From: Forrest Bishop (forrestb@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Thu Aug 22 2002 - 02:43:34 MDT
----- Original Message -----
From: <xytrope@yahoo.com>
To: <extropians@extropy.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 12:56 PM
Subject: Re:End to Extropy? American Dystopia in the wake of 9-11
>
> [Forrest] Bishop wrote:
>
> ""There isn't too much really new in the current US
> psychohistorical picture. Much of it was predictable,
> and predicted in overall trend. The War on Terrorism,
> for example (but not by name of course)."
>
> If it's so [predictable], do you mind sharing where you
> see this going...? Are you saying that its only
> going to get worse,
No, I am saying there is a discernable pattern to human history which permits educated guesses about the future course of human
events. I don't "see" the future any better than our finest psychics do. Most likely, imo, the US government will disintegrate in
some fashion and the empire will contract. The establishment of the Homeland Security apparatus is a premptive act of desperation
against this. Maybe it will take several decades to play out, maybe only a few years, I have no idea.
> that we will end up in some kind
> of nightmarish (hollywood-type dystopia facscist
> amerika), where anyone can be incarcerated, even
> executed by executive decree?
This is an accurate, though lurid, description of the current situation.
> That Bush or some other
> successor was bound to head up a new [dictatorship].
Yes. The selection of Bush was arbitrary, anyone allowed into his position would be doing much the same. The various members of the
Establishment are aware in different ways of what has and is going on and what has to be attempted in order to remain in power. They
are the inheritors of their ancestor's triumphs and follies; their possible actions are just as limited as anyone's.
> In
> other words, did you [see] a [fascist dictatorship] as
> [inevitable] and predictable?
Predictable in a probabilistic sense. The probability of the Sun rising tomorrow is close to unity, but not quite. The probability
of the stock market collapsing in 2000 was close to unity, the probability of the dollar collapsing is close to unity, the
probability of a person under 40 years old ever seeing a Social Security check is close to zero.
> And if so, why have you
> chosen to remain here? What future does this portend
> for our extropian principles, for nanotechnology and
> its use or abuse, and for freedom in general.
I don't know, it depends in part on how much of civilization is dissipated during the current round of "great game" geopolitical
jockeying.
-- Forrest Bishop Chairman, Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering www.iase.cc
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