What do you think?
Rate this book
Designing the Future
A Future by Design
Are you prepared to design the future?
Although many of us feel we can prepare for our future by thinking, acting, and learning using present methods and values, nothing is farther from the truth – especially in today’s rapidly changing world. A newborn child enters a world not of his or her own making. Each succeeding generation inherits the values, accomplishments, hopes, successes, and failings of previous generations. And they inherit the results of the decisions made by those generations.
For the hundreds of thousands of years of human existence when technologies were simple or non-existent, this may have had little impact on human life and the earth that sustains it. Each generation of hunters and gatherers, then plowmen and pioneers, passed on tools to the next generation to help them survive. Change from one generation to the next was slow and hardly noticeable. In those days there was little understanding of science and how things worked, and explanations were not scientific.
This is no longer the case in today’s high-tech world where a change that affects millions may happen in a matter of seconds. A child born today inherits a world vastly different from that of its parent’s generation, let alone that from centuries ago. Previous generations left a legacy of, exploitation, occupation, and irrelevant values that present great challenges, but also opportunities to the people of today.
The application of scientific principles, for better or worse, accounts for every single advance that has improved people’s lives. Important documents and proclamations have been issued granting rights and privileges to members of societies, but at the heart of human progress – or destruction – is the rock-solid foundation of science.
For generations past it was impossible to direct the future much beyond the present moment, and forecasts of the future were based on non- scientific methods. Prophets and sages presented visions of the future based on dreams, hallucinations, religious fervor, divination of animal parts, crystal balls, etc. Some may even have been accurate, but this was more because of luck than because of any direct channel to the supernatural.
Now satellites circle the globe beaming down information in fractions of a second about everything that impacts our lives. This information is very valuable for projecting weather patterns, high and low points, geological hot and cold spots, where people live, and the warming of the planet. This has given us, for the first time, the ability to monitor the health of the planet, which many scientists see as in serious, if not critical, condition.
In a single day, trillions of bits of scientific data zip through cyberspace at light-speed, making a high-tech civilization possible. While physical science and technology silently direct much of the action, millions of people around the globe still practice pseudo-science, using fortune- tellers, seers, and philosophers for their daily direction. Many world leaders regularly consult psychics, mediums, and astrologers for guidance in decisions that determine the fate of millions.
Present human activity and its consequences does not have to be shaped by the needs and values of our ancestors. In fact, it must not be. For instance, armed conflict between nations is still seen by many as the only way to settle differences. It is especially promoted by those who profit handsomely from the sale of armaments. This is now totally unacceptable and dangerous because of war’s extreme human and environmental costs.
A militant viewpoint is obsolete once we view the world as a whole interrelated system with all its people as one family.
Are you prepared to design the future?
Although many of us feel we can prepare for our future by thinking, acting, and learning using present methods and values, nothing is farther from the truth – especially in today’s rapidly changing world. A newborn child enters a world not of his or her own making. Each succeeding generation inherits the values, accomplishments, hopes, successes, and failings of previous generations. And they inherit the results of the decisions made by those generations.
For the hundreds of thousands of years of human existence when technologies were simple or non-existent, this may have had little impact on human life and the earth that sustains it. Each generation of hunters and gatherers, then plowmen and pioneers, passed on tools to the next generation to help them survive. Change from one generation to the next was slow and hardly noticeable. In those days there was little understanding of science and how things worked, and explanations were not scientific.
This is no longer the case in today’s high-tech world where a change that affects millions may happen in a matter of seconds. A child born today inherits a world vastly different from that of its parent’s generation, let alone that from centuries ago. Previous generations left a legacy of, exploitation, occupation, and irrelevant values that present great challenges, but also opportunities to the people of today.
The application of scientific principles, for better or worse, accounts for every single advance that has improved people’s lives. Important documents and proclamations have been issued granting rights and privileges to members of societies, but at the heart of human progress – or destruction – is the rock-solid foundation of science.
For generations past it was impossible to direct the future much beyond the present moment, and forecasts of the future were based on non- scientific methods. Prophets and sages presented visions of the future based on dreams, hallucinations, religious fervor, divination of animal parts, crystal balls, etc. Some may even have been accurate, but this was more because of luck than because of any direct channel to the supernatural.
