From: Giu1i0 Pri5c0 (gpmap@runbox.com)
Date: Thu Jul 10 2003 - 12:12:06 MDT
Now, this is an interesting discussion. I often wonder how a movement so small in absolute numbers can afford fragmentation, and whether consolidating (joining forces) would make more sense. It is difficult to characterize differences between ExI and WTA without using politically overcharged words (which can upset some people).
Try this: A large part of the most vocal members of ExI tend to favor spontaneous order over planning in social issues - A large part of the most vocal members of WTA tend to favor planning over spontaneous order in social issues.
Here, I have said it without using politically overcharged words [right, left, libertarian, socialist, fascist, communist, anarchist, ...] but I am sure that some will still disagree with my (admittedly oversimplified) statement.
I, like many, am a member of both organizations and try, time allowing, to contribute to both. I appreciate the value of both views, and respect both, but the point I wish to make is: my experience first as a person, then as an engineer, then as a manager, tells me that the right thing is ALWAYS some kind of reasoned mix of spontaneous order and planning. Getting it right is an engineering, quantitative problem.
I also think that "pure" positions at one or the other extreme are naive in the best case, very dangerous in the worst case.
I wonder how many agree with this point of view. If many do, as I hope, then I do not see any fundamental problem if we wish to have more collaboration and less competition between ExI and WTA.
###Natasha: Work directly with other organizations for a team-effort and one in which each organization decides what their contribution will be to the goal rather than duplicating the same thing (we see this with Foresight Institute's gatherings which is pretty much the same as the ExI community; and also with WTA's membership and goals which tends to be a duplication of ExI. If Foresight focused on nanotechnology and encouraged its members to be members of ExI, we would have more money and better advantage. Further, if WTA had joined forces with ExI rather than try to compete, we would have had a much larger community that would have been more diverse and copacetic to transhumanist goals.###
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