[extropy-chat] of all there is to worry about
Mike Lorrey
mlorrey at yahoo.com
Tue Mar 8 22:48:36 UTC 2005
--- Adrian Tymes <wingcat at pacbell.net> wrote:
> --- Ned Late <nedlt at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > You're worried about religionists with double
> > standards who might deny others the benefits of
> > transhumanism they will enjoy for themselves? Geesh.
> > That is worrying!
>
> Hey, it's a problem we're likely to have to deal with
> sooner or later. But maybe we can benefit from the
> problem by using the fear of this to gain public
> support. ("Life extension will be invented. Would
> you rather the rich develop it just for themselves, or
> would you rather it be developed out in the open where
> everyone, including you, will benefit from it?")
This argument, though, is inherently unsupported by the facts. The rich
generally get first crack at a technology, but they never hoard it to
themselves. They generally pay for the costs of R&D for everyone else,
as well as the infrastructure development costs.
Putting the technology development out in the open actually raises the
barrier to the poor because it forces the poor to pay their fair share
of the R&D and infrastructure that they normally would not have to
incur.
Mike Lorrey
Vice-Chair, 2nd District, Libertarian Party of NH
"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom.
It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
-William Pitt (1759-1806)
Blog: http://intlib.blogspot.com
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