Tune in: Dr Alexander Karran – independent Transhumanist candidate for the seat of Liverpool Walton in next week’s election – will be answering questions via a Google Hangout this Sunday evening, May 3rd, 7pm UK time.

Now that Dr Alexander Karran’s electoral leaflets have been posted out to residents in Liverpool Walton, he has naturally been fielding questions about Transhumanist policies. People want to know what the Transhumanist position is on every conceivable issue.

Alexander is standing as an independent electoral candidate (albeit one with the support of the Transhumanist Party), and so has been careful to draw a distinction between his own views and those integral to Transhumanism, but this does naturally lead us to think about future Transhumanist Party policy. About what we should or shouldn’t (must and cannot) have policies about, and what exactly our policies should be.

We already know that Transhumanist Party policy will naturally differ from nation to nation, thanks to differences in law and sentiment on the one hand, and different ways of doing things in the different Party organisations on the other. As if that didn’t make predicting policy tricky enough, we should note that the Transhumanist Party in the UK (at least, so far) has made a point of inverting the traditional political model and saying that its policies will be determined by all members, rather than just the leadership.

In other words, as long as certain basic principles (enshrined in the Party Constitution) are adhered to, then policy will be determined by those with the gumption to join the Party and get involved! The flip-side to this, of course, is that non-members have no say whatsoever in Party policy. We are not going to be held back by “armchair critics”.

Other Transhumanist Parties may choose to not follow the same model in future, but it has been established that citizens of any nation may join the UK party if they want, and so anyone who agrees with our principles can help develop our policies. Those policies are voted on at our Annual General Meetings, the first of which will double as a launch event (both online and in London) and is being planned for summer 2015. Generally speaking we want to encourage members to take the initiative by working up policy proposals themselves, volunteering to do the many things that clearly need to be done, and the AGM is a chance for everyone to come together and synchronise their efforts. To see that we are not just active individuals but a movement, together.

So, Alexander Karran has suggested a way forward for Transhumanism in Liverpool, and you can have a say in Transhumanist Party policy in the UK and around the world. You just have to join the Party, meet other members, and look for ways that we can work together to move things forward.

Tune in: Dr Alexander Karran – independent Transhumanist candidate for the seat of Liverpool Walton in next week’s election – will be answering questions via a Google Hangout this Sunday evening, May 3rd, 7pm UK time.