From: Brian Atkins (brian@posthuman.com)
Date: Tue Jun 27 2000 - 07:47:16 MDT
I'm pretty cynical when it comes to government, and my opinion is that
spending time and resources lobbying it or otherwise participating in that
process is a waste. You really have to find some way to jump outside of
it.
Does anyone know if Havenco/Sealand is going to establish a bank and
online stock brokerage?
Alex Future Bokov wrote:
>
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> !Zowwwie!! That's it!
>
> Okay, here's the problem with Transhumanism/Extropianism: we're never
> going to be a mass movement. We're never going to be populists. Jane
> Bluecollar isn't going to vote for a candidate from the Extropian Party
> or view a webcast of Extro 10 or join the Institute. Why? Not because
> we're all elitists, and we don't want her around. Simply because a lot
> of the stuff we're talking about isn't very accessible, and doesn't
> make an impact in people's live here and now. Yes, it may make an
> impact on their lives five or ten years from now, but you can't eat
> that, and you can't use that to pay the rent.
>
> Up till now, I've been quietly assuming that the best we can hope for
> is to slowly influence the ideas of media, corporate, and government
> leaders who hail from more broad-based movements and do have populist
> credibility. To an extent this has been happening-- probably mostly due
> to a tech-driven economic boom, but we may have played some small part
> in that as well.
>
> This thread, however, points the way to a new path. What if we incorporate
> appropriate, affordable technology into our agenda? The social problem of
> the future will be lack of access to information and technology. Duh.
> That's so obvious that the liberals have already started talking about
> it, and the conservatives will be soon to follow, so as not be left
> behind by the liberals. Yet, what do they have to offer? They don't
> even understand the technology that the technology have-nots need
> access to. Some of them *are* the technology have-nots and don't know it.
>
> Now, to be clear-- I'm not talking about socialism. I'm not talking about
> lobbying for higher taxes so we can buy third world farmers 500 MHz pentia.
> I'm talking about helping people in intelligent, elegant ways. In ways that
> will make them self-sufficient. Maybe even in ways that also enrich the
> helpers.
>
> Maybe we won't reach Jane Bluecollar in London or New York. But this
> can be the foundation of an unlikely alliance between the resources and
> know how of the industrialized world educated elite and the poor people
> of the third world.
>
> Specifics? Give me a break, this has just occurred to me. All I'm saying
> is, appropriate and affordable technology should be given more and more
> attention in our discussions. It's as important as AI, genomics, and
> all that other good stuff.
>
> For the altruists out there-- we can help the needy in ways that few
> others have the expertise or imagination to do. I probably already had
> you from the second paragraph onward, so I'll stop preaching to the
> choir.
>
> For the egoists out there-- a world of tech savvy, tech-heeled people
> will be more receptive to our ideas, especially if we're the ones who
> helped them get that way. The West is spoiled. You want to see a place
> where they love technology? Look to a place where they don't have
> enough of it. Besides, this will also really confuse the liberals--
> "What? Those Techno-Libertarians are *helping* people? How low can
> they sink?"
>
> - --
>
> OKC milgov Gore
> Why are the above words in my signature? Check out:
> http://www.echelon.wiretapped.net
>
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