Hey guys, I came up some ideas while looking at the open source ecology project. (openfarmtech.org)

I call it the transition procedure, because that's exactly what it is, in my mind. I think the transition plan is great and its obviously where I got the idea. I'm not trying to compete with it at all, I'm just adding my idea for a procedure I feel we could follow to make the transition happen right now. Hopefully, you guys can take something from it. Its the most effective way to implement The Venus Project I can come up with. I will attach it. If you can't download it, just let me know and I'll go ahead and put it up in a reply in text.

My hope is that Peter Joseph or someone will like what they see and hopefully something like this or a transition plan that encompasses starting communities right NOW, will get added to the official tenets of this movement.

I plan to contact the guys from the open source ecology so that I can possibly check out what they're doing personally, and consider volunteering, as I only live about 3 hours away. Pretty lucky, if I do say so my self.

Well, let me know what you think!

Damn. It won't let me attach the file cause of its size. Oh well Here you go in text form:






The Transition Procedure:

The transition procedure is a step by step algorithm to get from where we are now to where we want to be. It is the outline to go from a free trade monetary economy to a resource based economy. The Venus project is the ultimate goal - and we can begin laying the bricks now. If you are unfamiliar with the goals of this movement, it is suggested that you watch or read the Zeitgeist movement orientation guide. Note that this is the initial algorithm and is subject to change. Suggestions, constructive criticisms, additions and variations are encouraged.

The procedure of the transition in its simplest form can be broken down into 3 stages: Full monetary economy, Part monetary economy and Resource Based Economy.

Stage 1: Full monetary economy - The dreaming stage
As you are aware this is the stage the majority are in right now. In this stage spreading awareness about a new social direction is the most important goal. The second highest priority in this stage is planning. It is important that we begin imagining not only the final goal, but imagine the construction of sustainable communities that don’t use money. We must imagine how they would expand and attract others into them to foster growth. Finally, the intention to have a new paradigm of experience must occur. This intention to create a new way of life will drive the movement in to action.

Stage 2: Part monetary economy - The initial construction
This stage will be the most difficult to do. However, it will pave the way for the final goal. It will require organization and design on every level of the movement. It encompasses starting non-monetary, off the grid resilient communities of only hundreds of people. Here are the steps to follow:


The Zeitgeist movement must officially partner with Open Source Ecology.
“The open Source Ecology's goal and current engagement is creating tools to build replicable, open source, modern off-grid resilient communities using open source permaculture and technology to work together for providing basic needs and self replicating the entire operation at the cost of scrap metal. We seek societal transformation through interconnected self-sufficient villages and homes. This is a stepping stone to transcending survival and evolving to freedom.” -O.S.E.

The open source ecology project is the most tangible, scientifically documented and easily replicable community to date. It will provide those who choose to start a community an already tested, working program to follow.

The forming of non-monetary, self-sustaining villages:
Next, the start up of the communities must be encouraged within the movement. It should become a newly formed tenet of the movement to begin replicating self-sustaining non-monetary villages in every region of every country. The villages could be designed for about 200 people. These initial villages will be very simple, and won’t have the luxuries of the monetary society at this point. For more information on what this will be like, look into the open source ecology project. It is important to note the need to attract people into these communities. Within the new system the more people that we have, the stronger we are, similar to open source communities. Our strength lies on cooperation, not competition. With more people, the communities will advance quicker, allowing less labor. For this reason the villages should be designed, using replication, to be able to expand into becoming cities, in order to raise the standard of living for those in the communities quickly. In the basic villages the necessities of power, food, water, shelter and others will be distributed without the use of money. These 200 person villages could then expanded by adding a second village directly adjacent to the first. Successive villages could be added in the same manner, until a group of self sustaining villages (10 or so) are now chained in a circle or spiral. In the circle design, additional belts of “villages” could be added to the city. In the spiral design successive villages would be added indefinitely.

