After reading Buckminster Fuller’s book, Grunch of Giants, I became intrigued with the man, scientist, and inventor that he was. After listening to some of his recordings/videos and reading much of his literature, I began to notice some themes:

Scientist and Inventor Buckminster Fuller

1) Buckminster Fuller was convinced that we could achieve a higher standard of living without anyone profiting at the expense of another so that everybody can enjoy the whole earth. This may seem simple at first but when one takes a deeper look at Fuller’s critique of society as one can especially see in Grunch of Giants, we see how often heartless corporations trample on the “little man” in their ever growing and greedy quest for profit.

2) Another theme is whether or not the individual has the courage to stand up for truth or simply follow the course of least resistant. Fuller calls people to unite and transcend and change the world around us. Since the ability to transform our world is in our hands, we have a tremendous responsibility to shape the world for the benefit of humanity and the good of others.

3) Fuller also repeatedly makes it very clear that the scarcity paradigm that so many economists espouse is a thing of the past. This way of viewing the world no longer accurately describes the world. The past 100 years of history show that man has been able to consistently and constantly do more with less. The human ability to invent and use technology has made the world abundant. The problem lies not in man’s ingenuity and inventiveness but in man’s greed. For man constantly makes the world scarce through war and greed. That is why so many people starve and suffer.

4) We must use our minds and experience for the highest advantage of others. Buckminster Fuller believed firmly in the potential of the individual and of humanity. As one can read in Grunch of Giants, man has learned to use tools and thus transform the world around him. However, these tools can be used both for greed and for self-promotion or for the benefit of humanity. Fuller was a strong believer that ours is the responsibility to better the world around us. He called people everywhere to see what needs to be done and do it.

5) Man can do more with less. Fuller called for a revolution in which man would do more with less. Examples of such innovation include Fuller’s own Geodesic Dome and his own Dymaxion Car.

Fuller and his Dymaxion Car (For more info, see Grunch of Giants)

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