L5

> If I was a gambling man I would bet that Earth of the future will be
> a more crowded,

How is it likely that Earth is going to having higher population
densities than a Habitat?

> What are people (besides the few that are actually involved in
> habitat and SPS development) to do?

That's a very good question.

> They will participate in a terrestial economy that will be largely
> an information and services economy.

Just because you pose a good question doesn't mean that there is an
answer for it that strengthens the case for Habitats.

The costs of living in a Habitat will be greater than on Earth, so too
will the material deprivations and the lack of geographic mobility.
The offset will be the novelty factor and the wonder of life in orbit.

A stock analyst or a programmer will have to compete with their
terrestrial competitors. Someone living in Bangladesh will be able to
undercut someone living in Tokyo or New York, and they in turn will be
able to undercut someone living in orbit.

To be able to compete the orbital information worker will have to
lower their standard of living in orbit to a level below what they
would require on Earth. The personal trade-offs of significantly lower
standards of living in orbit in order to experience the novelty will
have to be weighed against a middle class lifestyle that the same
workplace skill could deliver somewhere on Earth.

> The habitat, being a desireable place to live, will attract the
> richest and the smartest.

Who says?

> Perhaps habitat managers or venture capitalist will recruit the
> brightest to this "new world" to join think tanks and cutting edge
> development labs.

How will these cutting edge development labs get all of their hi-tech
equipment into orbit? Why would they go to the trouble of launching
all of that gear into orbit when it would be cheaper to set up the lab
somewhere on Earth? The less expense there is in getting a product
developed the quicker the path to profitability.

> The habitat may offer the very best full immersion virtual reality
> sites, or specialized AI software.

Why can't these be offered more cheaply on Earth?

TangoMan