4 ms·
It's actually unclear whether this prohibits private property, though it probably would because property can't exist without enforcement of property rights by a
by stult 9y ago
It's actually unclear whether this prohibits private property, though it probably would because property can't exist without enforcement of property rights by a sovereign government. Which raises something of a difficult question for asteroid mining ventures. Personally I think we will see the OST revised or rescinded once these hypothetical situations start actually happening. We need more clarity on property rights for commercial exploitation of space resources to become viable. No one is going to invest $100bn to capture and mine an asteroid only to find out that they technically do not have exclusive rights to the asteroid and anyone who reach near earth orbit can legally mine it too. In any case, those BS certificates for moon acerage are definitely not enforceable, for about fifty different legal reasons. The most obvious of which is you can't sell what you don't own.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- adrianN 9y agoYou could probably shoot down anyone who gets too near to your asteroid. If there is no space police to stop them from stealing your stuff, there is no space police stopping you from defending your stuff either.
- icebraining 9y agoNot that I'm advocating it, but an alternative to rescinding the OST would be to set up an international organization responsible for allocating "space property", possibly under the umbrella of the WTO.
- SCHiM 9y agoSadly I'm quite sure that these issues are always solved by force. I simply cannot imagine that countries with the means to get to <valuable space resource> will abide by the decisions of a foreign organisation which has just given said resource to your frenemy.
- clarkmoody 9y ago> property can't exist without enforcement of property rights by a sovereign government Please. Four or five seconds of thought will disprove your theory. The Moon will be the ultimate homesteading experiment: Whoever is able to put their Moon property to productive use will be the owner. It doesn't matter what the laws or treaties on Earth say; if you're there and making claim to the land, it's yours.
- Maken 9y agoUntil another guy comes, shots you and takes it. Laws exist for a reason.
- ashark 9y agoYeah. If there's no government but you find yourself capable of consistently, successfully enforcing your own private property rights... congratulations, you are the government. Long live the king/queen.
- Maken 9y agoWell, that's mostly how the feudal system came to be.
- clarkmoody 9y agoIf he shoots you and takes your land, then he may be rightfully punished for murder and theft... I never claimed I didn't want laws. Only that property does not issue forth from the state.
- maxerickson 9y agoWhat about the cartoon scenario where there are 2 people on the Moon and 1 kills the other? Is some Earthbound rule then in effect?