Anarchist TranshumanistManifesto (PDF)




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Note to anyone who is unfamiliar with the term “Anarchism”: It may turn you off from the
start but be assured that anarchism is the evolution of radical democracy, consensus
decision making, freedom, cooperation, and equality - changing the name of anarchism
to something more “appealing” would undermine the evolution of this school of
thought...
Please send an email to krisnotaro@gmail.com to be added to the editors and/or suggesters.
Online, and updated document at:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wJrXYBXAmNH9zwyfgg1-yAYN_Cda26pFCk0u_QhyBc/edit

An Anarchist-Transhumanist “Manifesto”
Anarchist-Transhumanism is a branch of anarchism that takes seriously the values of traditional
and modern anarchism and combines it with transhumanism and posthumanism.

Although this is a flag, its more about an idea, a concept, a way to live. It has nothing to do with nationalism, nor patriotism.
“Flags are bits of colored cloth that governments use first to shrink-wrap people’s minds & then as ceremonial shrouds to bury the
dead.” - Arundhati Roy

This particular Manifesto is based on ideals from all notions of Anarchism, but should be heavily
tied to Anarcho-Syndicalism and Libertarian Socialism with the exception of “anarchocapitalism”
WE NEED YOUR HELP EDITING!
Draft: 04:22pm EST 2015-02-28
**This Anarchist-Transhumanist Manifesto was inspired by party politics from the UK
Transhumanist Party. To see all revisions of UKH+ Manifesto go to:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HW0DMgqGwRsj_opIwvaPrgDTQCbrlHQ1M9S79t_sOR
E

Interview about the ATM:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ifl_dHGPSM

1. Why Anarchism?

The “political” philosophy of anarchism has been around since the Enlightenment, though its
roots stretch back far further. It is an area of thought which has grown, evolved, and matured
into a way to “structure” society. It values freedom, stateless societies, non-hierarchical social
structure, and has been proven to to work in communities that value consensus or consensustype voting. Commonly anarchism is falsely characterized as being chaotic - impossible to
formalize or exist outside of a radical’s utopian dreams. Yet, as proved in the implementation of
anarchism into intentional communities, it is something more than simply an outlandish dream.
But in order to achieve an anarchist world, we must put an end to the powerful political/social
structures which have brought about the oppressive institutions (state, capitalist enterprises)
that have brought about this revolutionary idea in the first place. Two prominent aspects of
political thought which anarchists do not believe in are vanguardism and capitalism.
Vanguardism traditionally conceived of a small group of people who value a socialist state to
guide the working class (proletariat) away from the tyranny of the capitalist-state and the few
who run it (bourgeoisie). The problem with vanguardism, as history has shown, is a mass
disrespect for both anarchists and the lives of the bourgeoisie (yes, the bourgeoisie, corporate
CEO’s and government officials are people/minds too, even though a lot of the time they do not
treat us like such as well) to the point of mass murder. Vanguardism also has a tremendously
horrible record of failing to turn over the state to the working class, leading to a dictatorship
under the flag of “socialism”. There is a common misconception amongst people who believe in
vanguardism that the world is being/will be shaped by the lower classes effectively. Though if we
are to examine the application of vanguardism to societies in the past, we will find these parties
have become disconnected from the lower classes they claimed to have been part of. It seems
if we are to stand for the rights of the people, we must stay part of the people, not manipulative
elites.

In contrast to these authoritarian “socialist” ideas, anarchism does not favour a small group of
people creating a “state” with a dictator, instead it strives to educate the working class to take
over their workplaces, lives, and communities while implementing radical democracy. Most
people call this notion of anarchism “anarcho-syndicalism” and “libertarian socialism”. Many are
confused by the term “libertarian socialism”, as libertarianism is often characterized as a radical
capitalist philosophy, and socialism is characterized as an evil plot of Soviet Union-loving
terrorists primarily because of US led propaganda. In actuality, anarchists believe that the rights
of individuals should be respected (left-libertarianism), which can be achieved through the
people having control over resources, the tools employed to use those resources, and fairly
allocated goods (socialism). It is worth pointing out that anarchism is socialist, though not the
authoritarian socialism the world is commonly taught. Many communists and authoritarian
socialists believe in the concept that a state is needed to organize the lower classes, while
waging war against all opposition. Never have we seen an effective transitional state bring
about statelessness and classlessness. Rather, we have seen “pro-worker” states evolve into
monstrously manipulative power-hungry elites. Instead of achieving a society of the people
through a state, anarchists believe we should just begin implementing the principles we believe
in without a corruptible all-powerful group.