Now satellites circle the globe beaming down information in fractions of a second about everything that impacts our lives. This information is very valuable for projecting weather patterns, high and low points, geological hot and cold spots, where people live, and the warming of the planet. This has given us, for the first time, the ability to monitor the health of the planet, which many scientists see as in serious, if not critical, condition.
In a single day, trillions of bits of scientific data zip through cyberspace at light-speed, making a high-tech civilization possible. While physical science and technology silently direct much of the action, millions of people around the globe still practice pseudo-science, using fortune- tellers, seers, and philosophers for their daily direction. Many world leaders regularly consult psychics, mediums, and astrologers for guidance in decisions that determine the fate of millions.
Present human activity and its consequences does not have to be shaped by the needs and values of our ancestors. In fact, it must not be. For instance, armed conflict between nations is still seen by many as the only way to settle differences. It is especially promoted by those who profit handsomely from the sale of armaments. This is now totally unacceptable and dangerous because of war’s extreme human and environmental costs.
A militant viewpoint is obsolete once we view the world as a whole interrelated system with all its people as one family.
86 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
20 people are currently reading
634 people want to read
About the author
Jacque Fresco
10 books298 followersJacque Fresco is an American futurist and self-described social engineer. Fresco is self-taught and has worked in a variety of positions related to industrial design and the aircraft industry.
Fresco writes and lectures his views on sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural-resource management, cybernetic technology, automation, and the role of science in society. Fresco is the director of The Venus Project. Fresco advocates global implementation of a socioeconomic system which he refers to as a "resource-based economy.
He grew up in a Sephardi Jewish home in Bensonhurst in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. According to Fresco, he had no interest with formal schooling and "dropped out of school at 14." Fresco grew up during the Great Depression period.
Fresco spent time with friends discussing Darwin, Einstein, science, and the future. Fresco attended the Young Communist League. After a discussion with the League president during a meeting Fresco was 'physically ejected' after loudly stating that 'Karl Marx was wrong!' Fresco later turned his attention to Technocracy. In the mid-1930s, Fresco traveled west to Los Angeles where he began a career as a
structural designer.
Some aspects of Fresco's ideas have been compared to thinkers from the nineteenth century. Titles such as The Paradise within the Reach of all Men without Labor by Powers of Nature and Machinery, Emigration to the Tropical World for the Melioration of All Classes of People of All Nations, and The New World or Mechanical System were written in the 1800s by John Adolphus Etzler who has been described by independent scholar, Anna Notaro, as an early forerunner to Fresco's ideas. Likewise, Ebenezer Howard and his book Garden Cities of Tomorrow, as well as the Garden City Movement during the early 1900s has been described, by Morten Grønborg of Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, as another predecessor.
Fresco writes and lectures his views on sustainable cities, energy efficiency, natural-resource management, cybernetic technology, automation, and the role of science in society. Fresco is the director of The Venus Project. Fresco advocates global implementation of a socioeconomic system which he refers to as a "resource-based economy.
He grew up in a Sephardi Jewish home in Bensonhurst in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. According to Fresco, he had no interest with formal schooling and "dropped out of school at 14." Fresco grew up during the Great Depression period.
Fresco spent time with friends discussing Darwin, Einstein, science, and the future. Fresco attended the Young Communist League. After a discussion with the League president during a meeting Fresco was 'physically ejected' after loudly stating that 'Karl Marx was wrong!' Fresco later turned his attention to Technocracy. In the mid-1930s, Fresco traveled west to Los Angeles where he began a career as a
structural designer.
Some aspects of Fresco's ideas have been compared to thinkers from the nineteenth century. Titles such as The Paradise within the Reach of all Men without Labor by Powers of Nature and Machinery, Emigration to the Tropical World for the Melioration of All Classes of People of All Nations, and The New World or Mechanical System were written in the 1800s by John Adolphus Etzler who has been described by independent scholar, Anna Notaro, as an early forerunner to Fresco's ideas. Likewise, Ebenezer Howard and his book Garden Cities of Tomorrow, as well as the Garden City Movement during the early 1900s has been described, by Morten Grønborg of Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies, as another predecessor.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 28, 2012
I agree that we need to change the way we're living. From both a sustainability and a humanitarian perspective. But I'm not sure that Fresco's vision is the solution.
