Ben Zion

Johannon Ben Zion is a transhumanist activist and was, for several months, the 2020 Presidential Candidate for the U.S. Transhumanist Party. His campaign slogan was "Radical Life Extension Is Closer Than You Think." He also served as chair of the Arizona Transhumanist Party.

Campaign poster.

The Futurist New Deal for America

The core Futurist New Deal platform consists of:

I Easy Electronic Voting
II Mandatory Voter Participation
III "Data For All" as a Public Good
IV Online Learning Options for K-12
V Banning Crude Exports and Fossil Fuel Subsidies
VI Drug Decriminalization and Criminal Justice Reform
VII Legalization of Sex Work
VIII Repeal “Citizens United” and Remove Dark Money from Politics
IX Dismantling the ALEC lobby
X 52k a Year in Basic Income

Activism and Presidential Run

Ben Zion entered the USTP presidential primary relatively early in spring 2019. He participated in numerous interviews on Steele Archer's show Debt Nation. In August 2019 Ben Zion made an announcement with rival candidate Kimberly Forsythe, that each would choose the other as a vice presidential running mate should either of them win the primary election. Around October, Forsythe left the race for professional reasons.

After winning the primary, Ben Zion gave his acceptance speech along side Chairperson Gennady Stolyarov at RAADFest 2019 in Las Vegas. Shortly thereafter, film producer, entrepreneur, and longevity organizer Charlie Kam became Ben Zion's running mate.

Dr. Dan Elton was appointed as AI Policy Advisor and interim campaign manager. On October 19th, 2019, Ben Zion spoke to the DC Transhumanists meetup in Arlington, VA and then met with the local SlateStarCodex and LessWrong groups. On Sunday Nov 3rd he spoke at the Foresight Institute's Vision Weekend Event in San Francisco. On November 24th, 2019 he spoke to undergraduates at Princeton University as part of the Princeton Envision conference.

Departure

On June 12th, 2020, the Transhumanist Party announced that Ben Zion was no longer the party's candidate for US President due to alienating much of the broad spectrum of political supporters, culminating in the Ben Zion Burger incident:

The USTP hereby confirms the departure of Johannon Ben Zion (J. Ben Zion) from our organization. As the USTP and several other groups combined and reorganized, Mr. Ben Zion found himself better aligned with a more directly techno-progressive platform and has opted to head that initiative, leaving his capable running-mate as the USTP’s candidate. Accordingly, the Officers of the USTP have determined to release Mr. Ben Zion from any of his roles and affiliations with the USTP, as well as from any previous endorsements by the USTP.

Ben Zion provided his public response to these developments in a Facebook video on 25th June 2020.

External links

• Facebook page
• The Futurist New Deal Podcast - Youtube Channel
• Profile on the U.S. Transhumanist Party website