---Both schools of thought (anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism) therefore have a better
record of striving for, and implementing consensus decision making, and the blatant disregard of
a socialist dictatorship, hence skipping right through the “stage” of “vanguardism” to a stateless
society where the working class self-organizes in the workplace under a union. The reason this
is clarified is because we have seen an atrocious history of vanguardism.
In countries with capitalist/socialist hybrid systems which slowly evolved but never truly met all
the needs of their citizens we continue to see socioeconomic problems such as in Iceland,
Sweden, and the Netherlands. It then seems more rational to embrace the ideals of anarchism
to have a revolution against capitalism and the bourgeoisie or the 1% (non-violently). Anarchism
has also been shown to be less discriminatory and actually less violent than a vanguard or
dictatorship driven revolution and strives to have no interconnectedness with neoliberal
capitalism such as the nations mentioned above.

Anarchists, as mentioned earlier, are against the concepts of unjustified dominance and
hierarchy through violence and coercion. Aside from being less discriminatory and violent,
anarchists generally believe in respecting all. Visible in the numerous anarchist variants
(feminist, naturist, etc.), everyone and everything should not be oppressed or bullied. Therefore,
the vanguardist idea of wiping out opposition and bringing about a harsh state is invalid. Rather,
we need something which emphasises pure equality and empowerment of the future
self/ego/brain/mind following direct democracy and consensus decision making - anarchism.










All corporations (e.g. WalMart) and organizations such as NASA should be unionized,
worker owned, and accountable to the worker/anarchist federation (described in - sec.
4).
All religions should be intelligently and rationally criticized if they inhibit equality,
freedom, etc.
Leaders, gurus, and political figures should be carefully criticized by experts to see that
bottom-up organizing remains a reality.
Anarchist transhumanism takes the scientific method as its basis for investigation into
rationality.
AT recognizes that the epistemology and ontology of science is an ongoing endeavour.
True scientific and technological innovation should come from cooperation, individual
inspiration, and passion/collective-passion: not competition or the motivation of a few to
make a profit.
Anarchist Transhumanists WILL rebel against any one group who might seek
power utilizing more powerful science and technology. In the here-and-now (2015)
anarchists, worldwide, are rebelling against the already acknowledged few who
continue to, and expect a future where capitalism, the free market, and patterns
predict their continued power utilizing science, technology, and the delusional
idea of economic predictions and algorithms. (e.g. hedge funds, stock futures,
and venture capital)

For more information on Anarchism please see:
http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnAnarchistFAQ
2. Why Transhumanism?
Transhumanism is a loosely defined movement that has developed gradually over the past two
decades. It promotes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and evaluating the
opportunities for enhancing the human condition and the human organism opened up by the
advancement of technology. Attention is given to both present technologies, like genetic
engineering and information technology, and anticipated future ones, such as molecular
nanotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI).
The enhancement options being discussed include radical extension of human health-span,
eradication of disease, elimination of unnecessary suffering, and augmentation of human
intellectual, physical, and emotional capacities. Other transhumanist themes include space

colonization and the possibility of creating superintelligent machines, along with other potential
developments that could profoundly alter the human condition. The ambit is not limited to
gadgets and medicine, but encompasses also economic, social, institutional designs, cultural
development, and psychological skills and techniques.
Transhumanists view human nature as a work-in-progress, a half-baked beginning that we can
learn to remold in desirable ways. Current humanity need not be the endpoint of evolution.
Transhumanists hope that by responsible use of science, technology, and other rational means
we shall eventually manage to become posthuman, beings with vastly greater capacities than
present human beings have.
Some transhumanists take active steps to increase the probability that they personally will
survive long enough to become posthuman, for example by choosing a healthy lifestyle or by
making provisions for having themselves cryonically suspended in case of de-animation. In
contrast to many other ethical outlooks, which in practice often reflect a reactionary attitude to
new technologies, the transhumanist view is guided by an evolving vision to take a more
proactive approach to technology policy.
This vision, in broad strokes, is to create the opportunity to live much longer and healthier lives,
to enhance our memory and other intellectual faculties, to refine our emotional experiences and
increase our subjective sense of well-being, and generally to achieve a greater degree of control
over our own lives. This affirmation of human potential is offered as an alternative to customary
injunctions against playing god, messing with nature, tampering with our human essence, or
displaying punishable hubris.
Transhumanism does not entail technological optimism, however we want to create a new
framework so that optimism becomes reality.
While future technological capabilities carry immense potential for beneficial deployments, they
also could be misused to cause enormous harm, ranging all the way to the extreme possibility of
intelligent life becoming extinct. Other potential negative outcomes include widening social
inequalities or a gradual erosion of the hard-to-quantify assets that we care deeply about but
tend to neglect in our daily struggle for material gain, such as meaningful human relationships
and ecological diversity. Such risks must be taken very seriously, as thoughtful transhumanists
fully acknowledge.
Transhumanism has roots in secular humanist thinking, yet is more radical in that it promotes
not only traditional means of improving human nature, such as education and cultural
refinement, but also direct application of medicine and technology to overcome some of our
basic biological limits.
For more info on transhumanism please see:
http://www.nickbostrom.com/ethics/values.html
http://jetpress.org/
http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/biopolitics