It's a long, long way between where we are now and having underwater cities where everyone walks around naked and no one is ever sad. I think Fresco should put more effort into affecting the transition than explaining how we'll still be able to express our individuality through our mix 'n' match domicile pods. I feel like a jerk for saying what he's doing is pretty much useless because, well, what am I doing to ensure the future doesn't suck? Nothing. And I certainly don't have any better solutions to offer. I just think that his passion and energy could be redirected into something that's more tangibly useful to us right now.
So much of the technology that Fresco's future depends on is technology that, as far as I'm aware, doesn't exist yet. I'm completely willing, and would be happy, to be proven wrong on this though. I don't object to the cybernation of the future because I'm scared of the machines, which is what Fresco implies. I object to it because we don't have machines that are good enough to take over from humans yet. I don't think we can create machines that are capable of making such nuanced decisions as Fresco would have them make. Machines that are automated to build roads are fine. There'd be mistakes, sure, but probably no more than if people we doing the same job. But machines that take the place of governments and legal systems? Firstly, machines are binary – 1's and 0's, black and white, on or off – and governmental and legal decisions aren't. The majority might be, but there is always exceptional cases that don't follow precedent and need moral discretion. Secondly, someone has to program those machines, so won't it be their views and ideals that the machines are enacting?
Fresco says there won't be any crime in his future cities, because crime is scarcity based. People commit crimes because they need something they don't have. I agree that this is the cause of some, even a lot, of crime, but certainly not all crime. That's ok, says Fresco, we will be so civilised in the future that we will be above committing crimes of passion.
By eliminating money and supplying everyone’s needs Fresco plans to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, the need to work. Most jobs will be taken over by some kind of machine. Other jobs, such as research will be done by people willingly, not because it is their job, though. They will do this because society will value research and knowledge and bettering oneself and people will do it because it's just what society does in these future cities. I don't think this will happen. If I didn't have to go to work I would sit about and read books and play computer games all day. How many other people would do that as well? But Fresco thinks I wouldn't do it because everyone else wouldn't approve of it. What if they're doing it too? What if I don't care if no one else approves? I'm not educated or smart enough to know exactly, but I think I'm skirting the edges of some Marxian theory that work is a means to control the masses...
I just can't see how Fresco's vision will work. I'm not entirely comfortable with what his future will be and there's so many holes that I want to see filled. Not to mention the gap between here and there. I might be willing to overlook my questions about how the future cities would work if only Fresco could give me a path, show me the plan, for how we are going to get from here to there.
Something has got to change, but I don't know how. At least Jacques Fresco is trying to provide a solution. It's more than I've done, or am capable of doing. I don't think it's the answer, but it's better than the alternative.
It's a long, long way between where we are now and having underwater cities where everyone walks around naked and no one is ever sad. I think Fresco should put more effort into affecting the transition than explaining how we'll still be able to express our individuality through our mix 'n' match domicile pods. I feel like a jerk for saying what he's doing is pretty much useless because, well, what am I doing to ensure the future doesn't suck? Nothing. And I certainly don't have any better solutions to offer. I just think that his passion and energy could be redirected into something that's more tangibly useful to us right now.
So much of the technology that Fresco's future depends on is technology that, as far as I'm aware, doesn't exist yet. I'm completely willing, and would be happy, to be proven wrong on this though. I don't object to the cybernation of the future because I'm scared of the machines, which is what Fresco implies. I object to it because we don't have machines that are good enough to take over from humans yet. I don't think we can create machines that are capable of making such nuanced decisions as Fresco would have them make. Machines that are automated to build roads are fine. There'd be mistakes, sure, but probably no more than if people we doing the same job. But machines that take the place of governments and legal systems? Firstly, machines are binary – 1's and 0's, black and white, on or off – and governmental and legal decisions aren't. The majority might be, but there is always exceptional cases that don't follow precedent and need moral discretion. Secondly, someone has to program those machines, so won't it be their views and ideals that the machines are enacting?
