From: Reason (reason@exratio.com)
Date: Thu Aug 02 2001 - 21:19:01 MDT
--> Eugene Leitl
> On Thu, 2 Aug 2001, Brian Atkins wrote:
>
> > Actually it may be possible to escape this paradox via technology.
> > Ever read about the Sysop Scenario?
>
> I personally much prefer the Santa scenario, reindeer, elves, sleigh, and
> all.
>
> Really, changing people's attitudes is hard work. By mentioning
> implausible magic fairy dust scenarios you're not helping.
The Sysop Scenario is just a technological manifestation of what I was
talking about; that a libertarian society can't exist because someone has to
coerce all the people who would try to set up a non-libertarian system. In
the Sysop Scenario you could have libertarian subcomponents of society,
because the Sysop would either a) change the participating intelligences
such that they could deal with this, or b) prevent any drift away from
libertarianism on a case by case basis.
[None of which much helps a discussion of how to set up a libertarian
society now].
Many of Modesitt's postulated future societies revolve around point b) [but
with a human organization in control, checked by some form of feedback
mechanism from corruption, such as total transparency through nanotech
monitoring of everything, or genetic modification of the way in which people
think, etc] -- rigid control of what at first might appear to be a "free"
society and rigid control of the technologies that would allow any one
person to go out any wreck things.
Reason
http://www.exratio.com/
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