burchismo

Extropian lawyer and Extropy Institute activist Greg Burch has a libertarian-oriented blog Burchismo. He appropriately gives a lot of attention to shortcomings of Chinese authoritarianism. His much quoted speech at the last (2001) Extro "Progress, Counter-Progress and Counter-Counter-Progress" is as close to a political analysis and strategic manifesto as you get from libertarians:

I believe that for transhumanists, open and direct conflict is unavoidable on each of the three fronts opposed to our program. On the religious or spiritualist front, in the end we cannot accommodate limits on our knowledge and actions imposed in the name of supernaturalism, whether based on tradition, imagined revelation or a mish-mash of syncretistic, subjective symbols. On the political front, we do not seek to force our plans on anyone, but ultimately, our basic values of individual autonomy are fundamentally incompatible with the kinds of limitations desired by Guardians of both culturally conservative and "progressive" tendencies, whether they espouse some limited "liberal" ideology or are more explicitly collectivist. And we certainly cannot avoid clear conflict with arguments by cultural conservatives like Leon Kass', who oppose human cloning and genetic augmentation based on an irrational "moral disgust". Neither are our values compatible with the "for your own good" management of the bureaucratic wing of the Guardian mentality. Finally, we will not be able to stand restrictions on our program proposed in the name of a romantic division drawn between humanity and nature: We are about the program of changing our own "nature" and no amount of rhetorical diplomacy can mask that fact forever or, in the current situation, even for very long.

If open and perhaps vigorous conflict is inevitable - at least in the cultural sphere, and perhaps beyond in the world of atoms as well as memes - two other strategies must be pursued to allow continued progress with our now much amplified world-view. I call the first of these "fortification of the core". By this I mean that we must identify key cultural, institutional and legal factors that protect our right to continue to pursue progress and work to strengthen them against the onslaught of our opponents. Fortunately, the pioneers of the Enlightenment have left us powerful tools to work with. I identify the founding of the American Republic as the last high-water mark of the Enlightenment because, in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, it bequeathed to us the most potent defenses we have against those who would thwart progress in the human condition. As Jefferson said, "the price of liberty is eternal vigilance": We must be sensitive to every attempt to restrict the liberty of those who espouse unpopular opinions, every move to break down the wall between church and state, every encroachment of government power into the liberty of the individual, for every such move is a direct assault on our ability to move forward with our program of transcending the limitations of the human animal.

In this regard every transhumanist should take the personal responsibility of supporting the kinds of public interest groups - like the Institute for Justice, the Electronic Freedom Foundation and, yes, even the ACLU - who do the important work of protecting our liberty. We must be watchful of the growing trend against "globalism", that is really just a resurgence of a kind of tribalism that seeks to raise barriers to the free exchange of goods and ideas. And we have to look to identify "for-your-own-good-ism" in all its seductive forms.