Fresco says there won't be any crime in his future cities, because crime is scarcity based. People commit crimes because they need something they don't have. I agree that this is the cause of some, even a lot, of crime, but certainly not all crime. That's ok, says Fresco, we will be so civilised in the future that we will be above committing crimes of passion.
By eliminating money and supplying everyone’s needs Fresco plans to eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, the need to work. Most jobs will be taken over by some kind of machine. Other jobs, such as research will be done by people willingly, not because it is their job, though. They will do this because society will value research and knowledge and bettering oneself and people will do it because it's just what society does in these future cities. I don't think this will happen. If I didn't have to go to work I would sit about and read books and play computer games all day. How many other people would do that as well? But Fresco thinks I wouldn't do it because everyone else wouldn't approve of it. What if they're doing it too? What if I don't care if no one else approves? I'm not educated or smart enough to know exactly, but I think I'm skirting the edges of some Marxian theory that work is a means to control the masses...
I just can't see how Fresco's vision will work. I'm not entirely comfortable with what his future will be and there's so many holes that I want to see filled. Not to mention the gap between here and there. I might be willing to overlook my questions about how the future cities would work if only Fresco could give me a path, show me the plan, for how we are going to get from here to there.
Something has got to change, but I don't know how. At least Jacques Fresco is trying to provide a solution. It's more than I've done, or am capable of doing. I don't think it's the answer, but it's better than the alternative.
December 1, 2010
This is about the Venus Project. Anyone who doesn't know about it should go to thezeitgeistmovement.com, which I am a strong supporter of. It's an easy read that will help you understand Fresco's vision of a resource based economy and the structure of the future's outlook.
December 16, 2015
This book lacks all merit. Do not bother reading a page.
I picked this up after seeing a documentary on Mr. Fresco and learning of his supposed inventions and breakthroughs. After reading this, Fresco resembles Jeff Bridge's character in the Men Who Stare at Goats, with claims of amazing powers and technological innovation with very little to show for it except for some fun with LSD.
First, this book is poorly written, incoherent, reading more like the rantings of an old man, which is clearly all it is. An editor was desperately needed.
Second, the structure of the explanations and arguments are so weak it is difficult to establish Fresco's ideas other than to say the world is changing thanks to technology. I didn't need to read this to know that.
Third, Fresco cites numerous factual inaccuracies. He makes claims of the decline of human prosperity, citing numbers of poverty, completely failing to make a comparison to say 1900 or 1800. No matter what your ideology, it is undeniable that the standard of living on Earth has risen to incredible heights by measures of life expectancy, education, and relative freedom. Fresco argues we must use the scientific method to learn more about what works in policy and what doesn't. It would've helped if he actually took his own advice.
Fourth, Fresco proposes a "resource-based economy" which would abolish currency and debt, going to a barter system. We tried that in the stone age. He blames money for the inequality and the lack of equal distribution of resources. I've heard this claim from hippies that never took a single economics class. He clearly has only the most rudimentary understanding of the topic.
One final example: Fresco claims "many people feel we need the rule of law to eliminate our problems." This is a shameless straw man. Who claims this??? Then he goes on to argue more laws won't solve our problems. What??? The concept of the rule of law doesn't advocate more laws. Rule of law merely means power resides in the law not the will of men. It could be based on 20 laws or 20,000 laws. The number doesn't matter. Course, Fresco wasn't curious enough to learn about the rule of law before attacking it.
Like many fools, Fresco predicts automation will lead to mass unemployment and poverty. I've been hearing this since I was a kid yet miraculously the unemployment rate goes down as automation goes up. As does the standard of living.
I go through all this just to ensure you don't take my negative review as a matter of ideological differences. Fresco demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of economics, energy, and law. Perhaps he should've did some research on these topics before trying to write something on them.
Somewhere there are people that are persuaded by this baseless nonsense. All I can give them is my pity.
I picked this up after seeing a documentary on Mr. Fresco and learning of his supposed inventions and breakthroughs. After reading this, Fresco resembles Jeff Bridge's character in the Men Who Stare at Goats, with claims of amazing powers and technological innovation with very little to show for it except for some fun with LSD.
