Marxist Transhumanism?

Abstract

The paper argues that a Marxist transhumanism is politically and ethically incoherent. While it is true that transhumanists and Marxists and transhumanists believe that human beings are self-determining, self-transforming, transhumanists are committed to transcending the material conditions of organic life. Their ultimate aim is to encourage the emergence of a artificial superintelligence whose self-creative capacities are not limited by the needs of organic life forms. Socialism, by contrast, is a political and ethical movement committed to ending the suffering caused by capitalism, by changing social institutions and the values according to which resources are distributed and utilized. The success of the transhumanist project would render all social and political theories and institutions obsolete. The socialist use of technology would expand human life-capacities while preserving the ties of mutual need that link us together and make human life meaningful and worthwhile,