New Book on Space Colonies

>
> ...but it's important to take the right lesson from these
examples. The
> thing that the government did in most cases was some form of risk
> reduction. Direct payment of all initial costs by government was
pretty
> rare. In the case of Hudson's Bay (and the British East India
Company,
> which wasn't exploring, but was expanding the Empire) the crown
> eliminated competition. This was a pretty common way of providing
> incentives for opening frontiers, and it's a good one because it
> eliminates a major source of of risk in exploration. The problem
with
> being the first to set foot in a new territory is that you are the
one
> who trips all the major pitfalls. While you are dealing with the
> consequences of this your competition can come in, learn from your
> mistakes and take advantage of the groundwork you've laid (like
> figuring out what's worth exploiting and what isn't). They start
later
> but their initial investment can be smaller because they are going
in
> with more information, information *you* created. By providing a
> monopoly guarantee, this risk is eliminated.

So what lesson do you advise that we learn from this example of the
past? Do you see any policy prescriptions for orbital development?

>
> > Even the reverse
> > backings, like Botony Bay who were sent as punishment and many
of the
> > Pilgrims who were searching for freedom from Government dictates
were
> > helped
> > along by these reverse motivations.
>
> One of the major motivations for a number of people working
seriously
> on the problem of ET settlement is getting away from government on
> Earth. There are a remarkably large number of libertarian types
hoping
> to establish a libertarian utopia somewhere off planet. This is
much
> like the various movements to establish ideal communities that
helped
> with the early settlement of the Americas by Europeans.
>
> ......Andrew

Unfortunately for many of them the business behomoths will easily
come in and dominate any foothold they manage to establish and with
these multinationals comes their affinity for government.

This may be the catchphrase for the libertarians in orbit :)
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." Michael
Corleone, Godfather III.

TangoMan