[extropy-chat] Politics

[Jef Allbright]

On 12/22/05, Dirk Bruere <dirk.bruere at gmail.com> wrote:
> When it comes to politics on this list I consider one form a necessity and
> the other a pest.
>  The pest can be summed up as "parochial party politics". It is easy to spot
> - the names 'Bush', 'Republican', 'Democrat' etc make unwelcome appearances
> in almost all instances.
>  If people want to talk about politics let's keep it to either specific
> instances that affect Transhumanist aims directly, or to principles and
> practices op the wider stage..
>  Am I alone in this view?
>

I strongly agree with this view.  In particular, I am interested in
systems of "politics" that would operate at a higher level of
organization than the predominately competitive systems we have now. 
I see politics in the more abstract sense of social decision-making
with increasing potential for positive-sum outcomes, rather than the
currently popular, but narrower description of politics as zero-sum
competition for scarce resources.

- Jef