In a message dated 99-09-05 22:15:07 EDT, riel@humbolt.geo.uu.nl (Rik van Riel) wrote:
> On Sun, 5 Sep 1999 GBurch1@aol.com wrote:
>
> > Personally, I don't see these as inconsistent goals. I'd like to
> > see extropianism both influence society at large AND inform the
> > creation of wholly new societies, some of which might well be
> > described as "private enclaves".
>
> I think the whole concept of enclaves is outdated.
>
> Just looking at myself, I can see I'm a member of the following
> societies: the Netherlands, the EU, Linux kernel developers,
> the extropians group, the Cult of Father Darwin, the Dutch (and
> international) scouts association and some other things as well.
>
> Now that people can become a member of more and more different
> societies easier than ever, why would we need to ditch the
> traditional state in favor of "private enclaves"?
I don't think the concept of an enclave is outdated for a number of reasons. First, I think there's at least some possibility that people intent on implementing the transhumanist agenda may at some point have to establish some sort of territorially-based "political" entity to provide a legal environment in which to carry on their work. Second, as satisfying as increasingly high-bandwidth VR communication will be, we'll still carry our primate genetic heritage for some time, and that means we'll want to share physical space for social interaction. Third, some of the more innovative ideas for social experimentation we've discussed just won't work if embedded in traditional social matrices. Finally, I think some set of folks who call themselves "extropian" will engage in extraterrestrial "colonization" within the next 100 years and this means an "enclave", at least at first.
Greg Burch <GBurch1@aol.com>----<gburch@lockeliddell.com>
Attorney ::: Vice President, Extropy Institute ::: Wilderness Guide
http://users.aol.com/gburch1 -or- http://members.aol.com/gburch1
"Civilization is protest against nature;
progress requires us to take control of evolution."
-- Thomas Huxley