3. Anti-Racism, Pro-LGBTQI Rights, Anarcha Feminism, Worker’s Rights, Cyborg
Rights, Anti-Imperialism, Anti-Colonialism, Socioeconomic Justice, Anti-Eugenics/AntiAbleism
The words egalitarianism, equality, freedom, nondiscrimination, and cooperation are mentioned
throughout this document and are hallmarks of what anarchism is fundamentally about. We
acknowledge that science and technology cannot free us from all forms of oppression unless, as
a society, we are willing to cooperate in radical democratic and consensus voting methods to
reach our goals.
It is imperative that we work together for global equal access* to housing, healthcare, food,
water, education, and technologies that improve quality of life, in the here-and-now so that an
anarchist-”utopian” society can exist in the future.
Anarchism means autonomy and self-determination for both individuals and communities.
White supremacy, settler colonialism, cisheteropatriarchy, and imperialism historically have gone
hand in hand with modernity and the technological innovation that inspires transhumanism. Far
from being resolved or mere relics of the past, these dynamics continue to define the twenty-first
century. Anarchist transhumanism considers the struggle against such oppressions integral and
essential.
Mainstream Western thought has long denigrated, excluded, and attacked all who differ from its
norms, whether innately or by choice. As the bastard child of Enlightenment thought, anarchism
rebels against the dominations woven into that tradition while embracing its liberatory elements.
Anarchist-transhumanism means working toward the fantastic future without setting up
imaginary primitives as its opposite. As an idea, it promotes the creation and use of
transhumanist technologies, but simultaneously supports a deeply ingrained notion of
voluntarism. Unlike the technological hegemony of Western imperialism, Anarchisttranshumanism promotes the development and use of technology without forcibly demanding
it**.

Anarchist transhumanism opposes all nation-states but especially settler-colonial nation-states
such as the Canada, Israel, and the United States that owe their existence to ongoing structural
genocide.


Modern oppression (e.g. Womyn being payed less than men for doing the same job) and
privilege (e.g straight white upper class U.S. male ignorance) - needs to be
acknowledged and eliminated for Anarchist-Transhumanism to function under any
circumstances. [some mention of the effects of technology on identity and breaking
down institutionalized power structures should be here - i.e. Cyborg Feminism/ Donna
Harraway]
● Cyborg persons, and the technology they rely upon, should be free from external
influence that is not voluntary. That is, technologies such as prosthetic limbs, organs,
etc., should be constructed in a manner as to provide their users with ultimate control of
their own body and its extensions.
● **Technological enhancement of the human body should be tied directly to the notion of
voluntarism and thusly technologies that accomplish such should never be constructed
in a manner that removes the right of users to self-determination in choosing their level
of utilization (although “utilization” must be tied to a majority vote / direct democracy of
powerful cyborg parts that might cause a threat to a community, as mentioned below) --In addition, human enhancement technologies should never be designed in a manner as
to remove the choices related to treatment that come with being physically disabled or
neuroatypical (Anti-Eugenics/Anti-Ableism) However, power structure and use must be
considered in a radically democratic way (e.g. deadly cyborg body parts, such as guns,
etc)
● The U.S. Military (U.S. DOD) is blatantly trying to turn their soldiers into cyborgs, utilizing
terminator type exoskeletons and already implementing live video feed from soldiers
uniforms - that simply will not be acceptable under an anarchist transhumanist context
because anarchists are fundamentally against war. There is no business of war in an
anarchist society. Please see:
http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/MilitaryReview/Archives/English/MilitaryReview_20150228_art017.
pdf
* Access, meaning the ability to voluntarily choose to utilize various resources and participate in
certain cultures, not any form of coercive proselytizing - as it is important that we respect the
right of Indigenous peoples of the world to self-determination, and allow groups to opt out of
techno-culture, Western Imperialism / neoliberalism, and state/capitalist mandated land,
resource, and labour grab under the “Washington Consensus”, World Trade Organization,
International Monetary Fund, and other pro-free-trade capitalist/government protected
agreements such as NAFTA. Please see the history of the Zapatistas:
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zapatista_Army_of_National_Liberation) and other Indigenous
struggles.
- http://www.globalexchange.org/
- http://www.witnessforpeace.org/
- http://indigenous.ku.edu/

