A Rebuttal to the Techno-Capitalist Manifesto
A couple of weeks ago, vaunted Silicon Valley venture capitalist and well known post-humanist Marc Andreeson released his Techno-Optimist Manifesto. That he has played a vital role in shaping the modern internet-era is without doubt. Like many of the Silicon Valley elite, he’s not been without his controversies. Andreeson is certainly smart and well connected.
This is a rebuttal, in part and a critique, of many missed points, ironies and contradictions. It is not meant to shoot down the manifesto (okay a little bit), but rather to add to a vital and necessary discussion as we move deeper into the Digital Age with technologies that will have incredibly profound impacts on humanity.
This is also a condensed version. A longer one will take time.
His manifesto is a clear stake in the ground and a bold declaration of where the views of this elite group, the Technorati, stand in terms of capitalism and the role of technology and humanity. It is distinctly libertarian and takes a deeply pragmatic engineers view. It is also resounding in its biases.
First I will look at what Andreeson and the technorati misunderstand, or simply lack knowledge of, in regards to humanity and our relationship with technology. Then I’ll look at where there are some good points.
