[extropy-chat] Re: [wta-talk] Group Hug

[Natasha Vita-More]

At 12:03 PM 6/12/04 -0700, Reason wrote:

>This is a common perception, and it's one that I subscribe to. The current
>leadership of the WTA is pro-socialist and virulently anti-libertarian. That
>is the organizational bias despite the public stance of non-alignment.
>My reading of the Extropy Principles (
>http://www.extropy.org/principles.htm ) is that they require a libertarian
>system of governance: right there under "open society" is a long description
>of the desirable traits of a minarchist or otherwise distributed governance
>system. So from this, and many other statements and actions, I conclude that
>the current leadership of ExI is biased towards libertarianism despite the
>public stance of non-alignment.

Reason, you are incorrect.  The philosophy of extropy and its principles do 
not rely on any one political system to function. That would be very narrow 
in scope and contrary to futurism.  In order to understand this, one might 
have to be knowledgeable in history and theories of social change, but I 
don't think so.  What we need to do is to think outside the political box. 
That box is too small and lacks enough holes to allow a sufficient flow of 
oxygen (maybe that is why brains are faltering when transhumanists base 
everything on politics! :-))

Now, here is the key:  an open society is quite democratic.  Do you know 
what open society means in principle?  "Definitions of open society on the 
Web:  a society that allows its members considerable freedom (as in a 
democracy). "  This principle does not mean, "an open society where no 
rules apply."   For goodness sakes!  We need rules to coexist in the world.

It's late and I'm tired, but I thought I'd send these few, short quotes for 
the benefit of those in doubt:

The Economist
"Toward a Global Open Society," 1998

"Our global society contains many different customs, traditions, and 
religions; where can it find the shared values that would hold it together? 
I should like to put forward the idea of what I call the open society as a 
universal principle that recognizes the diversity inherent in our global 
society, yet provides a conceptual basis for establishing the institutions 
we need. I realize that gaining acceptance for a universal principle is a 
tall order, but I cannot see how we can do without it."

"From Popper, Karl R., The Open Society and its Enemies, Rev. Ed., 
Princeton U. Press, 1950, p.181. Quoting Pericles' famous funeral oration 
as reported by Thucydides:

"Our political system does not compete with institutions which are 
elsewhere in force. We do not copy our neighbors, but try to be an example. 
Our administration favors the many instead of the few: this is why it is 
called a democracy. The laws afford equal justice to all alike in their 
private disputes, but we do not ignore the claims of excellence. When a 
citizen distinguishes himself, then he will be called to serve the state, 
in preference to others, not as a matter of privilege, but as a reward of 
merit; and poverty is no bar.

... The freedom we enjoy extends also to ordinary life; we are not 
suspicious of one another, and we do not nag our neighbor if he chooses to 
go his own way. ... But this freedom does not make us lawless. We are 
taught to respect the magistrates and the laws, and never to forget that we 
must protect the injured. And we are also taught to observe those unwritten 
laws whose sanction lies only in the universal feeling of what is right...."


"Open Society News: Democracy in Southeast Asia
A Hard Road Ahead"

Fall-Winter 2002/3

"Southeast Asia is a region where some states have developed rapidly and 
raised living standards by producing goods and resources for world markets 
and working with multinational corporations. It is also a region where the 
forces of globalization have decimated the environment, fueled human rights 
abuses, and helped stifle the development of open society by enriching and 
entrenching corrupt regimes.

"The Fall-Winter 2002/3 issue of Open Society News highlights OSI's efforts 
to promote democracy and open society and to eliminate the worst effects of 
globalization in Southeast Asia. While the individual articles highlight 
problems, they also demonstrate how aspects of globalization, such as the 
increasing use of international law and greater cooperation and 
communication among civil society organizations throughout the world, can 
be forces for the growth of open society. "

"The Open Society- Media, Democracy and Multiculturalism"
Ecologia incepe aici
2004

"AEGEE Novi Sad invites the representatives of your organization to attend 
the Academic Training Course "The Open Society- Media, Democracy and 
Multiculturalism", Youth for South-East Europe project, which will take 
place in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, between 7-14 December 2002.

"The Training course aims at helping young activists of nongovernmental 
organizations from transition countries in the SEE region gain a deeper 
insight and understanding of the complex matters which influence their 
activities and daily life and to offer the participants a much needed 
possibility to improve the knowledge, skills and contacts relevant to their 
youth work. This would be achieved through the series of team-building 
activities: plenary sessions, case study sessions and tutorials. The 
participants will be students and young professionals who hold key 
positions in South-East European non-governmental organizations."

The Advertiser-Tribune 2004

"Records kept by government should be accessible to the public except in 
limited and specified instances. Making records secret chips away at the 
freedoms and protections that we enjoy in a open society."

My best to all -

Natasha


Natasha Vita-More
http://www.natasha.cc
----------
President, Extropy Institute  http://www.extropy.org
Founder, Transhumanist Arts & Culture  http://www.transhumanist.biz
http://www.transhuman.org
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