Libertarian transhumanism
Encyclopedia
Libertarian transhumanism is a political ideology synthesizing right-libertarianism
and transhumanism
.
Self-identified libertarian transhumanists, such as Ronald Bailey
of Reason magazine
and Glenn Reynolds
of Instapundit
, are advocates of the asserted "right to human enhancement
" who argue that the free market
is the best guarantor of this right since it produces greater prosperity and personal freedom than other economic systems.
is the most fundamental idea from which both right-libertarianism and transhumanism stem. They are rational egoists
and ethical egoists
who embrace the prospect of using emerging technologies
to enhance human capacities
, which they believe stems from the self-interested application of reason
and will
in the context of the individual freedom to achieve a posthuman
state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. They extend this rational and ethical egoism to advocate a form of "biolibertarianism".
As strong civil libertarians, libertarian transhumanists hold that any attempt to limit or suppress the asserted right to human enhancement is a violation of civil rights
and civil liberties
. However, as strong economic libertarians, they also reject proposed public policies
of government-regulated
and -insured
human enhancement technologies, which are advocated by democratic transhumanists
, because they fear that any state intervention will steer or limit their choices.
Extropianism
, the earliest current of transhumanist thought defined in 1988 by philosopher Max More
, initially included an anarcho-capitalist interpretation of the concept of "spontaneous order
" in its principles, which states that a free market
economy achieves a more efficient allocation of societal resources than any planned
or mixed economy
could achieve. In 2000, while revising the principles of Extropy, More seemed to be abandoning right-libertarianism in favor of modern liberalism and anticipatory democracy
. However, many Extropians remained libertarian transhumanists.
of libertarian transhumanists from progressive cultural critic
s include Richard Barbrook
and Andy Cameron's 1995 essay The Californian Ideology; Mark Dery
's 1996 book Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century; and Pauline Borsook's 2000 book Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High-Tech.
Barbrook argues that libertarian transhumanists are proponents of the Californian Ideology
who embrace the goal of reactionary modernism
: economic growth
without social mobility
. According to Barbrook, libertarian transhumanists are unwittingly appropriating the theoretical legacy of Stalinist communism
by substituting, among other concepts, the “vanguard party
” with the “digerati
”, and the “new Soviet man
” with the “posthuman
”.
Dery coined the dismissive phrase “body-loathing” to describe the attitude of libertarian transhumanists and those in the cyberculture
who want to escape from their “meat puppet
” through mind uploading into cyberspace
. Borsook asserts that libertarian transhumanists indulge in a subculture
of selfishness
, elitism
and escapism
.
Sociologist James Hughes is the most militant critic of libertarian transhumanism. While articulating “democratic transhumanism
” as a sociopolitical program in his 2004 book Citizen Cyborg
, Hughes sought to convince libertarian transhumanists to embrace social democracy
by arguing that:
Klaus-Gerd Giesen, a German political scientist specializing in the philosophy of technology
, wrote a critique of the libertarianism he imputes to all transhumanists. While pointing out that the works of Austrian School
economist Friedrich Hayek
figure in practically all of the recommended reading lists of Extropians, he argues that transhumanists, convinced of the sole virtues of the free market, advocate an unabashed inegalitarianism
and merciless meritocracy
which can be reduced in reality to a biological fetish
. He is especially critical of their promotion of a science-fictional libertarian eugenics, virulently opposed to any political regulation of human genetics
, where the consumerist
model presides over their ideology. Giesen concludes that the despair of finding social and political solutions to today's sociopolitical problems incites transhumanists to reduce everything to the hereditary gene
, as a fantasy of omnipotence
to be found within the individual, even if it means transforming the subject (human
) to a new draft (posthuman
).
Right-libertarianism
Right-libertarianism names several related libertarian political philosophies which support capitalism. The term is typically used to differentiate privatist based forms of libertarianism from Left-libertarianism; which generally supports forms of economic democracy and...
and transhumanism
Transhumanism
Transhumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
.
Self-identified libertarian transhumanists, such as Ronald Bailey
Ronald Bailey
Ronald Bailey is the science editor for Reason magazine. He was born in San Antonio, Texas and raised in Washington County, Virginia, and attended the University of Virginia, where he earned a B.A...
of Reason magazine
Reason (magazine)
Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
and Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Reynolds
Glenn Harlan Reynolds is Beauchamp Brogan Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee, and is best known for his weblog, Instapundit, one of the most widely read American political weblogs...
of Instapundit
Instapundit
Instapundit is a United States political blog produced by Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee. The blog began in August 2001 as an experiment, and a part of Reynolds' class on Internet law...
