Тег: Oppenheimer

Transhumanists doubt ancap

My post from the day before yesterday was reposted in a transhumanist channel, where they also posted a couple of remarks:

1. Transhumanism is closely linked to scientific and technological progress, and that requires huge financial injections; even states have problems with this, as sufficient funds for science are often not found, and under ancap, where everything will be decentralized, it could become even worse (I may be wrong, I am not as familiar with ancap ideas as the ancaps themselves), even corporations might lack funds, especially considering their drive to maximize profit. Building things like the LHC could be impossible under ancap, given the required funds and, essentially, the lack of profitability. And there wouldn’t be enough philanthropists for such scales. However, considering that under ancap, capitalists will gain access to the resources previously owned by states, this should give them more opportunities, although it’s still not a fact that it will be enough. 

Here I want, firstly, to refer to my old post about funding fundamental science under ancap, and secondly, to point out that transhumanism does not need things like the LHC: research in biotechnology, bioinformatics, and other transhumanist agendas does not require a super-concentration of resources on a single mega-project, which means that funding can be decentralized, gradual, and quickly transition from the fundamental science stage to the applied stage, with rapid implementation of results in business. As far as I know, the most expensive research in this field was the sequencing of the human genome; it was carried out worldwide for many years by numerous laboratories without disrupting current scientific activities, and this is still much simpler than building some unimaginably complex installation in one place.

2. Regarding cyberpunk, that is incorrect. Cyberpunk is not tied to the fact of the existence of states; moreover, cyberpunk often depicts states as having either disappeared or lost all power, with corporations taking their place. And it is under ancap that a cyberpunk scenario of the world being governed by corporations is more than likely. One could even say that cyberpunk often captures precisely the world of anarcho-capitalism.

I am proceeding from Oppenheimer’s definition of the state, that is, an organization that uses systematic, regular, legalized, and continuously applied “political methods” to extract wealth from the producing society. Cyberpunk corporations differ from corporations in current reality in that they are states in the Oppenheimer sense, they are simply extraterritorial. This system differs from anarcho-capitalism precisely by the legality of political methods, whereas under ancap they are marginal.

Political methods are not needed, buddy

Work on translations

Recently, Sergey Ankapov contacted me via Facebook direct messages, inquiring about my ability to assist in organizing the translation of Franz Oppenheimer’s book “The State.” Unfortunately, I didn’t know any translators who were free enough to join the project. And just yesterday, I found out that not only is a translation planned, but also a print edition of the book, and fundraising is underway for this. I know that many people value print editions specifically, so I consider it my duty to inform you how you can help the project. Most of the amount has already been collected; all that’s missing is you.

Also, recently, as part of the “Hyde Park Library” project, the book “The New Autocracy,” which thoroughly dissects the modern Russian political machine, was posted. The book is recommended by Ekaterina Schulmann, who participated in its creation. An activist was found who decided to take on the translation of the book, although the idea of translating a book about Russia, written primarily by Russians, from English into Russian seems a bit strange to me. Regardless, he is assembling a team of like-minded people to tackle this work collectively.

And for dessert. I have begun working on the translation of David Friedman’s book “The Machinery of Freedom” — the most fundamental work on the doctrine of anarcho-capitalism. Unfortunately, the pace is quite slow, as time for work on the project is allocated on a residual basis. I think this can be changed. In the near future, I will create a section on the website where I will post the English text by chapter, and as the translation progresses, I will add the translated parts there. Anyone who wishes can take any untranslated fragment, send me the translation, and I will edit it and add it to the site. Your donations will also be very helpful: practice has shown that I work with significantly more enthusiasm when I see that you are willing to pay for what I produce.

The book will be translated based on the text of the second edition released in 1986, with additions published in 2014 that have not yet gained widespread recognition.