Organization will be necessary in the villages and for this reason community “councils” could be formed. These councils would oversee different aspect of the society, like agriculture, home/dome construction etc. These councils would act only as advisory and organization boards, having no real authority over the actions of other residents. In the case a situation arises that effects everyone, the community would have a direct vote/election by all 200 residents.

Property taxes and purchasing land are still required. Therefore, within the communities some will have to have jobs to pay for these minimum requirements of our current system. However, these do not appear to be major obstacles.

The forming of non-monetary, self sustaining towns:
As the villages wrap around themselves into a circle, greater community projects can now begin. If the town consists of 10 villages in a circle, it would now hold a population of 2,000 people. Much labor will be required in the initial stages but at this point, there will be a small excess of potential labor that could be volunteered towards projects located in the center of the town (surrounded by villages) or on newly formed belts of the community. These would be things such as schools, health centers, food and clothing production centers, shipping and communication systems. All labor will be from volunteers. The system’s need for a minimal labor force will push forth technological innovation. Note that the larger, town oriented community projects are not be necessary, because each village in the town will already be self sufficient. However, larger, centralized systems providing for all villages would increase productivity dramatically. The increased productivity, will allow more time for the residents to focus on larger projects that would increase the standard of living. This will act as an incentive to centralize the villages into a town. As far as education goes, accreditation from the system for schools, because the lessons would be in the relevant applicable fields of science, agriculture and production. They will be taught by volunteers who have worked in those areas in the villages and towns. The main concept to understand is that as these towns expand, the standard of living will rise and the average work/per individual required will decrease. Automation and technologies will naturally emerge from these communities once they grow large enough.

Giving back to society
As the villages expand into towns and even cities, the abundance caused by the increased productivity will allow for things such as shirts, food, water (biodegradable plastic bottles can be made) to be not only distributed for free to the communities themselves, but also to neighboring towns still within the monetary system. This would improve the quality of life for everyone, while spreading the awareness that a non-monetary system would be better: gaining the movement positive publicity. Some towns or cities may choose to sell electricity or excess goods and services to the neighboring monetary towns, and that would be acceptable as well, as long as transparency is kept, and it is used only for paying property taxes, acquiring more land or contributing to the whole of society in some way. If individuals within the self sustaining towns produce goods and services from their own labor and choose to sell them, than obviously there is no problem with that.

Stage 3: The Resource Based Economy

As villages expand to towns, towns will eventually expand in to cities. These cities and towns will begin providing goods and services to the monetary communities for free. Self-sustaining communities providing necessities to the monetary communities will provide a safety net for the inevitable collapse of the monetary system due to technological unemployment. When the currency in the given region collapses or undergoes hyperinflation people will have food and water provided to them from these communities. When the monetary system does collapse, it could potentially be very chaotic. However, If this procedure is followed, non monetary communities will already be there to insulate society when its monetary foundation collapses. During this time the already existing self sustaining communities will expand exponentially and it will only be years before The Venus Project is realized. Missions to end poverty, reach out to other parts of the world, and achieve world peace can now enter the planning phase, without the limitation and paralyses of the current monetary system.

Excellent. Obviously, there are some practical details missing, but I think that is the most complete explanation of a transition scenario I've heard yet.

TZM is a grand vision. OSE (potentially) is a toolkit of disruptive technologies. Yes, of course there is a natural affinity between the two. But:

1. TZM has no top-down control over the OSE technologies
2. OSE technologies don't necessarily lead to the TZM vision

A more likely scenario is that people will pick and choose from both TZM and OSE. Communities will range in size from single-family homesteads to communal villages. Some will generate their own energy, some will hook up to the grid. Some will grow their own food, some will shop at Walmart. Some will be integrated with the consumer economy, some will adopt moneyless economies. These are just the extremes; most communities will be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

Some communities will succeed, some will fail. Most likely there will be several different models that succeed, at least in the eyes of the people who live there. What "works" will change over time, as the technologies evolve.

