From: Mark Grant (mark@unicorn.com)
Date: Sat Sep 06 1997 - 08:06:05 MDT
On Thu, 4 Sep 1997 EvMick@aol.com wrote:
> I think everyone is discounting one of Vinge's predictions...the Other one
> besides that of the Singularity.
>
> That is that while governments and individuals are both gaining
> power...individuals are gaining it at a faster rate than that of the
> psychotics...er...governments...and that rate is accellerating...
Actually I think that's precisely what this discussion is about. For
centuries individual power has been increasing, and people are running
scared. Most people would rather live in a fantasy of safety where only
the government has power and always uses it wisely than live in a reality
where anyone has the power to threaten that safety. This is where the
continual clamour for 'Big Mummy' to protect us with 'gun control', 'key
escrow', 'nuke control', 'nanotech control' etc comes from. Oddly, while
many people on this list seem to support 'nanotech control', few would do
the same for the other issues, because the gain outways the loss. Have the
Extropians finally met 'Future Shock'?
Mark
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