, are advocates of the asserted "right to human enhancement
Human enhancement
Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means...
" who argue that the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
is the best guarantor of this right since it produces greater prosperity and personal freedom than other economic systems.
Principles
Libertarian transhumanists believe that the principle of self-ownershipSelf-ownership
Self-ownership is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to be the exclusive controller of his own body and life. According to G...
is the most fundamental idea from which both right-libertarianism and transhumanism stem. They are rational egoists
Rational egoism
In ethical philosophy, rational egoism is the principle that an action is rational if and only if it maximizes one's self-interest. The view is a normative form of egoism. However, it is different from other forms of egoism, such as ethical egoism and psychological egoism...
and ethical egoists
Ethical egoism
Ethical egoism is the normative ethical position that moral agents ought to do what is in their own self-interest. It differs from psychological egoism, which claims that people can only act in their self-interest. Ethical egoism also differs from rational egoism, which holds merely that it is...
who embrace the prospect of using emerging technologies
Emerging technologies
In the history of technology, emerging technologies are contemporary advances and innovation in various fields of technology. Various converging technologies have emerged in the technological convergence of different systems evolving towards similar goals...
to enhance human capacities
Human enhancement
Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means...
, which they believe stems from the self-interested application of reason
Reason
Reason is a term that refers to the capacity human beings have to make sense of things, to establish and verify facts, and to change or justify practices, institutions, and beliefs. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, language, ...
and will
Will (philosophy)
Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
in the context of the individual freedom to achieve a posthuman
Posthuman
Posthuman may refer to:*Posthuman, a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer human by our current standards...
state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. They extend this rational and ethical egoism to advocate a form of "biolibertarianism".
As strong civil libertarians, libertarian transhumanists hold that any attempt to limit or suppress the asserted right to human enhancement is a violation of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
and civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
. However, as strong economic libertarians, they also reject proposed public policies
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
of government-regulated
Regulation of science
The regulation of science refers to use of law, or other ruling, by academic or governmental bodies to allow or restrict science from performing certain practices, or researching certain scientific areas...
and -insured
Universal health care
Universal health care is a term referring to organized health care systems built around the principle of universal coverage for all members of society, combining mechanisms for health financing and service provision.-History:...
human enhancement technologies, which are advocated by democratic transhumanists
Democratic transhumanism
Democratic transhumanism, a term coined by Dr. James Hughes in 2002, refers to the stance of transhumanists who espouse liberal, social and/or radical democratic political views....
, because they fear that any state intervention will steer or limit their choices.
Extropianism
Extropianism
Extropianism, also referred to as the philosophy of "Extropy", is an evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition....
, the earliest current of transhumanist thought defined in 1988 by philosopher Max More
Max More
Max More is a philosopher and futurist who writes, speaks, and consults on advanced decision-making about emerging technologies....
, initially included an anarcho-capitalist interpretation of the concept of "spontaneous order
Spontaneous order
Spontaneous order, also known as "self-organization", is the spontaneous emergence of order out of seeming chaos. It is a process found in physical, biological, and social networks, as well as economics, though the term "self-organization" is more often used for physical and biological processes,...
" in its principles, which states that a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
economy achieves a more efficient allocation of societal resources than any planned
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
or mixed economy
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
could achieve. In 2000, while revising the principles of Extropy, More seemed to be abandoning right-libertarianism in favor of modern liberalism and anticipatory democracy
Anticipatory democracy
Anticipatory democracy is a theory of civics relying on democratic decision making that takes into account predictions of future events that have some credibility with the electorate...
. However, many Extropians remained libertarian transhumanists.
Criticisms
Critiques of the techno-utopianismTechno-utopianism
Technological utopianism refers to any ideology based on the belief that advances in science and technology will eventually bring about a utopia, or at least help to fulfill one or another utopian ideal...
of libertarian transhumanists from progressive cultural critic
Cultural critic
A cultural critic is a critic of a given culture, usually as a whole and typically on a radical basis. There is significant overlap with social and cultural theory.-Terminology:...
s include Richard Barbrook
Richard Barbrook
Richard Barbrook is an academic in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Languages at the University of Westminster.-Education:Barbrook studied for a BA in Social & Political Science at Downing College, University of Cambridge, a MA in Political Behaviour at University of Essex and a...
and Andy Cameron's 1995 essay The Californian Ideology; Mark Dery
Mark Dery
Mark Dery is an American author, lecturer and cultural critic. He writes about "media, the visual landscape, fringe trends, and unpopular culture" From 2001 to 2009, he taught media criticism and literary journalism in the Department of Journalism at New York University...