OSE supplies the technologies for "replicable" communities, but that doesn't mean the communities will be replicated like identical fast-food franchises. People thinking about starting a community will look at what other people have done. They'll see what works and what doesn't work. They'll copy one feature from one community, another feature from a different community, and in some other way they'll try something totally new.

The point is that we can talk about algorithms and transition procedures, but in the end, people will do what they want to do, not what you and I think they "should" do.

Logical positivist wrote:
TZM is a grand vision. OSE (potentially) is a toolkit of disruptive technologies. Yes, of course there is a natural affinity between the two. But:

1. TZM has no top-down control over the OSE technologies
2. OSE technologies don't necessarily lead to the TZM vision

A more likely scenario is that people will pick and choose from both TZM and OSE. Communities will range in size from single-family homesteads to communal villages. Some will generate their own energy, some will hook up to the grid. Some will grow their own food, some will shop at Walmart. Some will be integrated with the consumer economy, some will adopt moneyless economies. These are just the extremes; most communities will be somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.

Some communities will succeed, some will fail. Most likely there will be several different models that succeed, at least in the eyes of the people who live there. What "works" will change over time, as the technologies evolve.

OSE supplies the technologies for "replicable" communities, but that doesn't mean the communities will be replicated like identical fast-food franchises. People thinking about starting a community will look at what other people have done. They'll see what works and what doesn't work. They'll copy one feature from one community, another feature from a different community, and in some other way they'll try something totally new.

The point is that we can talk about algorithms and transition procedures, but in the end, people will do what they want to do, not what you and I think they "should" do.

His transition plan does not call on what communities or villages/towns should be like, but how they should form and what geographical/area structure they should follow...I also don't see how OSE does this...

But anyways, I like this transition plan that you put up a lot, it makes sense to me. Now all we need is a legitimate mass movement to get into the public so that we can gain some funds, support, and most importantly people WILLING to do this.

I like this... I just posted a twist on this framework, which involves luring high-tech manufacturing companies to become part of the village.. creating a symbiotic relationship between the residents and the company, while still striving for 'self-sufficiency' for the residents.

I think I put it in the wrong forum group, though. Feels more at home as part of this thread. Here's the full post:

I've been trying to come up with a way to spur some transitional elements of the ZM. Nothing concrete yet, but I'd like to explore a business model that would encourage technology and industrial companies to become part of 'techno-villages' where they can run their businesses and will be encouraged to highly automate their processes. The 'residents' of the village, instead of being paid a salary, would have their needs taken care of by the company - housing, food, health, etc. - and there would be some kind of non-profit or trust that acts as a legal entity for the residents and can spend money on their behalf, collected from some kind of profit-sharing structure with the companies.

I'm thinking that if it's cheaper for a company to provide these kinds of things for the 'residents', (who will also tend to the factories), there might be a financial incentive for companies to become part of it. There would be added benefits for the companies, such as eliminating payroll taxes, hassling with labor unions about losing jobs (getting rid of jobs would be encouraged!), ability to 'shutter' a factory for a while without paying employees, having an extremely flexible workforce, and buying goods for the village at wholesale costs rather than retail. The benefits for the residents would be no bills, no money, no taxes, and low stress. Community automation and other R&D costs could come out of the 'trust fund'. Technologies perfected by the village could even be monetized for sale in the outside world, allowing the village to grow. When one gets large enough, other villages can sprout up. Of course enabling food and energy independence would be in the company's favor, as well. Aquaponics, solar arrays, whatever is available.

I'll say right now I don't have any business school education or anything. But I do know that financial profit is important for any business, and if we can come up with a new business model with the right incentives for businesses to join us, then we've got the start of a real transition. (No taxes or money for villagers, property taxes paid by the businesses, tax revenues for monetary govt fall, govt. shrinks, becoming useless eventually... etc. )

If this is too crazy, tell me. It won't hurt my feelings. I'm just throwing tails at the donkey (with a blindfold on). Just think- if we could get this kind of thing going with specific industries - steel mills and cement companies, electronics manufacturers, battery manufacturers, etc. - we could soon have access to all the raw materials we would need to really start building an RBE infrastructure, without the gobs of money it might take otherwise.

