Transhumanism and Capitalism with Dr. Alexander Thomas
Dystopia Now5 Jun 2025

Transhumanism and Capitalism with Dr. Alexander Thomas

To become a supporter and join our group chat, visit us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/DystopiaNow

This week we chatted with Dr. Alexander Thomas, author of The Politics and Ethics of Transhumanism: Techno-Human Evolution and Advanced Capitalism. Dr Alexander Thomas is a multi-award-winning film director and screenwriter. His academic research questions what it means to be human when cultural, cybernetic and biotechnological developments undermine the notion of the human as a cogent and eternal category.

This episode is a great pairing to last week's episode with Quinn Slobodian.

We mentioned a lot of texts and authors in this episode that we've included below. Inclusion does not mean agreement in all instances.

Critical Analyses of Transhumanism & Longtermism
University of East London: A Critical Look at the Rise and Risks of Transhumanism
Emile Torres in The Guardian: Pro-Extinctionists and the Longtermist Threat
Torres in Aeon: Why Longtermism Is the World's Most Dangerous Secular Credo
Boston Review: The New Moral Mathematics
New Statesman: The Longtermist Threat to Humanity
Slate: Existential Risk vs Human Apathy
Economics Papers: Is Longtermism Dangerous?
Tyler Austin Harper thread on X: Post

Books & Research on Transhumanism
Posthuman Bliss? by Susan B. Levin: Oxford University Press
The Proactionary Imperative by Steve Fuller: Palgrave Macmillan
Citizen Cyborg by James Hughes: Westview Press
James Hughes lecture: What Is Transhumanism? (PDF)
Nietzschean Meditations by Stefan Lorenz Sorgner: Amazon
Future Superhuman by Elise Bohan: Amazon
Mind Children by Hans Moravec: CUNY Commentary
Research paper: Transhumanism: A Progressive Vision or Capitalism's Last Ideological Resort?
Transhumanism: The Future of Humanity (book): Hudson Booksellers
IAI Essay: The Irrationality of Transhumanists
Literal Magazine: Transhumanism: Bostrom and Pearce Interview

Futurism, Accelerationism & Up-Wingers
Wired (1994): The Extropians
The Breakthrough Institute: Rise of the Up-Wingers
AEI: Up-Wing America
Slate: Reframing Environmental Policy
Aeon: Up vs Down Politics
F. M. Esfandiary's Manifesto: Up-Wingers (Book)
The Guardian: Accelerationism Explained

Philosophy, Politics & Theory
Achille Mbembe: Necropolitics (PDF)
MIT Press: Cybernetics by Norbert Wiener
Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Book
New Statesman: On K-Punk and Fisher
Dan Paul Zimmer website: Main | Research

Billionaires
NYT: Elon Musk, Trump, Drugs, and Children
Sam Altman: Moore's Law for Everything

Episoder(52)

The Tech Bro Zone with Quinn Slobodian

The Tech Bro Zone with Quinn Slobodian

To join our group chat or become a subscriber, go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we chatted with historian Quinn Slobodian, a professor of international history at the Frederick...

28 Mai 20251h 8min

PATREON PREVIEW: The Zizians, A Cult Within A Cult

PATREON PREVIEW: The Zizians, A Cult Within A Cult

This week is Part 1 of our Patreon supporter only series on the Zizians. We discuss the origins of the Zizian ideology in the Rationalism community, MIRI, CFAR, Roko's Basilisk and Doom Circles. To be...

25 Mai 20252min

Dragging Matt Yglesias with Nathan Robinson

Dragging Matt Yglesias with Nathan Robinson

To become a Patreon supporter go here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow With guest Nathan Robinson, Editor of Current Affairs, we dive into the career and ideology of Matt Yglesias and his confid...

22 Mai 20251h 13min

TESCREAL Overview with Kath Barbadoro and Alex Ptak

TESCREAL Overview with Kath Barbadoro and Alex Ptak

To join us on Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we welcomed comedians Kath Barbadoro (What a Time to Be Alive podcast) and Alex Ptak (Quorators podcast) to go through each lett...

15 Mai 20251h 4min

The Dark Enlightenment (Nick Land and Curtis Yarvin)

The Dark Enlightenment (Nick Land and Curtis Yarvin)

Our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow This week we discussed Nick Land's series of essays "The Dark Enlightenment," considered a foundational document for right accelerationists (r/acc) a...

8 Mai 20251h 1min

UNLOCKED: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk)

UNLOCKED: Nuke Mars (Bezos vs. Musk)

If you'd like to become a subscriber to hear more bonus episodes you can do it here: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow his Patreon bonus episode with Kenice Mobley about Bezos vs. Musk on space wa...

4 Mai 202549min

COPAGANDA with Alec Karakatsanis

COPAGANDA with Alec Karakatsanis

Please join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/DystopiaNow For the first half of the episode, we talked about the Semafor reveal of Silicon Valley groupchats and Marc Andreessen's posting addict...

1 Mai 20251h 18min

Q & A Part 1 -- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

Q & A Part 1 -- Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

This week we answered some questions from our Patreon supporters. It's like a mini episode on a bunch of different topics, including the worst book I've ever heard of. We covered Èmile's journey out ...

23 Apr 202540min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
i-retten
stopp-verden
popradet
det-store-bildet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
dine-penger-pengeradet
fotballpodden-2
rss-ness
nokon-ma-ga
hanna-de-heldige
aftenbla-bla
frokostshowet-pa-p5
unitedno
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-utenrikskomiteen-med-bogen-og-grasvik