TB, it's not a question of either/or. Do you really think our current system evolved naturally, without supervision, as it it does in biology? We live in a world created by conscious decisions, agendas, conflicts, conspiracies and yes, management. It has been planned, and it has evolved, too. And it has been fought over and won at great cost. In fact, its a wonder how much progress has been possible in spite of the systematic obstruction and foot dragging of those who work tirelessly to keep things under their control. The world you see around you now is not the result of political schemers or entrepreneurial geniuses, it is a combination of many forces and people and a lot of just plain luck and compromise. This is what I mean by progress, and it is inevitable unless steps are taken to deliberately frustrate it.

It is unfortunate that you will not live long enough to see that many of the objections you are now making will one day be looked at as reactionary as was the opposition to minimum wage, trade unions, public education, social welfare, product and workplace safety, public health, social security, and a thousand other pieces of law and custom now taken for granted, and once opposed by those who thought they represented social chaos and society sliding into the abyss. The world you so fear is not a future hell , it has been under construction for over a century, and it is almost complete. And so far, it looks pretty good to me, in fact, it's right on schedule.

As for space, I don't have to tell you I'm as much a space groupie as anyone else here. But it is not going to solve our problems any more than discovery of the New World solved the problems of the Old.