Редактирование: Oligarchic transhumanism

'''Oligarchic''' or '''plutocratic''' transhumanism is a popular portrayal of enhancement technologies in science fiction and a major concern of more left-leaning futurists/transhumanists. The idea is highly popular in [[biopunk]] and [[cyberpunk]] genres.
== As a futurist concern ==
The extent to which this scenario must be avoided is a differentiator between [[Libertarian transhumanism|libertarian transhumanists]] to which it is of concern, and [[Social futurism|social futurists]]/[[Democratic transhumanism|democratic transhumanists]] to whom it is a more significant concern.

Modern headlines tell stories of the super rich 'buying [[immortality]]', creating a distrust of such technologies.<ref>[http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/esmagazine/survival-of-the-richest-how-londons-superrich-are-trying-to-buy-immortality-a3118071.html Survival of the richest: how London's super-rich are trying to buy immortality]</ref><ref>[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3371681/Channel-4-reveals-bizarre-ways-rich-try-defy-death.html DNA testing, £24,000-a-week retreats and FREEZING their heads: TV show reveals the bizarre ways the rich try to defy death (but some methods are called 'utter nonsense') ]</ref>

<blockquote>Do you want to live in a world where [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch Rupert Murdoch] could live forever? - criticism of [[life extension]] on Reddit</blockquote>

Concern are often expressed about the potential for [[social statis]] around matters such as gender, race, religious conflict, class and other hierarchical inequalities that could significantly slow or cease development in a world where the elite rarely die.<ref>[User:Deku-shrub|Deku-shrub] - Various offline and online conversations with humanists</ref>

In ''Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age''<ref>Times Books, 2003</ref>, environmentalist [[Bill McKibben]] argues against enhancement and [[life extension]]. Conservative pundit [[Francis Fukuyama]] called transhumanism "the world’s most dangerous idea" in the journal Foreign Policy, elaborating, "The first victim of trans-humanism might be equality."<ref>[https://ce399eugenics.wordpress.com/2010/06/19/immortality-2-0-a-silicon-valley-insider-looks-at-californias-transhumanist-movement/ Immortality 2.0: A Silicon Valley Insider Looks at California’s Transhumanist Movement]</ref>

The [[Italian Transhumanist Manifesto]] explicitly rejects such accusations:<ref>[http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/print/2520 Italian Transhumanist Manifesto]</ref>

<blockquote>''The accusation of plutocratic elitism'' - According to this critique, transhumanists are elite members of the upper middle classes, who plan to enhance themselves at a mental and physical level, becoming immortal demigods, a new superhuman species, in a best-case scenario ignoring the rest of their communities, and in the worst aiming at enslaving them.</blockquote>

== As a feminist concern ==
Many [[Feminism and transhumanism|feminist writings about transhumanism]] are concerned about the patriarchal inequalities possible under future transhumanist scenarios.

== In fiction ==
In such [[dystopian transhumanism|dystopian]] portrays, the super rich and/or powerful have access to the latest medical technologies where as the less well off are denied access through means costs, slavery or simply selfishness on the part of those in power.

Portrays in science fiction may often depict other dystopian elements present in [[fascist transhumanism]], however it is not inherently so. It is a common [[cyberpunk]] theme, but less common in [[biopunk]].

In certain portrayals, the establishment will be battling the [[Reactive transhumanism|brave resistance]] or [[Anarcho-Transhumanism|anarchists]], often as plucky underdogs from an anti-establishment point of view.

== Examples in fiction ==
* [[Jupiter Ascending]] - Billions of lives are killed to make a youth serum for the super rich.
* [[Repo Men]] - Corporate enforcers kill organ recipients who default on their debts to reclaim the technology.
* [[Alien]] series and [[2001: A Space Odyssey]] - Of course the evil corporate overlords are breaching series health and safety regulations with their [[Unfriendly AI]] configurations.
* [[Elysium]] - depicts great inequality in access to medical care.
* [[Metropolis]] - where [[android]]s are used as a tool of social manipulation in an futurist society with strong class divisions
* [[Blade Runner]] - where super megacorporation control world have begins plan of using biotechnologies to colonized planets and movie focused on ex-police officer-turned-independent private investigator to hunting down four replicants or Bio-cyborgs from those colonies that thier goals need find way to live longer.
* [[Continuum]] - featured a world ruled by a 'corporate congress' and '[[wage slavery|life debts]]'
* [[Gattaca]] - setting where [[Designer babies|genetic engineered babies]] (later grown up as GM humans) are treated as normal, while normal humans are slowly see as nothing but "stereotypical" and "primitive". This means replace normal with more GM babies to [[Eugenics|be perfect humans in near future.]]
* [[BioShock]] - features fantasy-like [[genetic engineering]] in a dystopian objectivist society or utopic religious right society in third game
* [[The Expanse]] - the principle antagonists are a multi-system mega-corporation

== See also ==
* [[Dystopian transhumanism]]
* [[Fascist transhumanism]]
== External links ==
* {{wikipedia|Inverted totalitarianism}}
* {{wikipedia|Oligarchy}}

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Transhumanist politics]]
[[Category:Original research]]
[[Category:Dystopian transhumanism]]
[[Category:Existential risks]]
[[Category:Opposition to transhumanism]]
[[Category:Oligarchic transhumanism]]