[extropy-chat] Luddite Leadership: The New Atlantis

[Greg Burch]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brett Paatsch
> Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2003 8:48 PM
> Greg writes:
> 
> > All extropians should be aware of a new journal called 
> > "The New Atlantis."
> > 
> > http://www.thenewatlantis.com/index.html
> > 
> [snip]
> 
> > "The New Atlantis" has clearly been 
> > formed as a rallying point for the anti-progress party,
> 
> Which anti-progress party Greg? Do you mean an *actual*
> political party or do you mean an aggregation of entrenched 
> empowered [monied] individuals who want to broker the rate
> of change toward the future so they can control and own the 
> technology and the IP as it emerges or what in fact do you
> mean?

I was using a rather old-fashioned way of writing, I guess, because I meant neither of the things you suggest.  As to the former, in the U.S. the Republican's have probably signed on to the bioluddite agenda more than the Democrats, while the Democrats have a nascent tendency toward a Euro "greenish" anitpathy to non-human biotech.  In Europe, I think both sides of the political spectrum have begun to show bioluddite tendencies, but I'm not as conversant with European politics, so I could be wrong (although it's obvious even to a numb Yank that the left/greens in Euroland have solidly signed up to the bioluddite cause).  The second alternative you suggest isn't really concrete yet in any way -- there's nothing like saleable IP for real human augmentation, and the folks who make business policy in the BigPharma companies are notoriously short-sighted; I doubt human augmentation is really on their radar screens yet, so they don't have a position.

No, I'm referring to the cultural opponents of the transumanist agenda, the same note I've been sounding for some time:

http://www.gregburch.net/progress.html

My blog: http://www.gregburch.net/burchismo.html