Space colonization would tend to select for cultures that put reason and reality above illogical whim and fantasy. Living in space tends to keep things real.
Bad news is that the hard knocks of space colonization and limited resources may also tend to select for cultures that are more authoritarian and militaristic. Look up "water empires."
One way to avoid this is to try to develop technology and techniques for small colonies and a wide variety of approaches, as opposed to going the Giant O'Neill Colony route. Villages, not arcologies.
Small, decentralized resource processing plants and power supplies are a must, as well as wide access to the means of getting there and doing something when you get there.
Most of Heinlein's great libertarian space books operated under the assumption that you could go to a dealer and buy a spaceship and tools for mining asteroids. This is the goal.
Space/Science » in reply to Roger your 6/16
The good news...and the bad news.
The whole thread (29 posts)
- Is space colonization a viable concept?