Sunday, November 20, 2011

224: Optimism One: The Emerging Radicalism by F. M. Esfandiary

Optimism One: The Emerging Radicalism

The son of an Iranian diplomat F. M. Esfandiary also worked as a diplomat, was an Olympic basketball player, and a novelist. In the early 1970s he laid out a truly remarkable philosophical vision rooted in extreme optimism. Esfandiary yearned to break the shackles of tradition with the possibilities of a techno-utopia. Esfandiary's work was a significant influence on the modern transhumanist movement.

Why this is progressive/liberal: Breaking with tradition and optimistically embracing the future are liberal traits, but very few are willing to go as far as Esfandiary. Read this with his book Up-Wingers: A Futurist Manifesto.

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