Futuof Space Colonization

One rather large and unattractive problem: the current
economy hasn't the guts or motivation to pull off
projects of this magnitude: you need one that works
based upon the fulfillment of the civilization's need,
not on the accumulation of profit. The current
economic system remains unwilling, and more
importantly, incapable of financing such projects.
Look at the HST for an example. An estimated 10
trillion in development costs for the most fabulous
flying machine ever dreamed of, but engineers say it
could be done in as little as 10 years, provided it
was wanted bad enough. No corporation is willing to
invest the necessary funding. No corporation
possesses the necessary funding, or could even put
together the necessary funding (despite a launch
manifesto exceeding 1800 satellites at present). And
the banks have governments by the balls the world
over, so they're fundamantally eliminated. Need a new
economic engine, and probably non-zero sum.

Jason Mabbott

Appear where they cannot go;
Head for where they expect you least.
-- Sun Tzu

--- Ravenart@... wrote:

Ed, I read in O'Neil's High Frontier that Island Three
models can have high
density of 20 million which mean that it would take
only 50 colonies of that
type to house 1 billion. I also don't think that
we need that many colonies
to get started. A one Island Three at Mars and
in the Belt and at Venus
would have enough resources to get terraforming going
and at same time to
build their own colonies on moons and in other O'Neil
models.

One thing I want to point out is that when all the
resources of system is
open to anyone, the advanced production would be so
high and the cost of
materials would be so low that the main engin of
spacer economy would be a
greater and steady increase in population. The
bigger the market the more
money around. if the money are in hard metal
such as gold, then the business
cycle would be mostly limited to areas where the banks
are inflating their
credit. But first let's get off this ball.

Carl E. Mullin
visionary artist and entrepreneur
homo asteralis

ravenart@...

http://www.ravenartstudio.com">www.ravenartstudio.com
"Question with boldness even the existence of
God; because if there be one,
He must approve the homage of Reason rather than that
of blindfolded Fear."
----Thomas Jefferson

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