Timothy Wilken
Buckminster Fuller, writing in Critical Path published in 1981, explained:
“Scientifically faithful, synergetically integrated, time-energy, electrochemical process accounting shows that it costs energetic Universe more than a million dollars to produce each gallon of petroleum when the amount of energy as heat and pressure used for the length of time necessary to produce that gallon of petroleum is charged for at the New York Con Edison Company’s retail kilowatt-hour rates for that much electricity.
“About 90 percent of all U.S.A. employment is engaged in tasks producing no life-support wealth. These non-life-support-producing employees are spending three, four, and more gallons of gasoline daily to go to their nonwealth-producing jobs-ergo, we are completely wasting $3 trillion of cosmic wealth per day in the U.S.A.”
We could save trillions of dollars in real life support wealth by paying all those individuals engaged in tasks producing no life-support wealth to stay home and keep off the roads.
Should we pass a law?
No! It would be a complete waste of time to expect big government and big business to help us. They are the problem. They are invested in a model of society that depends on separation and scarcity. Big government wants only to get re-elected and big business wants only to make a buck. Together they completely dominate our current political-economic system by their reality of one dollar = one vote.
They cannot solve our human crisis. They don’t have a clue. They can only make it worse.
It’s up to us. We can only rely on ourselves. We need individuals of integrity to join with us to build a new model of society that depends on co-Operation and abundance. And, by abundance I am referring to an abundance of integrity, intelligence and responsibility. Then we can begin restructuring our society in ways that will lead to a relative abundance of matter-energy even within the finite world we inhabit.
Modern society is currently ruled by a political-economic system that is controlled and determined only by money. Remember one dollar = one vote. The only votes that count in our modern human society are the dollar votes you exercise by buying or not buying products.
Products found in today’s market can be divided into three categories. These are synergic products, neutral products and adversary products.
1) There are synergic products. The use of these products makes the user more happy, more effective, and more productive than they would be without the use of the product. The product is good for the user. The user must win, but even more importantly, everyone else must win. I win, you win, others win, and the Earth wins. Synergic products are good for humanity.
Vote your dollars wisely by only buying those products that help humanity. Buy only synergic products.
Some products are conditionally synergic. They are beneficial only if and when used carefully and/or under the supervision of an expert. These are products that can help or hurt depending on the condition of their use. Examples would include prescription medications, power tools, heavy construction machinery and equipment, etc, etc.,etc..
For products, that have utility only if used carefully or under the supervision of an expert, vote your dollars wisely by making it a condition of purchase that those products be used carefully or under the supervision of an expert.
2) There are neutral products. The use of these products are without benefit or harm. The users of these products would be equally happy, equally effective, and equally productive without the use the product.
Scott Meredith writing on the Energy Research Group , an internet discussion group in March and April of 2001:
“For example, I’ve often observed that the entire global “soft drink” industry could and would be eliminated in any rational world, as this is a colossal waste of energy and resources, with only two outcomes:
– a brief and mildly pleasurable stupefaction of the senses
– tooth decay
“So, is the energy involved in the soft drink industry doing “useful work” or not? From a rational point of view, obviously no. Completely and absolutely useless. Just rots your teeth. Now calculate how much energy it uses, in all aspects, and how many people it directly indirectly employs.”
A neutral product is one that has no effect on the happiness, effectiveness, and productivity of the user of the product. No one wins. No one loses. Neutral products are of no benefit for humanity.
Since these neutral products have no benefit, buying them is a complete waste of time, energy, and resources. So don’t buy neutral products.
3) There are adversary products. The use of these products are harmful. The users of adversary products are less happy, less effective and less productive than they would be without the use of the product. An adversary product is one that reduces the happiness, effectiveness, and productivity of the user of the product. The user loses, and even worse everyone else loses. I lose, you lose, others lose, and the Earth loses. Adversary products are bad for humanity.
Don’t buy adversary products.
I am often asked, “What I can do to help. How can I make the world work better for all humanity.”
All of us could develop our own Buy/Don’t Buy lists.
And certainly, we could work together. I am gifting space at the CommUnity of Minds website as a place to think together and co-Develop Buy/Don’t Buy lists. By working together, we could bring the power of community as leverage to steer our society towards synergic products.
We strongly encourage our readers to use Buy/Don’t Buy lists as determining guidelines for all purchases.
Don’t Buy
Don’t buy those products that are bad for humanity. Don’t buy products that hurt people. Don’t buy products that damage the Earth. Don’t buy products that waste the Earth’s finite resources.
Conditionally Buy
Conditionally buy those products that when misused can be bad for humanity. Conditionally buy potentially dangerous products only when they are used under supervision or very carefully to help people. These are products that sometimes help people, and sometimes hurt people. They need to be used carefully and/or only used under the direction of an expert.
Buy only the Dymaxion Three
Dymaxion means the product that offers the user the most for the least. It provides the greatest value for least expenditure of time, energy and resources—More for less.
Do buy those products that are good for humanity. Do buy products that help people. These are products that help people. These are products that don’t damage the Earth. These are product that don’t waste the Earth’s finite resources. You are encouraged to buy these products, but not all of these products. Buy only the best of these products. Buy only the Dymaxion Three. By limiting your buying to only the agreed on best of class, you are not buying less than the best. This shifts your voted dollars to those manufactures make the best products. It also shifts your voted dollars away from those manufacturers making the worst products. This will greatly reduce the waste of time, energy and resources now expended making mediocre products.
The Dymaxion Three is an evolving list of the best of class of those products on the Buy/Conditional Buy Lists. The three best products of each class will be listed. Inclusion in the list will be by consensus decision based on their achievement of dymaxion status.
Dymaxion is that design that gives the user the most value at the least cost. Factors of dymaxion worth include quality, ease of use, safety, durability, efficiency and elegance. If two products are otherwise equal, the one that is least expensive in time, energy and resources to create, operate and maintain is the more dymaxion. If two products are otherwise equal, the one that has the longest usable life is more dymaxion. Utilization of the dymaxion three will provide an enormous savings in time, energy and resources as efficiency is a strong determinant of dymaxion status.
My argument in this proposed solution for our fossil fuel depletion crisis is that we humans could do without most of the products now sold in our modern industrial “uncivilization” without any loss of meaningful lifestyle.