Re: "Enclaves" (was: Tough Questions)

J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Sat, 11 Sep 1999 01:11:16 -0700

Greg Burch wrote,
>I don't think the concept of an enclave is outdated for a number of
reasons.
>First, I think there's at least some possibility that people intent on
>implementing the transhumanist agenda may at some point have to establish
>some sort of territorially-based "political" entity to provide a legal
>environment in which to carry on their work. Second, as satisfying as
>increasingly high-bandwidth VR communication will be, we'll still carry our
>primate genetic heritage for some time, and that means we'll want to share
>physical space for social interaction. Third, some of the more innovative
>ideas for social experimentation we've discussed just won't work if
embedded
>in traditional social matrices. Finally, I think some set of folks who
call
>themselves "extropian" will engage in extraterrestrial "colonization"
within
>the next 100 years and this means an "enclave", at least at first.

A fifth reason _not_ to consider enclaves outdated relates to the possibility that the world may plunge itself into yet another total war. It would not surprise me to learn that some particularly extropic Swiss citizens have formed enclaves already, with living quarters dug deep into the Alps.
Since the best enclaves probably won't invite me, I'll meditate whenever I can, for as long as I can.