SM,

I dunno what a beanstock type is. This is a ribbon that is started by one thread lowered from orbit. Climbers ascend the thread and add to it , eventually making it into a ribbon that doesn't easily fall prey to single or multiple strikes from a meteoroid strike. A cable anchored at Geosynch is
essentially stationary to objects in LEO, thats alot of deltaV.

When the technology becomes available, It might be a good idea to have "death beam" stations periodically along the tether to vaporize
or redirect objects threatening the cable.

Fountains of Paradise was an great book. The political and social environment leading up to and encluding the construction of the "diamond tower" on a fictional Sri Lanka relocated to be on the equator. Sir Clarke also multiplexes other plotlines into the story like
the visit by a chatty alien probe.