A transhumanist is running for 2016 U.S. presidential election. But why?
If you think that a Transhumanist Party is a joke, then you just did a terrible mistake, my friend. Zoltan Istvan is the man who’s trying…
If you think that a Transhumanist Party is a joke, then you just did a terrible mistake, my friend. Zoltan Istvan is the man who’s trying to put the transhumanism in a kind of political situation. He’s a SF reputed author with an philosophical background. The Transhumanist Wager - a philosophical-SF novel was translated in many languages. I read his articles from the web and I have to confess: I was impressed in a good way. Why is trying a transhumanist to be the first man in SUA, a very complicated situation for an author or researcher? A, the general footnote is this one: Zoltan Istvan’ promise is the immortality. So, a good reason for a good run for 2016 U.S. presidential election?
Rareș Iordache: Why did you associate the transhumanism with 2016 US Presidential candidacy? Also, why do we need for a Transhumanist Party and what are your promises?
Zoltan Istvan: We live in a transhumanist world already. And yet, no other politicians are talking about it. No one is talking about designer babies, or robotic hearts, or life extension. So my US presidential candidacy was a good way to do that. But I needed a party to run under, and that’s why I formed the Transhumanist Party. My promises are far longer lifespans, and more technology to achieve those lifespans. We also promise that we will attempt to give people a universal basic income. We also will give free education. And lastly, we will try to eliminate diseases from the planet, like Ebola.
Rareș Iordache: You are writer, futurist and philosopher. How do you reconcile the theoretical field with the politics?
Zoltan Istvan: Politics is largely the field of media in the 21st Century. If you’re good on stage and in the media, and you can keep your cool and make wise decisions, than you can be the President. It also takes the ability to pick good advisors who can help you with everything
Rareș Iordache: What needs a writer to be the future US president?
Zoltan Istvan: I consider myself more of a philosopher than a writer. I’m an idea-guy. I come up with ideas that are helpful to the human race and America. That’s the real job of the President. To lead the nation with good ideas that help the nation move forward.
Rareș Iordache: I saw that your party is very organized, like any other party in the world. What’s your ideological statement? What’s your position on human rights, the international conflicts and about academic research. This last term is suffering from a deep crisis in many countries.
Zoltan Istvan: Our idealogical statement is: Putting Science, Health, and Technology at the Forefront of American Politics. Other than that, our party is rather left leaning, and we adhere to many basic social policies that try to do the greatest good for the most amount of people. Regarding academic research, we want to take billions of dollars from war and defense, and put it into academic research, education, and science.
Originally published at raresiordache.ro on June 10, 2015.