From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Tue Feb 04 2003 - 02:15:10 MST
On Mon, Feb 03, 2003 at 11:09:35PM -0800, Michael M. Butler wrote:
>
>
> FROM NANOTECHNOLOGY'S SIDELINES, ONE MORE WARNING
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/03/technology/03NANO.html?ex=1045299506&ei=1ik
> &en=dc4c6b06081c0f81
This is important reading for everybody who want to make
transhumanism affect the mainstream, rather than being the
losing memetic side. ETC are *very* successful in spreading
FUD about nanotechnology. The trick is not to rush out and
tell the public that the sky is falling, but to tell the
huge pre-existing activist networks and intellectuals that
nanotech is the next big thing, it fits in with the general
evil hegemony they believe in and that there are real things
to worry about. Then they are going to do the job for you.
It is exactly the same strategy I have repeatedly pointed
out on this list. The difference is that transhumanism
doesn't do this much.
> ETC consists of just seven employees in Winnipeg, Manitoba,
> its headquarters, and in Carrboro, N.C.; Mexico City; and
> Oxford, England. Its annual budget is roughly $525,000,
> most of it raised from donors, like the Rockefeller
> Foundation, that have long been involved with the needs of
> developing countries.
This is also noteworthy. You don't need to be a big organisation,
just well organised.
At the same time they are everywhere. Expressions from their
papers crop up in the strangest places - most recently I saw
references in a policy paper from the Swedish Agriculture
Department, apparently linked to a UN aid expert. With a bit
of networking you can amplify your memetic impact
tremendously.
We can do exactly the same.
Also, note that much of the money for groups with fairly
extreme agendas comes from completely ordinary foundations and
corporations. http://activistcash.com/ is interesting reading.
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Anders Sandberg Towards Ascension! asa@nada.kth.se http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/ GCS/M/S/O d++ -p+ c++++ !l u+ e++ m++ s+/+ n--- h+/* f+ g+ w++ t+ r+ !y
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Tue Feb 04 2003 - 02:13:12 MST