Re: Socialism

From: mark@unicorn.com
Date: Fri Dec 11 1998 - 08:29:56 MST


Anders Sandberg [asa@nada.kth.se] wrote:
>Something that has worried me a bit is that there are socialist
>transhumanists, but they haven't managed to formulate how their views
>fit together with transhumanism to the same extent that libertarian
>transhumanists have done

I think that's pretty clear from the contradictory and inconsistent posts
from the various socialists who've recently arrived on the list.

>(the libertarians of course claim this is
>because it is impossible).

Voluntary transhuman socialism is perfectly possible, for small groups in
the short term; in fact I'd say it's not only possible and consistent with
anarcho-capitalism, but in many cases may be the most effective way for
small affinity groups to operate. Large-scale involuntary transhuman
socialism is impossible, because it requires that some group take control
of a society where any one individual can wipe out a large group which
annoys it. Coercion is hard in a transhuman society, and transhuman tech
is hard to build in a socialist society; the whole aim of socialism is
to reduce the rate of change and create a static society.

    Mark



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