towards people who are familiar with the first presentation, however it will illustrate clearly our present state of affairs and why we seriously need to change direction. It doesn't go into as much detail on the solution outlined in the above video so please watch that to clarify that aspect of the discussion.
http://vimeo.com/6346955
Comments
G520incher why don't you just tell us what the direction is rather than link to what looks like a 2 hour video?
Because it is not as simple as just saying "this is what we have to do". Most people don't understand how our current monetary system even works, how money is created and governed, and the devastating effects it has had on the world as a whole. This aspect needs to be understood and it is detailed very effectively in the films, and especially in the last presentation at the bottom of the post.
I've talked to economists who have worked in the field for 15 years who never put 2 and 2 together to see what these films explain. They approach it from a very different standpoint. Beyond that, the solutions are so foreign for most people to even consider, and then raises a tremendous amount of questions that the films do a wonderful job of explaining.
If I were to write it all out here, it could easily be 500 pages. It is complex while also being quite simple to understand once you have the background which the films provide. Plus, it's only 2 hours for the film. You rent movies that are longer for the sole purpose of entertainment value. 2 hours is nothing. The first film covers a lot of ground. The presentation after it covers a lot too, and the last presentation I posted at the end will open your eyes to a lot that you don't see in your everyday life.
If you want to, watch the last one first. It's only 68 mins. When you want more, move to the other two. Also, experiencing anything visually with audio is always better than reading pages of text, IMHO.
Actually the amendment to Zeitgeist which talks about the monetary fiasco is quite interesting. It is the first link in the original post. http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...5277695921912#
For the first 20 minutes or so, at least, there was nothing but fairly extended cool looking visuals mixed with fairly standard "the world is a blood soaked abattoir" visuals overlain with trance or industrial music, interspersed with the odd VO of various folks speaking somewhat abstractly about How It Is.
I don't know what the target audience for the film is, but as a piece of consciousness raising it seems to take its sweet time getting beyond moody evocativeness and getting down to anything informative or instructive.
I guess if I were going to a screening somewhere and a little high, I might be content to sit back and be immersed, and for all I know at the end of 2 hours I might have a new perspective, but as a thing on the internet I don't think most people are going to be so patient.
Is it supposed to be a kind of Koyaanisqatsi sort of deal, where the hypnotic power of visual storytelling opens us to new insights into the nature of man's presence on the earth?
If so, that is at odds to your original post, which was information heavy and fairly didactic. If at some point after I gave up the film begins to traffic in specifics, maybe the filmmakers would do well to hire an editor and become less enamored of iTunes visualizer type sequences.
Well, I tried watching some of the 2 hour vid.
For the first 20 minutes or so, at least, there was nothing but fairly extended cool looking visuals mixed with fairly standard "the world is a blood soaked abattoir" visuals overlain with trance or industrial music, interspersed with the odd VO of various folks speaking somewhat abstractly about How It Is.
I don't know what the target audience for the film is, but as a piece of consciousness raising it seems to take its sweet time getting beyond moody evocativeness and getting down to anything informative or instructive.
I guess if I were going to a screening somewhere and a little high, I might be content to sit back and be immersed, and for all I know at the end of 2 hours I might have a new perspective, but as a thing on the internet I don't think most people are going to be so patient.
Is it supposed to be a kind of Koyaanisqatsi sort of deal, where the hypnotic power of visual storytelling opens us to new insights into the nature of man's presence on the earth?
If so, that is at odds to your original post, which was information heavy and fairly didactic. If at some point after I gave up the film begins to traffic in specifics, maybe the filmmakers would do well to hire an editor and become less enamored of iTunes visualizer type sequences.
Good point which I hadn't considered. This is the first forum I've presented this in so far, so it is kind of a test bed for me to figure out the best way to present this. The first film does take about 20 mins to get into the meat of it. The beginning has a purpose which is brought full circle at the end. The entire film is an art/activist style new age film and the director and producer (Peter Joseph) also composed all the music. I agree that the first 20 mins should be edited out.
I am going to revamp my first post to include only one video, the presentation because it covers everything that is needed to understand our current situation as well as the new direction which is a resource based economy, and it does get right into the meat of the issues:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...7043163636261#
Well, I tried watching some of the 2 hour vid.
