Transhumanist Socialism

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Definition:Transhumanist socialism is a particular type of socialism which holds that future transhumanist technologies such as molecular nanotechnology will make it much more feasible to bring about a truly socialist world. A transhumanist socialist believes that despite the risks that may be involved in these new technologies, such as even more potent weapons and means of totalitarian control, it is on balance worth developing transhuman technologies in the long term, because of their potential to transform society for the better. (Note that this in no way necessarily implies that technology alone can solve problems. Everybody must change as well, because true socialism is not just a matter of who is "in charge", it is a mode of being of a whole society, on a world scale and including every person.)

Thus being a transhumanist and being a socialist are both necessary but not sufficient conditions for being a transhumanist socialist. It is at least logically possible to be a socialist and a transhumanist without accepting the further idea that transhuman technologies will be of significant benefit in their efforts to create a more just world - or one may be a socialist and believe that future technology can alleviate some important problems with "the human condition", but it still doesn't make world socialism significantly more feasible than it already is. Neither of these positions fall within transhumanist socialism - they are merely transhumanist and socialist, which is quite different. (I am not sure whether anyone would actually take the first position, but it is logically possible.)

Of course, the word "socialism" can mean many things to many people. Its usage here needs to be clarified, which I will attempt to do shortly.

"Transhumanist anarchism" is defined in a corresponding manner, with "socialism" being replaced with "anarchism" throughout.


Details: This idea has only recently broken through the surface of my mind, as it were. I have been considering it in the background ever since reading David Pearce's manifesto The Hedonistic Imperative (which does not rest on any particular political position, I hasten to add - though it is probably incompatible with fascism!) but it is only now that I have begun to reorient myself towards feasibility-checking and pursuing this goal. I have hardly begun to think through the enormous social implications of nanotechnology alone (which in my considered opinion will be, out of all the technologies now forseeable, the most important technology of the 21st century, bar none). The idea of transhumanist socialism needs a lot of work to develop from it a cogent argument, with a key focus on what is technologically feasible, and how these technologies could be used (and abused) by all the relevant actors: states, corporations, advocacy groups, benevolence groups, and individuals. I hope to begin to develop such an argument during 1999, time permitting. The reader may be disappointed that I have not attempted to justify transhumanist socialism at this stage - if so, please bear with me. For now, I will just give a small hint: empathogens.

Unfortunately, due to the current lack of any practically useful nanotechnology, nano predictions are necessarily drawn from theoretical positions which may be carefully kept in check by the constraints of known physical law, but cannot be constrained by the as-yet undiscovered engineering challenges which are bound to crop up if and when nanotechnology becomes a practical, rather than theoretical, applied science. Moreover, the prevalence of (with hindsight) strikingly erroneous technological and scientific mispredictions throughout history, even from those who are apparently experts in the field - examples such as the radio, the aeroplane, alternating current and human-level artificial intelligence spring to mind - does not give me a great deal of confidence. However, having said all that, the stakes are so high that it would be irrational to dismiss the possibilities out of hand without properly examining the scientific theory, just because little empirical proof of concept work has been done.

I would welcome any comments and criticisms - even if you want to debunk the whole thing - after all, if I am on a dead-end road I would like to know sooner rather than later! Please send them to greenrd@hotmail.com

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As far as I know, the terms "transhumanist socialism" and "transhumanist anarchism" have not been used before (an exact phrase search on Metacrawler turned up nothing). I therefore stake my claim to have coined them, on 6th March 1999.

Robin Green
Page created 1999/06/03
Page last changed 1999/06/03