John Hocter: Introduction

I’m currently volunteering to act as Julian Snape’s deputy PR guy in the UK Transhumanist Party so if you know of any media sources, journalists or online communities that may be receptive to our message please let either me or Julian know of them so we can factor them into our plans to generate publicity and gain support. I also hope to take part in building vibrant virtual communities linked to TP Virtual, which I see as a potential mechanism for forming bonds, providing community space/refuge and team/system building as well as spreading our message throughout all corners of the internet.

My aims and interests are to discover and explore ways of improving our civilization and ensure as many resources as possible are made available to those who are trying to do the same. As such I intend to work towards making sure better and more flexible educational facilities and work spaces are made available to both myself and the rest of the population. I also intend to see to it that enough funding is made available to organisations, private and public, that are developing and implementing solutions to the worlds great problems. The only way I know of how to do this, within our current social systems, is regrettably politics. The only people who share a similar enough worldview to myself that are attempting to take on the political arena are the fledgling Transhumanist Parties. Therefore these are the only parties I can back with little to no reservations, regardless if they are primarily techno-libertarians or social-futurists. Once we’ve finally cleared out the unqualified actors and pretenders in modern politics from our political institutions we can then take the luxury of forming more left and right wing Transhumanist parties that, while in political opposition, are still in tune with the times they are in. There is no use fighting now over rights to the bone long before we even have sight of the chop.

While I agree, wholeheartedly, with people who are rejecting the political parties who have been giving us the same utter crap year after year: I reject the widespread refusal to take part in politics as a whole as this only invites both those ‘in charge’ and those who are still willing to vote to continue pushing those of us who are at the bottom deeper into some increasingly irrelevant corner where there are also increasing levels of hardship. Activists and radicals often say refusing to vote will decrease the legitimacy of those in charge, however, why would those in charge care about their legitimacy when the masses have allowed themselves to become completely irrelevant by never taking part? Those in charge don’t care much at all about the none voting public’s view of their legitimacy. You can tell they don’t by the blatant corruption, smarmyness and contempt they display through both their eagerness to take action making cuts to vital services and rich folks taxes and inaction when it comes to actually making sure our services serve their intended function as effectively and efficiently as possible. Hence why they need replacing, ASAP, by people who understand what technical solutions to the worlds problems need implementing who also strongly desire to actually see them implemented. Hence why I am here intending to work with TPUK and the other parties around the world to make sure this happens.

Though I am a transhumanist and 2045 has me daydreaming and pent up like a toddler waiting for Santa. (:ElfWillFarrel: ONLY 30 YEARS PEOPLE!!!) I see a far greater need for transhumanists to focus on and act upon what we can do today. We have an urgent need for doing so as well, after all, humanity could easily lose acceleration in the steeper parts of the exponential curve and experience some kind of sharp hard crash provided those of us who are thinking about our long term future are doing little to secure or fuel it. My long term dreams are to explore our real Universe without and the Universes contained within my imagination and the imaginations of others by the 2030’s. But what of today? My dreams also include seeing automated cars and evacuated tube lines revolutionizing and, to be frank, modernizing modern transport. Hyper-speed internet revolutionizing how we communicate, collaborate and play. Everyone who is physically able in education or decent and actually necessary work or somehow voluntarily active within their community yet still provided for via the BIG. I want to see the giant towers and technological wonders of the hyper-efficient cities we could very well start building right here and now. This can all be done in current times and it must be done if we are to revive our economy permanently and finally kill the boom bust cycle. It must be done to secure the landing strip for the singularities approach and to preserve our continued existences long into the future.

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Well said. I should like to add that life extension is but one goal for us. The increase of technology and the problems that arise from it increases the demand for a party who has technology at its core.

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Great, this is what the Social Future Metanet is about: Supporting vibrant virtual communities for constructive creative collaboration. If there is something you can do to help this little community grow, and also help the Transhumanist Parties at the same time, then it’s spreading the word about the existence of this place and inviting people to join and participate in the SFF. This is most needed now, as this forum is in a critical starting phase.

I am not a fan of this left and right wing dichotomy. It’s too simplistic and hides the complexities that lie underneath. Even when including the so called “up” wing, it’s a picture that is too simple. What we need is multidimensional thinking. If a political categorization doesn’t have at least 2 dimensions, I reject it fully.

Nevertheless, the core of your message still remains valid: After pushing forward with the core transhumanist policies successfully there will be more space and realistic opportunity for healthy political diversification.

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I totally agree with you Radivis, I 'm not a fan of it either. But the spat exists and is visibly causing tension within certain TH communities now so I’m trying to spread the notion that these kinds of disagreements can/should be put off, at least until our common goals are met, if not permanently.

Edit: Which is more or less what you said, now that I read it properly.

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Hi, I’ve just joined Social Futures after learning about the site during a Transpolitica Hangout. I’m a writer interested in all aspects of accelerating technology and its many societal effects, especially the political effects. As a Hayekian and an American conservative, I’m very partial to all political effects that will not only allow us to keep a large amount of personal freedom but will add to it. I’m a Republican, but seeing how fast technology is accelerating, I’m dubious about how effective any of the traditional political parties will be in handling change. Acceleration is occurring so fast that America’s traditional quadrennial presidential election cycle (IMHO) can no longer keep up. If you have some ideas on these topics, please respond. If you know of a good ongoing discussion here, please let me know. Thank you.

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Welcome to the Social Future Forum, Sally. I find it curious that I haven’t heard of you or your writings before, but then again the futurist community is relatively large nevertheless.

It’s nice that you decided to post here on this forum even though I head suggestions that American conservatives might not like the “social” in the name “Social Future”. I’m interested in what kind of changes for society triggered by technology you anticipate and what you think where we should be heading in that regard.

About the American democratic system not being able to keep up: Yes, this is definitely a problem for all democracies, but the two party system seems to be especially antithetical to rapid political change. I think the democracies in continental Europe have a better election system, but they are still trapped in 4-5 year cycles and the associated short-term thinking. If you have any idea how we could reasonably innovate politics, I suggest you to start a new thread about that.

Oh, and you could have introduced yourself in your own thread, rather than doing it in that of John Hocter. Anyway, this is not too much of a problem, I hope. Unless John Hocter disagrees with that statement, that is.

No, no problems here, Radivis.

Welcome Sally.