For the first 20 minutes or so, at least, there was nothing but fairly extended cool looking visuals mixed with fairly standard "the world is a blood soaked abattoir" visuals overlain with trance or industrial music, interspersed with the odd VO of various folks speaking somewhat abstractly about How It Is.
I don't know what the target audience for the film is, but as a piece of consciousness raising it seems to take its sweet time getting beyond moody evocativeness and getting down to anything informative or instructive.
I guess if I were going to a screening somewhere and a little high, I might be content to sit back and be immersed, and for all I know at the end of 2 hours I might have a new perspective, but as a thing on the internet I don't think most people are going to be so patient.
Is it supposed to be a kind of Koyaanisqatsi sort of deal, where the hypnotic power of visual storytelling opens us to new insights into the nature of man's presence on the earth?
If so, that is at odds to your original post, which was information heavy and fairly didactic. If at some point after I gave up the film begins to traffic in specifics, maybe the filmmakers would do well to hire an editor and become less enamored of iTunes visualizer type sequences.
I was actually expecting Northgate to chime in on this topic, given his background.
"The membership of the G-20 comprises:
the finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7, 12 other key countries, and the European Union Presidency (if not a G7 member)
the European Central Bank
the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
the Chairman of the IMFC
the President of the World Bank
the Chairman of the Development Committee
The G20 does not have a charter and its debates are not public, making it an "undemocratic institution."
~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economies
I've watched those videos, though not recently and am wandering what's actually different about them to lots of other thinking that's been around for a long time as to regards to ever increasing production, financial system etc.
What I see happening is that things are moving roughly in the direction that the films show, but only in very limited ways.
G520incher is your name taken at all from the G20 group?
"The membership of the G-20 comprises:
I think it means he owns a G5 Mac with a 20 inch screen.
I think it means he owns a G5 Mac with a 20 inch screen.
Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NJEouqefis
The world is a mess. Debt is at something like 52 trillion globally. Countries owing other countries. War is perpetual, along with social violence, crime, poverty and environmental destruction.
The world has always been "a mess." It always will be, because we are not perfect. You need to look at the human race as a whole instead of at the individual level, in which case you will realize that massive strides have been made and continue to be made every day.
In other words, we are on the right track but there's no "overnight" fix that will suddenly catapult humanity into a position that it is evolutionarily not slated for at this time. However, if you which to focus on the individual level, you do have the ability to do whatever you choose to improve conditions for other individuals. Just don't expect the whole world to care. It's not in our DNA. Humanity: inherently good but not perfect.
The world has always been "a mess."
Actually, if you study the few remaining indigenous cultures left on the planet, where the idea for a resource based economy came from, you'll see that human beings once upon a time were very caring of each other, worked together as a community and shared the earth's resources with each other to further themselves as a whole. It was the introduction of a monetary system that ultimately led to greed, abuse of others and hoarding of resources that created an imbalance.
It always will be,
It will remain the same as long as we don't recognize the problems that have brought us to this point in time, and make a concerted, global effort to change.
because we are not perfect.
This is true. We are not perfect, nor will we ever be. There is no such thing as a utopia or a final frontier. Everything, including our knowledge is in a constant state of transition because we live in an emergent universe. There will always be new things to learn, new technological invention, and new problems to solve. However, that does not mean we have to continue living like cavemen. It does not mean we have to continue with-holding efficiency just to maintain human servitude and debt. It does not mean we have to live in a world of artificial scarcity just to maintain a crumbling economic system. We should out grow the system so that we can achieve absolute abundance on this planet, which has existed for decades with the advent of scientific and technological advancement.
You need to look at the human race as a whole instead of at the individual level,
Have you even watched the posted video? We ARE looking at the human race as a whole. We are the only group on the planet who actually is. All monetary reform policies presented so far address only the developed nations like the US, Canada and Britain. All organizations like Greenpeace, Unicef, WWF, ACLU, Fair Trade Federation, Friends Of The Earth, Equality Project, Earth Justice and so on, rarely ever even present a solution, and when they do it is always framed within our current economic system.
We are the only group on the planet that is addressing the needs and concerns of all nations, and all of the earth's people, at once. This is a grassroots movement in which we ask all "individuals" to get involved in spreading awareness, but this is a new direction for the entire planet with no one left behind.
in which case you will realize that massive strides have been made and continue to be made every day.
Such as?
