[extropy-chat] Can we improve upon monkey politics?

[Brett Paatsch]

In his, imo excellent, essay Democracy and Transhumanism, 
http://www.extropy.org/politicaltheory.htm Max More seems 
to puts an iron question in a velvet glove when he asks "..surely,
as we strive to transcend the biological limitations of human 
nature, we can also improve upon monkey politics?"

Clearly few transhumanists are as concerned about monkey
politics as they are about human politics. Yet is it at all clear,
let alone sure, that biological humans, even transhumanists,
can transcend human politics?

It is not clear to me. Not unless politics is diluted down and
abstracted away to being almost a meaningless thing like party
politics. Indeed I am almost certain that humans cannot 
transcend politics at least as I understand the term because
I see politics as arising as a natural consequence of biological 
life. To transcend politics one would need to transcend the 
vicissitudes of biological life and that begs the question of how
any individual or group would manage to do so today. How
does one or a group get from here (biological life) to there (no 
longer biological life) without overcoming the political problem
first? Isn't the 'political problem' the 'life problem'?

I think we have improved upon monkey politics - we have
built legal systems and civilizations, but I don't think we can
take any quantum leap out of human politics that would not
itself be an intensely political act.

Please do not misunderstand I am not talking of mere party
politics but rather of the inevitable interplay between biological
forms of life that are each short in resources (including time) just
as they are each long on potential for development and on 
aspiration. Humans (including transhumans) are biological 
creatures now - we cannot simply wish that away. Some 
personal and collective political sophistication is not a luxury
for survival even in the current human world - it is a necessity. 

So can we (or any group of people who want to forge a 
particular future either individually or collectively from a variety 
of alternatives) transcend *human* politics in the broader sense
of the word politics? I think my answer is obvious but I am
genuinely interested to hear others. 

Regards,
Brett