Extropianism will probably be seen as one of the major influences in
shaping transhumanity, but it is much more questionable whether it will
retain its current form. The present extropian movement embraces a set of
principles very different from those of the mainstream. Our principles
encompass a view of the future(s) that most people are not geared to
understanding. If we are successful, this will gradually change(it may
already be happening in a small way). But, in becoming more widely
accepted, it is likely to lose much of its "differentness". Of course, in
large part this will occur because extropian ideas will become more
accepted. But the more controversial ideas of some extropians (human
obsolescence, hard-line anarcho-capitalism, positive atheism, etc.) will
become less important to the movement as a whole. They will not disappear
entirely- there are, after all, still Stalinist/Maoist groups even after
Russia & China have pretty much given up on communism- but as larger numbers
of people embrace core extropian ideas, they will bring their own views to
bear, and Extropian evolution, for better or worse will reflect this. And
so we will have leftist-extros, populist-extros, survivalist-extros(no doubt
promoting the value of survival retreats on the Moon as protection against
nanowar...), Christian-extros, Muslim-extros(offering their women chadors
that double as wearables?)
and, eventually, maybe even neo-neo Luddite extros(who want to focus on
optimizing & upgrading bio-bodies, and rail against the "alienation from
nature & our primal selves" that uploading entails....
And, in the elections of 2048 we'll find a big-eared agitator decrying
the "giant sucking sound" of all our investment capital taking off for the
asteroid belt. He'll contend in a primary against an opponent who will
threaten to marshall an army of "programmers with pitchforks"(!) to combat
the "soulless menace" of self-programming AIs. We will also be treated to
"mainstream" demagogues who will promise immortality subsidies, two
nanofactories in every home and a starship in every garage. And, when all
is said and done, we'll be treated to the spectacle of "World President
Elect" Hillary Rodham, Jr.'s inagural address, in which she will begin her
lifetime tenure as an overblown welfare client by heaping praise on "all the
great extropian thinkers who made me what I am today" and note verbosely
that "Now, more than ever, it takes a village to construct a child"...
-
Brian Keavey
<bk_2112@hotmail.com>
<http://members.tripod.com/~bk_2112/>
"Truly great madness cannot be acheived without
significant intelligence."- Henrik Tikkanen