In other words, we are on the right track
If anything, the human race is in a state of de-evolution currently and has been for some time. Do you know that the billion or so people starving to death on the planet are doing so NOT because there aren't enough resources, and NOT because there is not enough food, and NOT because we don't have the technological means to feed them...It is because those people do NOT have the required "purchasing power" under the monetary system to buy the technology, resources, and scientific knowledge that they need to survive.
If we wanted to we could build huge machine automated hydroponic greenhouses in the middle of the desert and simply tap down to the water table, and very easily feed all of the world's starving people. That would not be difficult.
The problem is we live inside of a monetary system so every raw material, every human invention, and all resources have an associated cost. The question has NEVER been can we afford this or that. The question ALWAYS has been do we have the resources, technology and human ingenuity to do whatever it is we want to do. And the answer to that my friends is YES, we do.
The video takes this much further so that you have a complete understanding of what I'm talking about. It simply requires too much writing of which none of you will ever read, so its a waste of my time to bother. Just watch the 1.5 hour video.
but there's no "overnight" fix that will suddenly catapult humanity
You are correct. What I am presenting here is in no way an "overnight" fix. However, if enough people identified with this new direction and we could begin the transition in the next couple years, it wouldn't take as long as one might think. The problems we face are not in any way scientific or technological in nature. The problems are the current human value system that has been distorted by the monetary system and the dominant institutions of our world such as religion, government and the corporate elite. These institutions wish to keep and forever perpetuate their power, and the monetary system guarantees this.
into a position that it is evolutionarily not slated for at this time.
I would be careful about your use of the term "evolution" in terms of this new direction. This new direction is in fact the direction we should be evolving towards, except as I mentioned above, the monetary system and the dominant institutions of our time are blocking our natural evolutionary progression and preventing us from moving forward in any significant way.
However, if you which to focus on the individual level, you do have the ability to do whatever you choose to improve conditions for other individuals.
Thats good. Then I expect that others also have the ability to do whatever they choose to do to improve conditions for other individuals. Of course knowing what the problems are and finding solutions to those problems is not always clear or easy.
My hope is that other people will watch the above video and identify with it, and start spreading that awareness to their friends, family and co-workers. That is all I can hope for, as I believe this is the direction the human race must move in to achieve total abundance, equality, environmental equilibrium without debt or servitude for the entire planet.
Just don't expect the whole world to care. It's not in our DNA.
Our DNA only promotes specific tendencies. It does not promote specific human behaviors. It is the environment an individual grows up in that develops human behavior. Your DNA could promote a leaning towards depression, but if you grow up in an extremely positive and mentally stimulating environment with very little stress, you will likely never become depressed even though it's built into your DNA.
Our DNA does not cause greed, competition, or hate. Those things are picked up in the environment, and ironically, those things are all caused by our use of a monetary system as well as institutions like religion, government and business.
I suspect that the vast majority of the world does in fact care. Most people simply don't understand the core problems and thus can't ever find a solution to those problems.
Humanity: inherently good but not perfect.
Since perfection is impossible in an emergent universe, I'll take the "inherently good" part. Cheers!
Actually, if you study the few remaining indigenous cultures left on the planet, where the idea for a resource based economy came from, you'll see that human beings once upon a time were very caring of each other, worked together as a community and shared the earth's resources with each other to further themselves as a whole. It was the introduction of a monetary system that ultimately led to greed, abuse of others and hoarding of resources that created an imbalance.
If you hate it so much, why do you so obviously choose to be part of it?
I would also advocate that you read any number of available essays about the origin of money and wealth. Wealth, it seems, had existed prior to homo sapiens (incidentally, so did war). Money itself is just a manifestation of wealth. Even so, no one is preventing you from moving off to a commune except yourself.
Why is this thread not in PO?
The triumph of hope over experience.
Actually, if you study the few remaining indigenous cultures left on the planet, where the idea for a resource based economy came from, you'll see that human beings once upon a time were very caring of each other, worked together as a community and shared the earth's resources with each other to further themselves as a whole. It was the introduction of a monetary system that ultimately led to greed, abuse of others and hoarding of resources that created an imbalance.
Can you name some of these cultures please? Because many of the indigenous cultures I've studied have been just as greedy and warlike as everybody else.
Can you name some of these cultures please? Because many of the indigenous cultures I've studied have been just as greedy and warlike as everybody else.
Yeah, I wasn't even going to touch that, much less the meaning of "indigenous." Everyone came from Africa at some point.