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Zeitgeist Addendum is the 2008 follow-up to the 2007 100 million Internet-viewed Zeitgeist. The film focuses on humanity’s fundamental problem of a viciously antagonistic relationship among ourselves and its reflection in economic structures. The solution presented is to understand three areas of money and economics, and one area of philosophical creative potential:

1.The mechanics of our fractional reserve monetary system that only and always creates debt that is impossible to ever repay.
2.Our corporatocracy governments that enslave nations under unpayable debt to control resources and profit.
3.The option of upgrading our economy from a scarcity and profit-based paradigm to a resource and technology-driven paradigm.
4.The philosophy of emergence and symbiosis to embrace humanity’s interconnectedness and constant evolution.

Let’s proceed with an examination of Zeitgeist Addendum’s analysis of humanity’s economic past, present, and future.

Humanity’s economic past: Human beings have been enslaved to debt through the corporate-invented and controlled fractional reserve monetary system. What this means is credit is created by banks when someone requests a loan (“credit” should be distinct from “money”). The banking system won legal right to create credit rather than government creating money and spending it directly for purchase of public goods and services. Bank credit benefits the banking system because they collect the interest. Money serves the public because debt is not created, just the connection of resources and labor to create real wealth in society.

As a professional teacher of economics, my entire written explanation of how banks create credit with comparison to public-created money is here. The public benefits of this shift, called monetary reform, is supported by all 3rd political parties, the Kucinich-Grayson coalition among Democrats, and the Ron Paul coalition among Republicans.

The inevitable result of our so-called money supply being created as debt is unending debt. Individuals can pay off debt, but collectively it can never be done. In a viciously antagonistic social context, this short-sighted and selfish monetary system created by banks for banks is perfectly understandable. To extend their racket as long as possible, they would have to use their credit to buy editorial boards of major media to control information about their monetary system. They would have to control publications of economists. They would have to control politicians.

By all evidence, these predictable steps have been accomplished. This, despite the history of many of America’s brightest minds arguing for monetary reform, being able to pay-off and end the national debt forever and with ease, and the immediate benefit of full employment. States do not have to wait for federal action; they can accomplish much by creating state-owned banks. In our ravished economy, there are only two solvent states: North Dakota is one of them and the only state that operates its own bank for the benefit of the public.

Humanity’s economic present: Zeitgeist Addendum then addresses US corporatocracy’s domination of less powerful nations through Economic Hitman John Perkins’ testimony. Perkins is a bestselling author of his role working for the US government and largest corporations to put nations in debt for the ultimate purpose of their surrender of resources to the US. This process begins with monetary bribes and loans to political leadership. If that’s successful, the US is happy to support whatever form of government is present, such as the corrupt African dictators who supply cheap oil. To be successful, this news would be among the unreported by corporate media.

If corrupting foreign governments is unsuccessful, the process escalates to threats, and culminates in assassination to replace political leadership. If assassination fails, the US invades with military, as with Iraq and possibly soon with Iran.

Because the goal is corporate profit from control of their resources, the US will not empower their people to manage their own countries. The people should be kept controlled and maintained as slave labor. The US will not even spend the 0.7% of GNI to fulfill its commitment to fund the UN Millennium Goals to end poverty. That type of change would inspire genuine hope and lead to further progress.

Humanity’s economic future: The Venus Project is highlighted in this section; the work of Jacque Fresco communicating what could be possible for human economics if we shifted from vicious antagonism and scarcity as fundamental assumptions to a new paradigm of resource and technology driven solutions for all humanity’s needs. Using technological breakthroughs to eliminate the problems of scarcity was also the work of Buckminster Fuller, carried forward with the Buckminster Fuller Institute. I’ve presented documentation of energy breakthroughs suppressed in consideration that US corporatocracy is as of yet unwilling to surrender their paradigm of economic control.

I recommend exploring The Venus Project’s site and watching Zeitgeist Addendum’s documentation to see these ideas of breakthroughs in housing, energy, production, education, and transportation.

Humanity’s philosophical choice: The ideas of “emergence” and symbiosis are posited for the viewers’ consideration. Emergence communicates the constant evolution of humanity that should be embraced rather than held-back under our current corporatocracy of vicious control. Unleashing the human spirit, allowing synergy, and freeing humanity to discover ourselves are similar expressions.

The film concludes with recommendations for withdrawal of support for the corporatocracy’s primary institutions of the US’ big banks, so-called “mainstream media,” the duopolistic Left and Right arms of the corporatocracy political body of the Democratic and Republican parties, and the corporatocracy’s muscle in the US military. Zeitgeist Addendum recommends support for alternative energy and the Zeitgeist Movement.

The film is two hours and can be seen in ~30-minute installments of each of its four parts for viewing ease. The transcript is here. Enjoy!

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