Anyone who's claiming that there is no direct connection between the improvement of humanity's condition and space travel is right; there is no direct impact, b

Anyone who's claiming that there is no direct connection between the improvement of humanity's condition and space travel is right; there is no direct impact, but the indirect connection between new forms of society and an overall increase in human well-being is staggering, also obvious. Look at the pioneers who left the oligarchies of the United Kingdom to start a new society in America. They took their lessons from the oligarchies and forged a new set of rules, a new way of running their country, democracy. They could not have created this new method within Britain! This is the important part: The creators of democracy did so within brand new territory, and then it spread to the rest of the world. Humans are going to do amazing things on Mars, and the things we do there would absolutely be impossible to do on Earth. However, the incredibly strong and probably breathtaking examples we set for Earth will certainly inspire long term positive change on our home planet. I conclude that if you want to make large, sweeping, positive changes on your home turf, the best way is to set up a much, much better society and wait for them to copy you. Don't waste time trying to convince the people around you who are already comfortable enough!