One group stands above all others for applauding this convergence. They are known as transhumanists. Most prominent among which are professors, philosophers, scientists and celebrities. The transhumanists see a world of problems just begging to be solved with converging technology.
What most people don’t realize is that this concept is not new. It is in fact a repackaging of what was once called eugenics. The term eugenics means good genes, or good origin. It was coined in 1883, by British scientist Sir Francis Galton. He defined eugenics as “A moral philosophy to improve humanity by encouraging the best and brightest to breed”. Galton was the half-cousin of Sir Charles Darwin, the famous originator of the theory of evolution, which also would come to be known as Darwinism.
Galton actually used the theory of evolution to substantiate his new science of eugenics. In his book, Studies on Hereditary Genius, he attempted to prove that the aristocratic families of the British empire were in fact a superior race. The fact that in the struggle for life, they had made it to the very top of society proved that they were the best that humanity had to offer. It is important to note that Darwin’s famous The Origin of Species is subtitled Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. Not surprisingly, the Royal Society, a scientific institution dedicated to the improvement of natural knowledge, picked up on these new ideas and promoted Darwin heavily. Being a creation of the British monarchy, the Royal Society was obviously in favor of promoting the idea of the genetic superiority of the royal family. Science itself was being positioned to replace the old religious appeal, with the divine right of Kings to rule over the inferior masses.
Darwin himself stated “Elite status is prima facie evidence of evolutionary superiority”. Through scientism, science as religion, Darwinism could in fact bring about social change. Social Darwinism would manifest itself as eugenics. To eugenicists, the masses were cattle, with Galton calling eugenics ‘the science of improving the stock’. The rise of scientism began the widespread proliferation of eugenics as it reached American shores at the turn of the century. The Eugenics Record Office in Cold Springs Harbor New York went to work amassing hundreds of thousands of family pedigrees for genetic research. They also lobbied for state sterilization acts and other eugenic legislation. In 1899, Henry Clay Sharp, a prison physician, began sterilizing degenerate prisoners, and later in 1907 he was a key advocate for a law in Indiana that was passed, mandating the compulsory sterilization of degenerates throughout the state.
In 1921, the American Eugenics Society was formed and began propaganda campaigns which included the promotion of eugenics in churches, schools, and state fair exhibitions. Funding for American eugenics came from the Carnegie, Harriman, and Rockefeller families among others. Eugenics was being accepted as a genuine form of science. Social Darwinism made strong advances toward a world in which scientism would fulfill Galton’s dream of having eugenics be the religion of the future.
But a major setback occurred at the end of World War II. It was discovered that American eugenics had been a major influence on Hitler’s Final Solution. In 1934, Rudolf Hess had stated that “national socialism is nothing but applied biology”. Hitler had only wanted to preserve the best German stocks and elevate them to a dominate position in society. It was at this point in eugenics history that a crucial move had to be made in order to hide eugenics from the now aware masses of humanity.
Prominent eugenicist Sir Julian Huxley stepped up and offered a solution. He simply invented a new word to replace eugenics. That term being, TRANSHUMANISM, which he defined as the need for mankind to realize the importance of steering the direction of its own evolution. Yes, eugenics was one of the original aspects of transhumanism. And it is no surprise as Julian was the grandson of Thomas Henry Huxley, who had been a president of the Royal Society, and one of the most well known advocates of Darwinism in its early days.
Julian, being properly raised, was educated at Oxford. His specialty being evolutionary biology. He went on to many high level positions, which included the titles of Vice President and President of the British Eugenics Society, which of course had the task of removing undesirable variants from the human gene pool. Julian Huxley had said the following of eugenics “The lowest strata are reproducing too fast. Therefore… they must not have too easy access to relief or hospital treatment lest the removal of the last check on natural selection should make it too easy for children to be produced or to survive; Long unemployment should be a ground for sterilization”.
At this point it’s important to understand the legal definition of the word terrorist. Since 9/11, a mountain of legislation has been passed, including the Patriot Act, the Military Commission Act, the John Warner Defense Act and countless others. All of which have, through their legislative cunning, rendered the term terrorist so ambiguous that you can be deemed a terrorist for any reason at all. You can be taken to a secret prison without charges, without Habeas Corpus, and with no rights whatsoever.
These laws were not written on a whim. They were specifically designed to give the government carte blanche authority over the people during the chaos and confusion of the Age of Transitions.
And so, this transition is perhaps the most important transition of all time. Some people don’t want it. They fear this transition because this transition is to a planetary civilization tolerant of many cultures. These are the terrists. In their gut, they fear this, because they know they are witnessing the birth plans of a beginning of a new planetary civilization and the terrists want nothing to do with it. -Michio Kaku
(terrist as in terra firma, the Earth, etc. Sounds a bit like another word though, doesn’t it?)
The British Ministry of Defence has published its “Strategic Trends” report. The report has attempted to predict what will happen from 2007 until 2035. It predicts global chaos. It states that as global interdependence increases, every aspect of human life will change. Climate change, competition for resources, shortages of food and water, and the constant threat of pandemics, will keep people in a world wide state of shock.
During the next 30 years, every aspect of human life will change…
As the middle class in the west declines, extremist politics will be embraced by some out of desperation. Flash mobs will threaten military forces which admittedly will be working alongside police. As America and Europe decline in power, China and India are expected to gain prominence on the global stage. The population of the west will decrease due to declining fertility.
The report mentions this declining fertility on three separate occasions, but interestingly never explains the cause of this problem. Amid all this crisis, technological breakthroughs will develop at an unprecedented rate. Human computer interfaces will stimulate cultural change.
By 2035, an implantable information chip could be developed and wired directly to the user’s brain… synthetic sensory perception beamed directly to the user’s senses. It is likely that the majority of the global population will find it difficult to ‘turn the outside world off’. ICT is likely to be so pervasive that people are permanently connected to a network or two-way data stream with inherent challenges to civil liberties; being disconnected could be considered suspicious.
A small super-rich elite and a substantial underclass of slum and subsistence dwellers…
A more permissive R&D environment could accelerate the decline of ethical constraints and restraints. The speed of technological and cultural change could overwhelm society’s ability to absorb the ethical implications… The nearest approximation to an ethical framework could become a form of secular utilitarianism, in an otherwise amoral scientific culture. Declining youth populations in Western societies could become increasingly dissatisfied with their economically burdensome ‘baby boomer elders’… This could lead to a civic renaissance, with strict penalties for those failing to fulfill their social obligations. It might also open the way to policies which permit euthanasia as a means to reduce the burden of care for the elderly.
The problem is that we are living in a virtual reality. We’re living in a totally controlled environment. An environment that has been created by mass media. Now, many people, especially young people, accept unquestioningly the reality that is presented by the media. Popular culture, movies, television, music–carry messages about how society works and how people should behave, and so entertainment is not value free. It has ideological content it presents itself. It presents a world view that influences the people who watch the programming. There is a reason why television networks and the music industry, the various companies, they have programming departments. The programming that we are constantly assaulted by throughout our life, conditions us. It programs a particular world view.
