[extropy-chat] Politics: Extropian party

[Samantha Atkins]

On Jul 14, 2004, at 12:56 PM, Acy James Stapp wrote:

> I have had a few thoughts on extropianism as a political
> movement.
>
>
> Candidates:
> Most third-party candidates are hopeless. In order to compete
> politically our candidates need to be professional politicians.
> They need the affect, the appearance, and the attitude to be
> elected. In short, they need to be 'electable'.

I hope I am not alone in wanting first and foremost a candidate that 
stand on and for well articulated  principles.   I could care less if 
the person looks/acts/talks like a "professional politician" as most of 
these are utterly adverse to principles.

>
> Issues:
> Most people are one-issue voters. If there are no advertised
> and promoted issues that deeply affect a particular individual
> they will either not vote or vote along party lines. However,
> most people use issues to decide whom not to vote for, in my
> experience. We need to decide which issues are most salient for
> extropian values and then be as centrist as possible on all
> other issues. I know, you all have your pet issues that you
> just have to espouse but if these aren't key planks you need
> to suck it up, take one for the party, and present a united,
> centrist face to the electorate.
>

Being "centrist" is extreme times with our future on the line is worse 
than worthless.  Cherry-picking "issues" while really standing for 
nothing in hopes of manipulating the machine to get into office is what 
most politicians do today.  We have seen what it brings us.  Don't even 
bother to start a party if you are only out to play the same tired 
game.

> Accepting Change:
> Many people have an ego attachment to their political party and
> political beliefs and will not change unless their social
> situation changes radically or they are gently and invisibly
> guided to change.
>

Since we are in a period of radical change that should be a no-brainer. 
  The trick is in how to guide and nurture change toward the beneficial 
and to show the people in words and deliverables how the changes are to 
their happy benefit.

> Social Stratification:
> People will vote for the party that improves their situation
> the most. This results in party boundaries along social class
> lines. We need to convince people of all socioeconomic back-
> grounds that extropianism will improve their life and their
> situation mroe than any of the other parties.
>

Rational or irrational "improvement"?   The major parties are powerful 
because they more or less have goodies for sale.  But this is not 
exactly a rational improvement.
>
>
> Lobbying, bribes, and graft:
> We have to convince big business to give us money. Everyone
> knows it is happening and it's an integral part of the modern
> political process. Pretending it doesn't exist is stupid, and
> ideological objections to it will ensure that we never achieve
> high office. Pragmatism is the way to go.
>

In short you will be owned by everyone and everything other than the 
principles that supposedly make you different and worth considering.   
SIGH.


> Disentrenchment:
> We need to use our efforts not only to promote the extropian
> party, but the ideals of a true multi-party system. Easing
> ballot access is a big one. Our best bet may be to take over
> an existing political party and let the entrenchment of the
> two-party system work in our favor.
>
>

More maneuvering without really bothering to define and offer a real 
difference?    I realize you said these are just thoughts off the top 
of your head but this is tired and singularly uninspiring, even to the 
choir.

-s