When enough of the earth is doing this, and there is less and less money, and less people needing money, then the businesses will find they have no more customers, and go "out of business'. at that point, all the infrastructure will just become part of the villages (aka Venus Project cities) and viola - a seamless, bloodless transition.

-Neuro

@Zwest
I think your plan is a good way people can try to get off the grid in the time being while this movement spreads the idea of a RBE more and recruit people with skills and show small primitive examples of what a RBE is. But at the sametime, it may be better to push for a city project to cover more ground and for the area to be advance from the get go to cut down on labor resources, and cut down on the need of buying material resources from elsewhere. The idea of giving back to other communities and selling energy make sense when it comes to paying property taxes. But some may argue to avoid having to pay property taxes, we can use self determination to form a microstate.

@Neuro...I'm not clear on your idea. Are you saying for the movement to form a community business or partner with businesses based on automation and to provide this automation for free for the people who will work at these businesses without pay and live in these communities for free? And the businesses will sell this technology to the outside world where the profits will go towards paying for the community members' property taxes and to continue to upgrade the community?

@Virtue

Yeah, that's pretty much it. The partnership between the business and the community would be something new, since in a monetary economy it's not attractive to work for zero pay, even if the lifestyle you have in the zero pay environment is better than your crappy apartment and all your bills, etc. It's a principle thing our society has. So the partnership would be something thing new. I'm looking for input on how we could define that partnership to make it mutually beneficial, and attract both practical low-tech, and high tech companies into our new form of 'co-op'.

It also occurred to me that we might be able to use patented ideas and techniques within the community and for the community, since we won't be making/using them for profit... (separate from the business partnership, that is)

-Neuro

@Neuro...I think this idea is possible but the next question is how to plan it all out and how to pursue existing businesses in doing this. The existing businesses may even want us to put up some money to purchase the area and materials to start this venture. Also, the labor hours will have to be real low to attract people, but with heavy automation in the picture, this should be a given. In addition, it will be important for these businesses to be open to transparency as far as letting the community members know where the money they are profiting from the partnership is going to help prevent corruption. But 2 arguments against this idea is we will still be promoting the monetary system we want to get rid of and what if these businesses can't sell these automated technologies enough to make money?

@ Virtue

I hear ya with regards to the arguments against. Let me clarify that the businesses wouldn't necessarily be automation technologies. The idea is to find a business that isn't very automated, and help them design automation systems so they can produce their product more efficiently. In a normal business, this would create technological unemployment, but in this kind of co-op, no one is laid off so there isn't a downside for the workforce. Part of the relationship with the company would provide part of its profits into the community, no matter how many people were 'working' there. Maybe it's based on some sales percentage or something. All those details are what I'm trying to figure out (with everyone's help).

If the company has a slow period due to lack of demand, no one is affected by production slowing down or even stopping completely for a while. The idea is to have multiple companies that are part of this village. So really everyone helps each other out. It could even be a tax deduction for the company if the money (as goods, food, or food production systems or whatever) they give to the community is seen as a non-profit donation.

I know it sounds pretty weird. There would be a lot of details to figure out, and i really have no idea if the math work work out at all.

The thing I do know is I'm trying to keep the end goal in mind - that is, building communities that are largely self-sufficient, attractive to newcomers, attractive to industry, and enable a superior lifestyle for everyone in the community using no money and very low stress. This includes the business owners - they would be welcome to live in the community. All this while starving the 'government' of as much revenue as possible, to keep it shrinking down to nothing. Keeping that end goal in mind, it's just a matter of rearranging the pieces on the board to get there. In our case, there are quite a few pieces that haven't been thought of yet, because they didn't need to exist in the 'money' board game. Pieces like automation, renewable energy, hybrid co-ops, etc.

This whole discussion would be so much easier, and more fun, if it were in real time, in person, and with several giant white boards and a slew of open minded business experts.