Maybe you aren't familiar with my history in this area. I was working with pioneers in private space flight in the early 70s, when the concept of private spaceflight was considered complete lunacy. For some years, I wrote a small newsletter on the subject, with a few hundred subscribers.

I have studied the issue of space resources, their exploitation, ownership, and other things for about thirty years. I have worked with experts in this area, legal and technical.

You need to look at the history of what was called back then "The Moon Treaty," and how political pressure from the L-5 Society and others who wanted to see the rest of us in space helped to quash another version of the Law of the Sea.

These two efforts (among others) by the U.N. and other international organizations should have led to objective laws and standards for orderly exploitation of resources, controls on pollution, and agreed standards for property rights. A proper function of law, when dealing with commerce.

Instead, it was the same old collectivization principles--the looting of the productive on behalf of those who weren't.

I would be glad to dig up stuff on the history of the Moon Treaty if you're interested.

I'm sorry you didn't like the politics being brought into it. But the politics is, and has been, a big part of how resources are used or not used on this planet.