"John C. Wright, who wrote the heavily transhumanist The Golden Age, had some kind of temporal lobe epileptic fit and became a Christian. There's a once-helpful soul, now lost to us."
this seems needlessly harsh. as you've pointed out in the past, the world's biggest idiot/liar saying the sun is shining, does not necesarily mean its dark out. the fictional evidence fallacy notwithstanding, if Mr. Wright's novels have useful things to say about transhumanism or the future in general, they should be apreciated for that. the fact the author is born-again shouldnt mean we throw his work on the bonfire.
its unfair to caricaturize libertarians as ultra-social-darwinists saying "stupid ppl who accidently kill themselves DESERVED it". if that quote was ever literally uttered, I would tend to think it was out of exasperation at the opposing viewpoint that govt has a paramount responsibility to save its citizens from themselves to the point of ludicrous pandering.
"Everyone gets what they deserve" is the unironic (and secular) motto of a close family friend who is wealthy in Brazil, one of the countries with the greatest levels of economic inequality in the world. I have heard the sentiment echoed widely among the upper and upper middle class. Maybe it's not as extreme as that, but it is a clear expression of the idea that unfortunate people deserve their misfortune to the point that those who have the resources to help them should not bother. This sentiment also characterizes Objectivism, which is commonly (though not always) associated with libertarianism.
this reminds me distinctly of an analogy posited by prof Frank Tipler in his book about the Omega Point. Imagine you went back in time to 1000AD and found the smartest man in europe. You explain to him the technology available in 2008, but none of the culture. Then you ask him what he thinks early 21st century civilization spends its time on. "Every city would build mile high cathedrals." because in his culture the main social task was building the biggest possible cathedral w the material and techniques available. In 2008, if we wanted to devote...
I see no problem letting altruism become obsolete.