Cyberpunk.
Mind uploading.
Eternal Life.
Enhanced awareness.
When I read a recent review comparing Zoltan's book, which describes a militant transhumanist colony's takeover of the world, to Ayn Rand's ode to the self, I became concerned. Transhumanism is a global effort, the most purely and truly altruistic endeavor possible. Through acheiving a transhuman reality, we can eliminate suffering, eliminate death, spread knowledge and the freedom it brings throughout the world- but that's not what some individuals are focusing on.
I believe that the movement should do everything it can to distance itself from a libertarian philosophy. When I say that, I am not saying that libertarianism is wrong, I'm saying that it's wrong for transhumanists. In today's world, there is a legitimate debate as to how big a role government should play in the lives of the individual. To focus on a libertarian transhuman future, however, is false advertising.
To transhumans, the concept of government and government involvement will seem archaic. We will all be the government, as our minds will be connected and for the first time we will face the world and its problems as one united human race. While I believe that any attempted connection between humanity's transhuman future and the political ideals of today will be irrelevant, I think that attempting to do so with libertarianism can actually be harmful.
Here's why: Transhumanism is scary and powerful.
We can't really fathom exactly what it is that the transhuman era will bring. We know it will be great, we know it will be sublime, we know that we will experience things which we have never experienced before, and that frightens people.
While I believe that the transhuman era will arrive regardless of how many people resist it, the last thing that we should be doing is focusing on individualism. We should be welcoming people and easing their concerns, encouraging them to help us all seek a brighter future. For starters, transhumanism is not about being individual, its about being connected, so I think that this is a poor representation to begin with. Even more important is that on the path to transhumanism we should be fostering acceptance, diversity,and empathy. We should not be selling transhumanism as the ultimate form of wealth, or as the great escape from the tyranny of government and into self gratification. In order to ease the pains of this transitional time ahead of us, we should instead be spreading a message of goodwill, of wellfare, of happiness and kindness.
As a transhuman, you will be smarter and even more loving and capable of making the world a better place for everyone else.
Transhumanism is not libertarian, it's not liberal or conservative. It is, at its heart, altruistic. Let us not focus on political comparisons or on making transhumanism some sort of ego trip, instead, lets focus on it for what it is:
A WAY TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