4. How Anarchism Functions
No one individual or group (elected or unelected) holds power in an anarchist community.
Instead decisions are made using direct democratic principles and, when required, the
community can elect or appoint delegates to carry out these decisions. There is a clear
distinction between policy making (which lies with everyone who is affected) and the coordination and administration of any adopted policy (which is the job for delegates).
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Anarchist_FAQ/What_is_Anarchism%3F/2.9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syndicalism

(Soon we will see the potential for “delegates” to be raw data sent from BCIs, therefore,
the “Syndicate” may be supercomputers, always in check by the collective bottom-up
society. The Federation can then also be a collection of this data immediately reported
back to the Self-managed workplace/individual mind/brain/ego/self [That is if “selfs” exist
in the future.] )
These egalitarian communities, founded by free agreement, also freely associate together in
confederations. Such a free confederation would be run from the bottom up, with decisions
following from the elemental assemblies upwards. The confederations would be run in the same
manner as the collectives. There would be regular local regional, "national" and international
conferences in which all important issues and problems affecting the collectives involved would
be discussed. In addition, the fundamental, guiding principles and ideas of society would be
debated and policy decisions made, put into practice, reviewed, and coordinated. The delegates
would simply "take their given mandates to the relative meetings and try to harmonise their
various needs and desires. The deliberations would always be subject to the control and
approval of those who delegated them" and so "there would be no danger than the interest of
the people [would] be forgotten." [Malatesta, Op. Cit., p. 36]

Action committees would be formed, if required, to co-ordinate and administer the decisions of
the assemblies and their congresses, under strict control from below as discussed above.
Delegates to such bodies would have a limited tenure and, like the delegates to the congresses,
have a fixed mandate -- they are not able to make decisions on behalf of the people they are
delegates for. In addition, like the delegates to conferences and congresses, they would be
subject to instant recall by the assemblies and congresses from which they emerged in the first
place. In this way any committees required to coordinate joint activities would be, to quote
Malatesta's words, "always under the direct control of the population" and so express the
"decisions taken at popular assemblies." [Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas, p. 175 and p.
129]
Most importantly, the basic community assemblies can overturn any decisions reached by the
conferences and withdraw from any confederation. Any compromises that are made by a
delegate during negotiations have to go back to a general assembly for ratification. Without that
ratification any compromises that are made by a delegate are not binding on the community that
has delegated a particular task to a particular individual or committee. In addition, they can call
confederal conferences to discuss new developments and to inform action committees about
changing wishes and to instruct them on what to do about any developments and ideas.
In other words, any delegates required within an anarchist organisation or society are not
representatives (as they are in a democratic government).
Unlike in a representative system, power is not delegated into the hands of the few. Rather, any
delegate is simply a mouthpiece for the association that elected (or otherwise selected) them in
the first place. All delegates and action committees would be mandated and subject to instant
recall to ensure they express the wishes of the assemblies they came from rather than their
own. In this way government is replaced by anarchy, a network of free associations and
communities co-operating as equals based on a system of mandated delegates, instant recall,
free agreement and free federation from the bottom up.
These structures of anarcho-syndicalism are not only a valuable framework for the future, but
are the basis for action today. Syndicate-like organizations can and have been formed within our
current statist, capitalist society, taking the form of non-profit cooperatives that operate within
the current marketplace. Where we ultimately demand the complete dissolution of oppressive
systems like the capitalist marketplace and the state, non-profit co-ops made up of associations
of self-managed workplaces offer an actionable alternative means of organizing that is less
supportive of said undesirable systems. Co-ops have been around before the conception of
anarchism and they still remain a positive step in right direction, in fact there are many
examples today of anarchist-run co-ops throughout the industrialized world.
5. Post-Work “Economy” and Abundance (Post-Scarcity)
Post-Scarcity and automation technologies may include: 3D Printers, Nanotechnology,
Unconscious AI (computer algorithms), Automated Manufacturing, Resource Recycling.






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