's 1996 book Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century; and Pauline Borsook's 2000 book Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High-Tech.
Barbrook argues that libertarian transhumanists are proponents of the Californian Ideology
Californian Ideology
The Californian Ideology is a set of beliefs combining bohemian and anti-authoritarian attitudes from the counterculture of the 1960s with techno-utopianism and support for neoliberal economic policies...
who embrace the goal of reactionary modernism
Reactionary modernism
"Reactionary modernism" is a term coined by Jeffrey Herf in 1984 book, Reactionary Modernism: Technology, Culture and Politics in Weimar and the Third Reich, to describe the mixture of "great enthusiasm for modern technology with a rejection of the Enlightenment and the values and institutions of...
: economic growth
Economic growth
In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...
without social mobility
Social mobility
Social mobility refers to the movement of people in a population from one social class or economic level to another. It typically refers to vertical mobility -- movement of individuals or groups up from one socio-economic level to another, often by changing jobs or marrying; but can also refer to...
. According to Barbrook, libertarian transhumanists are unwittingly appropriating the theoretical legacy of Stalinist communism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
by substituting, among other concepts, the “vanguard party
Vanguard party
A vanguard party is a political party at the forefront of a mass action, movement, or revolution. The idea of a vanguard party has its origins in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
” with the “digerati
Digerati
The digerati are the elite of the computer industry and online communities. The word is a portmanteau, derived from "digital" and "literati", and reminiscent of the earlier coinage glitterati...
”, and the “new Soviet man
New Soviet man
The New Soviet man or New Soviet person , as postulated by the ideologists of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, was an archetype of a person with certain qualities that were said to be emerging as dominant among all citizens of the Soviet Union, irrespective of the country's cultural,...
” with the “posthuman
Posthuman
Posthuman may refer to:*Posthuman, a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer human by our current standards...
”.
Dery coined the dismissive phrase “body-loathing” to describe the attitude of libertarian transhumanists and those in the cyberculture
Cyberculture
Cyberculture is the culture that has emerged, or is emerging, from the use of computer networks for communication, entertainment and business. It is also the study of various social phenomena associated with the Internet and other new forms of network communication, such as online communities,...
who want to escape from their “meat puppet
Human body
The human body is the entire structure of a human organism, and consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs.By the time the human reaches adulthood, the body consists of close to 100 trillion cells, the basic unit of life...
” through mind uploading into cyberspace
Cyberspace
Cyberspace is the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place.The term "cyberspace" was first used by the cyberpunk science fiction author William Gibson, though the concept was described somewhat earlier, for example in the Vernor Vinge short story "True...
. Borsook asserts that libertarian transhumanists indulge in a subculture
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
of selfishness
Selfishness
Selfishness denotes an excessive or exclusive concern with oneself, and as such it exceeds mere self interest or self concern. Insofar as a decision maker knowingly burdens or harms others for personal gain, the decision is selfish. In contrast, self-interest is more general...
, elitism
Elitism
Elitism is the belief or attitude that some individuals, who form an elite — a select group of people with intellect, wealth, specialized training or experience, or other distinctive attributes — are those whose views on a matter are to be taken the most seriously or carry the most...
and escapism
Escapism
Escapism is mental diversion by means of entertainment or recreation, as an "escape" from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily life...
.
Sociologist James Hughes is the most militant critic of libertarian transhumanism. While articulating “democratic transhumanism
Democratic transhumanism
Democratic transhumanism, a term coined by Dr. James Hughes in 2002, refers to the stance of transhumanists who espouse liberal, social and/or radical democratic political views....
” as a sociopolitical program in his 2004 book Citizen Cyborg
Citizen Cyborg
Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future is a 2004 non-fiction book by bioethicist and sociologist James Hughes, which articulates democratic transhumanism as a socio-political ideology and program....
