Nanosocialism

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Nanosocialism refers generally to a set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the research, development and use of nanotechnology.

Contents

Politics

Nanosocialism is a stance that favors participatory politics to guide state intervention in the effort to manage the transition to a society revolutionized by molecular nanotechnology. [1] [2]

"Nanosocialism" is a term coined by David M. Berube, the associate director of Nanoscience and Technology Studies at the USC NanoCenter, who argues that nanotechnological projections need to be tempered by technorealism about the implications of nanotechnology in a technocapitalist society, but that its applications also offer enormous opportunities for economic abundance and social progress. [1] [2]

In the role-playing game Transhuman Space , nanosocialism is described as a descendant of infosocialism, in which intellectual property is nationalized and freely distributed by the state. [3] It is adopted by some developing nations to counter the hold corporations from wealthier nations have on copyrights and patents. This fictional version of nanosocialism was coined by David L. Pulver, the game's creator, who was unaware that the term had already been used by Berube.

See also

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Kim Eric Drexler is an American engineer best known for studies of the potential of molecular nanotechnology (MNT), from the 1970s and 1980s. His 1991 doctoral thesis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology was revised and published as the book Nanosystems: Molecular Machinery Manufacturing and Computation (1992), which received the Association of American Publishers award for Best Computer Science Book of 1992.

Posthumanism Class of philosophies

Posthumanism or post-humanism is a term with at least seven definitions according to philosopher Francesca Ferrando:

  1. Antihumanism: any theory that is critical of traditional humanism and traditional ideas about humanity and the human condition.
  2. Cultural posthumanism: a branch of cultural theory critical of the foundational assumptions of humanism and its legacy that examines and questions the historical notions of "human" and "human nature", often challenging typical notions of human subjectivity and embodiment and strives to move beyond archaic concepts of "human nature" to develop ones which constantly adapt to contemporary technoscientific knowledge.
  3. Philosophical posthumanism: a philosophical direction that draws on cultural posthumanism, the philosophical strand examines the ethical implications of expanding the circle of moral concern and extending subjectivities beyond the human species.
  4. Posthuman condition: the deconstruction of the human condition by critical theorists.
  5. Posthuman transhumanism: a transhuman ideology and movement which seeks to develop and make available technologies that eliminate aging, enable immortality and greatly enhance human intellectual, physical, and psychological capacities, in order to achieve a "posthuman future".
  6. AI takeover: A variant of transhumanism in which humans will not be enhanced, but rather eventually replaced by artificial intelligences. Some philosophers, including Nick Land, promote the view that humans should embrace and accept their eventual demise. This is related to the view of "cosmism", which supports the building of strong artificial intelligence even if it may entail the end of humanity, as in their view it "would be a cosmic tragedy if humanity freezes evolution at the puny human level".
  7. Voluntary Human Extinction, which seeks a "posthuman future" that in this case is a future without humans.
Transhumanism Philosophical movement

Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement which advocates for the enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available sophisticated technologies that can greatly enhance longevity and cognition. It also predicts the inevitability of such technologies in the future.

Non-governmental organization Organization independent of any government, usually created to aid those in need or similar

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in humanitarianism or the social sciences; they can also include clubs and associations that provide services to their members and others. Surveys indicate that NGOs have a high degree of public trust, which can make them a useful proxy for the concerns of society and stakeholders. However, NGOs can also be lobby groups for corporations, such as the World Economic Forum.

Transhuman

Transhuman, or trans-human, is the concept of an intermediary form between human and posthuman. In other words, a transhuman is a being that resembles a human in most respects but who has powers and abilities beyond those of standard humans. These abilities might include improved intelligence, awareness, strength, or durability. Transhumans appear in science-fiction, sometimes as cyborgs or genetically-enhanced humans.

Extropianism Stance favoring continuous technological evolution and longer lifespans

Extropianism, also referred to as the philosophy of extropy, is an "evolving framework of values and standards for continuously improving the human condition". Extropians believe that advances in science and technology will some day let people live indefinitely. An extropian may wish to contribute to this goal, e.g. by doing research and development or by volunteering to test new technology.

