So this came up a few weeks ago, and it spawned from my favourite podcast, 'Three's a Quorum.' Be sure to check them out here if you haven't already. They had an interesting debate on the topic, and I just had to throw in my 2p.
Corporations in Space
So i'm one of those few crazy people actually interested in politics both in the US and UK. And over the last few years, with the growing deficit and crazy Ayn Rand Tea Party enthusiasts, its become clear that government role in space has come to an end. It's a sad but true political reality, there is just no electoral benefit to investing in space exploration. And that will ultimately prove to be a terrible mistake.I grew up as a geek fan of movies and games of all sorts, but one over-arching theme of many of them was the evil corporation that has taken over space/planets. And it may be that someday life will imitate art. Space has been officially opened up to corporate interests, and it will be winner take all. I actually am a fan of Virgin, and I'm glad that Richard Branson has taken the lead in this venture as they are the lesser of evils. But they won't stay at the helm for long, as soon as others realise there is money to be made.
What could possibly go wrong?
The main problem, in my opinion, is simply the lack of rules. In a horrible realisation, we found that private security and other companies operating in Iraq were immune to local and US laws. And boy did they run with that! If they weren't causing deaths through faulty construction, or ignoring rape of female employees, they were just out and out killing civilians. Now I'm not saying all these companies are bad, but I think its fair to say they weren't just a couple of isolated incidents either. Now imagine that on a universal scale. Yeah, not pleasant to think about.
No worker protections, no rule of law for most part. So it will be who-ever can get their first and with biggest guns. It seems small at first, after all they are just taking billionaires on short space flights right? But there is a big 'ole universe out there, and I'm sure the mining opportunities alone are mind boggling. Once they manage space flight, then it will be moon landings, and eventually (probably after I've left this world), planetary exploration. Now I hope I'm wrong about all this, but its certainly headed in that direction.
And as for the naysayers, I think government does have a role to play in some areas. And this should be one of them. Now I missed the space race for the most part, I was of the space shuttle generation. But I know that a lot of good came from a country galvanized by a goal of achieving space flight. The moral and technological boost hasn't been seen since. And now our biggest achievement will be if the new iOS will interface with facebook or not. Call me unimpressed.
So there you have it. There's nothing we can do but sit back and watch. But I just wanted to publicly say "Yeah, bad idea guys".
Or
You be the judge ;)
