Re: Postmortem on L5 (part 2)

From: Keith Henson (hkhenson@rogers.com)
Date: Sun 04 Jul 2004 - 15:34:55 GMT

  • Next message: derek gatherer: "Re: Postmortem on L5 (part 2)"

    At 08:09 PM 03/07/04 -0400, you wrote:
    >Thanks Keith for this interesting contribution. One issue that I think
    >needs pondering is the status of the moon with regards to human
    >conceptions of property rights versus socialization. Should plots upon
    >the moon's surface be staked out for the prospectors and resort owners
    >and to what entity should property taxes be paid? Maybe the moon could
    >be shared by all the nations on Earth, to be plundered equally and
    >subjected to the "tragedy of the commons". How long before humans
    >totally trashed the moon with soda cans and bubble gum wrappers?

    The space colony meme set didn't involve many people living on the moon, just using the moon as a gravel pit for shielding and raw materials for solar power satellites. A lot of the people who were involved in those days are still thinking about it, though they understand that nanotechnology, skyhooks, and other extreme technologies are more likely to come before more than a handful of people live in space.

    It is also very unclear how much of the existing organizational structures such as governments are going to survive the singularity.

    Keith Henson

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