Property Rights Proposal]

> Personally, I think the idea of space as a 'human endeavor' is Cold
> War bs.
> No nation has ever relinquished its rights if there was anything to
> gain. The
> signatory nations gave away the right to property because they don't
> want
> development ou there. The military wishes we would all just sit behind
> the
> wall they try to build.

That's probably true...

> I say, go out and claim what ever you can occupy. Historical precedent
> is on
> your side.

But where do you get the money from to just "go out"? Space activities
aren't cheap, as many companies have been finding out: you need to raise
at least 10's of millions of dollars. The bank's not going to loan you
that money, and you're unlikely to raise it from the stock market, if
the property on which you are basing your plans has any questionable
legality. Maybe some billionaires could go do it without worrying about
the legality, but we so far haven't seen that. The purpose of the
proposal is to provide a framework for private enterprise to go do its
thing. Anarchy doesn't comfort capitalist investors (look at the
economic state of anarchistic societies on Earth if you have any
question about that - a lot of Africa comes to mind).

Arthur