The term superhuman refers to humans or human-like lifeforms with enhanced qualities and abilities that exceed those naturally found in humans. These qualities may be acquired through natural ability, self-actualization or technological aids. The related concept of a super race refers to an entire category of beings with the same or varying superhuman characteristics, created from present-day human beings by deploying various means such as eugenics, euthenics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and/or brain–computer interfacing to accelerate the process of human evolution.

The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the intelligentsia comprises scholars, academics, teachers, journalists, and literary writers.

Technological utopianism Any ideology based on the premise that advances in technology could bring a utopia

Technological utopianism is any ideology based on the premise that advances in science and technology could and should bring about a utopia, or at least help to fulfill one or another utopian ideal.

Humanity+ International non-profit organization

Humanity+ is a non-profit international educational organization that advocates for the ethical use of technologies and evidence-based science to improve the human condition. This condition includes the health of physiological and neurological functions affected by aging and disease, the ecological health and well-being for all life forms, and the future advancements for a more human humanity. Its work includes:

James Hughes (sociologist) American sociologist and bioethicist

James J. Hughes is an American sociologist and bioethicist. He is the Executive Director of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and teaches health policy at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut in the United States. He is the author of Citizen Cyborg: Why Democratic Societies Must Respond to the Redesigned Human of the Future and is currently writing a book about moral bioenhancement tentatively titled Cyborg Buddha: Using Neurotechnology to Become Better People.

Morphological freedom refers to a proposed civil right of a person to either maintain or modify their own body, on their own terms, through informed, consensual recourse to, or refusal of, available therapeutic or enabling medical technology.

Techno-progressivism Stance of active support for the convergence of technological and social change

Techno-progressivism or tech-progressivism is a stance of active support for the convergence of technological change and social change. Techno-progressives argue that technological developments can be profoundly empowering and emancipatory when they are regulated by legitimate democratic and accountable authorities to ensure that their costs, risks and benefits are all fairly shared by the actual stakeholders to those developments. One of the first mentions of techno-progressivism appeared within extropian jargon in 1999 as the removal of "all political, cultural, biological, and psychological limits to self-actualization and self-realization".

Economic secession has been variously defined by sources. In its narrowest sense, it is abstention from the state's economic system, such as by replacing the use of government money with barter, Local Exchange Trading Systems, or commodity money such as gold. Wendell Berry may have coined the term "economic secession" and promoted his own version in his 1991 essay Conservation and Local Economy. John T. Kennedy used the term to refer to all human action that is forbidden by the state and explains economic secession as tax avoidance or refusal to follow regulations as a method to reduce government control.

Human enhancement (HE) can be described as the natural, artificial, or technological alteration of the human body in order to enhance physical or mental capabilities.

Posthuman or post-human is a concept originating in the fields of science fiction, futurology, contemporary art, and philosophy that means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond being human. The concept aims at addressing a variety of questions, including ethics and justice, language and trans-species communication, social systems, and the intellectual aspirations of interdisciplinarity.

Because of the ongoing controversy on the implications of nanotechnology, there is significant debate concerning whether nanotechnology or nanotechnology-based products merit special government regulation. This mainly relates to when to assess new substances prior to their release into the market, community and environment.

Keith Henson American electrical engineer and writer (born 1942)

Howard Keith Henson is an American electrical engineer and writer. Henson writes on subjects including space engineering, space law, memetics, cryonics, evolutionary psychology, and the physical limitations of Transhumanism. In 1975, Henson founded the L5 Society with his then-wife Carolyn Meinel to promote space colonization. In 1987 the L5 Society merged with the National Space Institute to form the National Space Society.

Transhumanist politics Political ideology

Transhumanist politics constitutes a group of political ideologies that generally express the belief in improving human individuals through science and technology.

References

  1. 1 2 Berube, David (1996). "Nanosocialism". Archived from the original on 2006-12-25. Retrieved 2007-01-30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. 1 2 Hughes, James (2001). "Politics of Transhumanism" . Retrieved 2007-01-26.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "Transhuman Space". www.sjgames.com. Retrieved 2019-02-25.