First, this book is poorly written, incoherent, reading more like the rantings of an old man, which is clearly all it is. An editor was desperately needed.
Second, the structure of the explanations and arguments are so weak it is difficult to establish Fresco's ideas other than to say the world is changing thanks to technology. I didn't need to read this to know that.
Third, Fresco cites numerous factual inaccuracies. He makes claims of the decline of human prosperity, citing numbers of poverty, completely failing to make a comparison to say 1900 or 1800. No matter what your ideology, it is undeniable that the standard of living on Earth has risen to incredible heights by measures of life expectancy, education, and relative freedom. Fresco argues we must use the scientific method to learn more about what works in policy and what doesn't. It would've helped if he actually took his own advice.
Fourth, Fresco proposes a "resource-based economy" which would abolish currency and debt, going to a barter system. We tried that in the stone age. He blames money for the inequality and the lack of equal distribution of resources. I've heard this claim from hippies that never took a single economics class. He clearly has only the most rudimentary understanding of the topic.
One final example: Fresco claims "many people feel we need the rule of law to eliminate our problems." This is a shameless straw man. Who claims this??? Then he goes on to argue more laws won't solve our problems. What??? The concept of the rule of law doesn't advocate more laws. Rule of law merely means power resides in the law not the will of men. It could be based on 20 laws or 20,000 laws. The number doesn't matter. Course, Fresco wasn't curious enough to learn about the rule of law before attacking it.
Like many fools, Fresco predicts automation will lead to mass unemployment and poverty. I've been hearing this since I was a kid yet miraculously the unemployment rate goes down as automation goes up. As does the standard of living.
I go through all this just to ensure you don't take my negative review as a matter of ideological differences. Fresco demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of economics, energy, and law. Perhaps he should've did some research on these topics before trying to write something on them.
Somewhere there are people that are persuaded by this baseless nonsense. All I can give them is my pity.
August 1, 2024
Parece una utopía lo que propone, pero con voluntad creo que se podría conseguir. Casi todos los recursos existen actualmente.
November 19, 2018
Cool story. We're presented with beautiful picture of possible future world, but there's no actual instruction for transition to this state, which I anticipated the most. Also no proof that people will tolerate even small differences in society. IMO the smallest overconsumption of resources by one human emits transcendental energy that makes other people to wish more and consume more, which causes an avalanche and simple will is not enough to stop it.
As human nature cannot be fully encoded in certain rules - existance of such world cannot be proven in theory. I'd be afraid if someone would dare to radically realise all what's written, even with good intentions. The only way path is evolution and I doubt that final version will look any similar to one from the book, for sure it will be more interesting.
As human nature cannot be fully encoded in certain rules - existance of such world cannot be proven in theory. I'd be afraid if someone would dare to radically realise all what's written, even with good intentions. The only way path is evolution and I doubt that final version will look any similar to one from the book, for sure it will be more interesting.
January 31, 2020
I wanted to like that book but I can't. It's not a scientific document but an Utopia idea. The author starts by talking about efficiency and basing everything on science and then proceeds to enumerate his ideas without backing them with research or numbers. He has a great vision but ignores the human nature, natural catastrophes, etc. I appreciate the intention but this is not a realistic scientific document by any mean. He describes "what" but doesn't explain "how".
February 26, 2019
Disappointed a lot.
I knew he had some solutions for our gruesome future but those are just the ideas, imaginations that, taken for granted, assemble the cord of his teaching.
I had a feeling I am reading Asimov's Foundation series, who at times seemed to depict our future selves (he was a physicist after all!) with warnings ingrained in his storyline
I knew he had some solutions for our gruesome future but those are just the ideas, imaginations that, taken for granted, assemble the cord of his teaching.
I had a feeling I am reading Asimov's Foundation series, who at times seemed to depict our future selves (he was a physicist after all!) with warnings ingrained in his storyline
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 2, 2017
The main idea of this book is: In a Resource-Based Economy, it is established there is no money, no credits, no debt, and no servitude. Here, “all of the world’s resources are held as the common heritage of all of Earth’s people
September 6, 2017
Very insightful book, but it could use some references.