, Hughes sought to convince libertarian transhumanists to embrace social democracy
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
by arguing that:
- StateState (polity)A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
action is required to address catastrophic threatsExistential riskExistential risks are dangers that have the potential to destroy, or drastically restrict, human civilization. They are distinguished from other forms of risk both by their scope, affecting all of humanity, and severity; destroying or irreversibly crippling the target.Natural disasters, such as...
from transhumanist technologies; - Only believable and effective public policiesPublic policyPublic policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
to prevent adverse consequences from new technologies will reassure skittish publics that they do not have to be bannedBan (law)A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
; - Social policiesSocial policySocial policy primarily refers to guidelines, principles, legislation and activities that affect the living conditions conducive to human welfare. Thus, social policy is that part of public policy that has to do with social issues...
must explicitly address public concerns that transhumanist biotechnologies will exacerbate social inequalitySocial inequalitySocial inequality refers to a situation in which individual groups in a society do not have equal social status. Areas of potential social inequality include voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of property rights and access to education, health care, quality housing and other...
; - MonopolisticMonopolyA monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
practices and overly restrictive intellectual propertyIntellectual propertyIntellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
law can seriously delay the development of transhumanist technologies, and restrict their access; - Only a strong liberal democratic state can ensure that posthumans are not persecutedPersecutionPersecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another group. The most common forms are religious persecution, ethnic persecution, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these terms. The inflicting of suffering, harassment, isolation,...
; and - Libertarian transhumanists (who are anti-naturalistsAntinaturalism (politics)As a political movement in France, antinaturalism is closely linked to the animal welfare movement; some antinaturalists posit that any reference to Natural law, such as the reintroduction of wolf predators into a forest to curb deer overpopulation, is a form of speciesism, and encourage veganism...
) are inconsistent in arguing for the free market on the grounds that it is a natural phenomenonAppeal to natureAn appeal to nature is a type of argument that depends on an understanding of nature as a source of intelligibility for its claims, and which relies on that understanding for its outcome...
.
Klaus-Gerd Giesen, a German political scientist specializing in the philosophy of technology
Philosophy of technology
The philosophy of technology is a philosophical field dedicated to studying the nature of technology and its social effects.- History :Considered under the rubric of the Greek term techne , the philosophy of technology goes to the very roots of Western philosophy.* In his Republic, Plato sees...
, wrote a critique of the libertarianism he imputes to all transhumanists. While pointing out that the works of Austrian School
Austrian School
The Austrian School of economics is a heterodox school of economic thought. It advocates methodological individualism in interpreting economic developments , the theory that money is non-neutral, the theory that the capital structure of economies consists of heterogeneous goods that have...
economist Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August Hayek CH , born in Austria-Hungary as Friedrich August von Hayek, was an economist and philosopher best known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought...
figure in practically all of the recommended reading lists of Extropians, he argues that transhumanists, convinced of the sole virtues of the free market, advocate an unabashed inegalitarianism
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism is a term commonly used for theories of society that emerged in England and the United States in the 1870s, seeking to apply the principles of Darwinian evolution to sociology and politics...
and merciless meritocracy
Meritocracy
Meritocracy, in the first, most administrative sense, is a system of government or other administration wherein appointments and responsibilities are objectively assigned to individuals based upon their "merits", namely intelligence, credentials, and education, determined through evaluations or...
which can be reduced in reality to a biological fetish
Fetishism
A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others...
. He is especially critical of their promotion of a science-fictional libertarian eugenics, virulently opposed to any political regulation of human genetics
Human genetics
Human genetics describes the study of inheritance as it occurs in human beings. Human genetics encompasses a variety of overlapping fields including: classical genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, biochemical genetics, genomics, population genetics, developmental genetics, clinical genetics,...
, where the consumerist
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
model presides over their ideology. Giesen concludes that the despair of finding social and political solutions to today's sociopolitical problems incites transhumanists to reduce everything to the hereditary gene
Genetic determinism
Genetic determinism is the belief that genes determine morphological and behavioral traits and do so with little or no influence from environmental factors....
, as a fantasy of omnipotence
Omnipotence
Omnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
to be found within the individual, even if it means transforming the subject (human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
) to a new draft (posthuman
Posthuman
Posthuman may refer to:*Posthuman, a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer human by our current standards...
).
External links
- The Longevity Meme, a libertarian transhumanist non-profit organisation which promotes life extension