marqworldchange
Facilitated by Walter Sorochan

Posted April 01, 2014; Updated April 11, 2014.   Disclaimer

This web-site helps you to become acquainted with international movements attempting to bring about social-economic-political changes to the world.  You can explore ideas and movements for change. 

fixworld1To view ideas about change, you need to step out of your comfort and belief box.  Currently, most persons are boxed in a traditional culture media ideology that allows them to see and do things as prescribed by the values and beliefs [mass-media] of their culture. 

So where do you start?  You might start by listening to ideas about world problems and change.

It is no secret that the world governing systems have not been working since the empire building days and are not working today. The June 2008 global crisis has both deepened and widened. The economically competitive technology era of today is in a time of "creative destruction", creating fewer jobs and manual labor being displaced by robots. Unemployed workers have no money and cannot buy essential goods when they are unemployed and cannot recycle the dollar.  The consumer-economic systems of most countries are sputtering.  Obviously our current way of life is not sustainable.  So we do need to have an open mind, become better informed and search for world solutions.  You need to reach for the stars and pull down a dream;  a dream to solve our current problems of scarcity, unemployment, malnutrition, poverty, dysfunctional health care and so on. 

The author originally focused on the first two movements below, but quickly realized that there were many more proposed movements.  Numerous change movements have been proposed:

 1.  Zeitgeist Movement: The movement advocates transition from a money-based economic system to what is defined as a resource-based economy.

2.  Jacque Fresco’s The Venus Project:   Architect and inventor Fresco plans a new world that will transform the culture of greed, power and making money into managing the world’s resources in an attempt to solve the world problems such as hunger, poverty, wars, fighting for resources and so on.

Needless to say, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, The Palm Beach Post, The Marker, Tablet magazine and Reason magazine have offered constructive criticisms about the Zeitgeist movement.  Wiki: Zeitgeist movement 

3.  Other change movements:  e.g. Occupy Wall Street and Tea Party movements Morris: radical change 2012,  people-powered social movements Zeese: change consensus 2014, New world order, Kurzweil Singularity, Fix the world Hopegirl: Fix world, The solution revolution by William D. Eggers and Paul Macmillan Lozada: Solution revolution 2013, The Yes Men Fix the World is a 2009 English language documentary film. And there are also the Bill Gates Foundation, Warren Buffett and other philanthropists who splurge with egos!  Prior to these current movements, there have been 'so-so' attempts by politicians, like the League of Nations, United Nations, International Monetary Fund and the World Health Organization to fix world problems.  There were also attempts by authors of Future Shock, Greening of America and Silent Spring to help us understand and bring about supposed social change movements.  The most recent is Jeremy Rifkin, economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, activist, senior lecturer at the Wharton School's Executive Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania and his book 'Zero Marginal Cost Society' book.  You can spend a very informative hour listening to his presentation: 

Jeremy Rifkin "The Zero Marginal Cost Society"   Video is 1:05 hour long
 
Source: Riflin: Zero society 2014

The videos below are a viewing-listening substitute for textual reading about two popular movements.  Hopefully this approach allows you more flexibility in selecting information about these change dreams!

Michio Kaku and Carl Sagan about world civilization in danger 5:18 mns long:

Source:  Transition of civilization

Peter Joseph, founder Zeitgeist movement 10:56 mns long  

Source: Joseph: Zeitgeist movement explained 2011

Peter Joseph, founder Zeitgeist movement:   Apr 10, 2011; in conjunction with Jacque Fresco's "Venus Project", now works globally to spread information about a new social system called a Resource Based Economy. It encourages a move away from the current monetary system and a society where goods are produced based on human need instead of profit motive.

Video by Jacques Fresco: The Venus Project -Paradise or Oblivion 46:11 mns. long

video: Paradise or Oblivion

Joseph: Moving beyond money   9:36 mns long:

Movie:  Zeitgeist Addendum   2:03 hours long:

Source: Zeitgeist Addendum 

Another video by Doug Casey and his group illustrate a few political-economic changes in the past that have not worked out:  Casey video of failed changes

Overlooked by the all the above proposed movements have been successful movements in public health, survival strategies by numerous animals, such as wolf and hyena packs, elephant herds, and insects like ants and bees.  These are examples of group cooperation banding together as a survival movement.  Smallpox was one of humanity's worst diseases, moving from ancient times, through the discovery of vaccination, to the spectacular WHO-led campaign that finally vanquished the disease. The WHO campaign brought all countries into a cooperative movement unprecedented in world history where, in a span of 10 years, there were no political-economic borders to solving the world health problem of smallpox. Smallpox eradication in all countries was achieved by all countries giving a high priority to make international commitments to eradicate smallpox.  Henderson: Smallpox lessons 1998 

My personal viewpoint, based on the short review of the proposed solutions in the past 300 years and the events of today, is that one person's idea or a small group movement "isn't worth a hell o' beans icommon n this mad and crazy world!" [ similar quote by actor Humphrey Bogart in the movie Casablanca ] Only a massive world-wide movement has a chance of removing international barriers, bias and bringing about successful change movements!  Rifkin suggests the internet as being able to facilitate a free social-common internet media that can be controlled by people themselves, bypass corporate control and bring about economic-political-social change.  Sounds good!

Now prove me wrong ........

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References: 

Alperovitz Gar, "The rise of the new economy movement," AlterNet, May 20, 2012.   Alperovitz: New econ movement 2012

Baruah Sandy K., "The Five New Realities of Economic Development in the 21st Century," Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Summer, 2007.   Baruah: new econ 21 century 2007

Caballero Ricardo J.,"Creative destruction."   Caballero: Creative destruction

Henderson Donald A., "Eradication: lessons from the past," [Smallpox ] WHO Bulletin OMS Vol 7e, Suppl. 2 1998. Henderson: Smallpox lessons 1998

HopeGirl, "Fix the World,"   Hopegirl: Fix world

Lozada Carlos, "Everybody wants to fix the world. Here’s how," The Washington Post, [ commentary on book: The Solution Revolution] Published: December 27, 2013.   Lozada: Solution revolution 2013

Morris Hanna, "The Radical Effect," Caliber Magazine, October 19, 2012.   Morris: radical change 2012

Pells Richard H., "Political movements and social change," Encyclopedia Britannica, December 26, 2013.   Pells: Political movements 2013

Roberts Jeff, "This Is What The Future Should Look Like: Jacque Fresco’s The Venus Project," Collective Evolution, November 17, 2013.   Roberts: Fresco Venus project 2013

Schumpeter Joseph, "Creative destruction."   Schumpeter: creative destruction

Wikipedia, "The Yes Men Fix the World."   Wiki: Res men fix the world  "The film documents the following projects: Dow Chemical and Bhopal, ExxonMobil Vivoleum, Halliburton Survivaball, HUD and post-Katrina public housing, New York Times hopeful future edition "

Wikipedia, "The Zeitgeist movement.   Wiki: Zeitgeist movement

Zeese Kevin and Margaret Flowers, "Changing the Political and Economic Environment: The Tasks of the People-Powered Movement for 2014," Global Research, January 06, 2014.   Zeese: change consensus 2014  

Build Broad National Consensus for Paradigm Shifting Change: "our goal is to build a mass movement, which has the support of super-majorities of Americans and has mobilized up to 3.5% of the population. Therefore, the target of our protests is not the government or a corporation, the target is the people: to educate and mobilize them. We want to show that there is an effective movement speaking to the people’s concerns and putting forth views that they support."