August 13, 2019
Such a wonderful posible vision of the world. I love it. I enjoy so much all of Jacque Fresco books.
May 2, 2016
This was a thought-provocative book, especially in the first few and last chapters. The middle ones went into more or less technical details, which in my opinion were mostly superfluous as far as the main topic of the book is concerned, about urban management and the role and types of technology that could be used in the future. I took a lot of notes which I hope I will find the time to compose into a more coherent text, but since free time is a rare commodity for me these days (a problem that a resource-based economy cannot solve unfortunately), I will only mention two of my main points of contention with the author:
1/ Fresco does not tackle the problem of the transition from our current monetary and opinion-based system to his suggested resource-based system, which operates on scientific principles rather than political or ideological opinion. He seems to imply that it would come automatically as a result of the collapse of the monetary system, but he does not explain why that would be the only possible consequence, and how we could steer people's values and decisions so as to make the implementation of a resource-based economy a more likely outcome.
2/ Fresco does not seem to be taking the potential dangers of AI seriously, especially a central decision-making AI network system with sprawling tentacles of sensors and detectors all over the planet to collect information, a crucial component of future society as Fresco envisions it, and an absolute requirement for a resource-based economy to function at a global scale. These concerns have been voiced by several scientists, entrepreneurs, and futurists, like Sir Martin Rees, Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Nick Bostrom, etc, and cannot be dismissed with a handwave or a simple argument.
My favorite quote from the book (which I totally agree with, as long as the contribution of genes is taken into consideration as well - something that Jacque Fresco denies completely):
"One of the greatest limiting factors in human systems is our inability to grasp the significance of underlying forces and the extent to which environment shapes our thinking, values, and/or behavior. When we speak of environment, we mean all of the interacting variables, which are the prime contributors to our mindset." page 66
1/ Fresco does not tackle the problem of the transition from our current monetary and opinion-based system to his suggested resource-based system, which operates on scientific principles rather than political or ideological opinion. He seems to imply that it would come automatically as a result of the collapse of the monetary system, but he does not explain why that would be the only possible consequence, and how we could steer people's values and decisions so as to make the implementation of a resource-based economy a more likely outcome.
2/ Fresco does not seem to be taking the potential dangers of AI seriously, especially a central decision-making AI network system with sprawling tentacles of sensors and detectors all over the planet to collect information, a crucial component of future society as Fresco envisions it, and an absolute requirement for a resource-based economy to function at a global scale. These concerns have been voiced by several scientists, entrepreneurs, and futurists, like Sir Martin Rees, Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Nick Bostrom, etc, and cannot be dismissed with a handwave or a simple argument.
My favorite quote from the book (which I totally agree with, as long as the contribution of genes is taken into consideration as well - something that Jacque Fresco denies completely):
"One of the greatest limiting factors in human systems is our inability to grasp the significance of underlying forces and the extent to which environment shapes our thinking, values, and/or behavior. When we speak of environment, we mean all of the interacting variables, which are the prime contributors to our mindset." page 66
December 27, 2016
Decent primer on the command economy and post-scarcity life, along with what automation entails for humanity. It gets 4 stars rather than 5 for my usual compliment of reasons. It doesn't convey this information efficiently, using narrative format, it doesn't cater to a general audience (it uses big words and big ideas in a world populated by small minds with small vocabularies) and it's too ambitious. This idea could gain a lot of traction very quickly with the right idea architecture.
November 7, 2017
I feel a lot of impotency because what Fresco says is very far from this reality. He offers solutions that sound very logic with material and technological resources available today. What it is not found in the present nor in the book is the transition to those futuristic cities. Very nice if you want to develop your thinking out of the box, creative thinking.
November 25, 2015
He gets a bit repetitive at times, and alas, he's not well read on the whole Zero-Point Energy future.
January 30, 2018
Unfortunately, there are a lot of repetitive ideas. It has to trim the fat and leave only most important things which would fit on one or two pages.
November 19, 2020
The future would indeed be much brighter if what Fresco is writing about in Designing The Future was to come to life but it seems a bit too unrealistic to me.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews