Sunday 11 January 2009

ArcoSanti

mini documentary on the long-running experimental community directed and inspired by the Italian futurist/architect Paolo Soleri; the model for ArcoSanti appears to be one of a work-retreat kibbutz rather than as a long-term permanent residence, but again, it is a probing into a plausible positive future where we humans can live within the ecology.

This follows on the earlier posts about the Zeitgeist's Venus Project by Jacque Fresco, but what troubles me about both visions is why they are two, why they are disparate, working on the same problem, but only within their own highly personal model. The documentary here does hint that Paolo may not be precisely democratic in his plan, despite claims to the contrary, and it seems much the same with Jacque, and that, I think speaks heaps for the Science and Engineering visioneers. I understand the human story is largely one of a Genetic Program, but just as we always wanted Batman to work with Superman, I'd want Fresco to work with Soleri, both to work with the Buckminster Fuller legacy, all to look into Ortegrity and just generally treat the subject of an alter-destiny with an open scientific mind. Is anyone doing that? Other than Latitude Zero that is.

Or are they all pursuing fixed-idea personal utopian visions of charismatic Castanedas?

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