Bit o'trivia: My server logs revealed that the computers at MSSS are named after characters from KSR's Mars Trilogy. The story seems to have gotten under many skins, including mine.
It's true that the story portrays people bringing their grudges and feuds to Mars. But it also told of creative solutions to those problems, and a new form of government uniquely suited to the conditions on Mars. Settlement offers people a break from the past, if they choose to take the opportunity; and demands innovation and creativity in the name of survival. Settlement offers liberation, both physical and intellectual.
To return to my original thesis: The vision of offworld settlement and colonization taps into deep emotional currents in humans, in a way that spinoffs and commercial opportunities will never do. That's the story we space enthusiasts should be telling the world, and forget about Velcro™ and comsats.
Space/Science » in reply to But remember Kim Stanley Robinson...
Who can forget?