From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Mon Sep 04 2000 - 12:02:23 MDT
Greg Burch wrote,
> I'll say it again: The opponents of science and reason are much better
> organized, with a much more unified ideological framework than the disparate
> groups working toward a continuation of the goals of the Enlightenment. If
> real progressives don't get better organized and funded, there's an
> increasing chance of a significant anti-technology and anti-science backlash
> that could begin to have real impact on the kinds of timelines we've all come
> to accept as more or less "inevitable". Folks like Kurzweil and Moravec are
> increasingly "preaching to the choir", while others, like Joy and Rifkin, are
> crafting messages that reach far beyond core anti-progress constituencies.
Well funded and organized luddites perennially prevail over science and reason
(nothing new there). Nevertheless, I doubt that any anti-science/technology
backlash (which comes mainly from affluent and spoiled Western cultures) can
delay the advance of Asian populations (Japan, China, etc.) which are working
day and night to catch up and develop nano, biotech, and AI. In addition,
government centers, whether national or international, can plainly see that
whoever leads in these fields will have a balance of power in their favor. The
luddites may rant and rave with their well funded organizations, but when it
comes to taking real action, governments and corporations do what results in
increasing their power base, and that means they rely on science and reason.
Bottom line: luddites cannot effectively steer any ship of state.
--J. R.
"We participate, therefore we are."
--John Seely Brown, _The Social Life of Information_
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