On Oct 2, 12:51 pm, "Mike Combs"
wrote:
"Pat Flannery" wrote in message

...



It was only after the book that every Tom, Dick, and Harry with a
political or economic axe to grind began looking at space colonies as some
sort of do-it-yourself Utopias where the innate superiority of their
political or economic system would no doubt be shown to all.

It might have been T. A. Heppenheimer who said, "Space colonies are a kind
of political Rorschach test".

But I am sanguine about space habitats as political experimentation
laboratories. If one's society ultimately fails (or just consistently
performs poorly), it would have to be a result of its underlying philosophy.
In a space habitat, one could hardly blame resource depletion, an energy
crisis, population pressures, a crop failure, or inconvenient location.

Doesn't matter, 'cause it won't happen that way.

When you consider the gargantuan capitol investments were talking
about in building such machines, even once we're able to do so, the
chances that they'll be given out to fringe movements or minority
groups to 'experiment' with strains credulity.


Shermanlee