3 ms·

soace colonies (as long as we're just making up future scientific advances)

thriftwy 9y ago
That was the idea. But why would want to move there? In 60-s, people imagined how population would line up for space colonies to build a farm there. And a big house. Now, people want not just live on Earth. They would prefer to live in, let's say, the EU. And not even all of the EU; how about a Paris arrondisement? That's the place we find desirable. A few people would like to be the first to space colonies. I fail to see how a few billion people would like to move there, to become some sort of worker drones. Plus, this tend to not end well. Compare how well do people in Spain live, and compare it to how people who went abroad to South America live.
- mschuster91 9y ago
  > Compare how well do people in Spain live, and compare it to how people who went abroad to South America live. The fate of South America is not due to the failures of the local population... more "thanks" to decades of racist and/or anti-"communist" US foreign policy.
  - cgmg 9y ago
    South American (Venezuelan) here. This is not true. Blaming US foreign policy for all or even most of South America's failures is silly and a common tactic of demagogues, with no basis in reality, to deflect from bad domestic policy. Admittedly, I did not fully understand the point the GP was trying to make with the Spain comparison.
    - thriftwy 9y ago
      We may argue why South America has lower life quality than Spain, but the fact that it has. This will be the case with space colonies too, I'm afraid. While it will be debatable why colonies perform worse than Earth, it will be apparent that the best course was to stay.
      - ghostcluster 9y ago
        So you're going to ignore the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, etc?
        thriftwy 9y ago
        They're very special cases, and still, I'm not sure that Australia (and even US) fares much better than e.g. source England and Norway.
        nathanasmith 9y ago
        > I'm not sure that Australia (and even US) fares much better than e.g. source England and Norway. I don't know many fellow Americans that are of Norwegian descent but the US fairs better than the UK on lists of human development, happiness, and productivity. That has to mean something.

That was the idea. But why would want to move there? In 60-s, people imagined how population would line up for space colonies to build a farm there. And a big house. Now, people want not just live on Earth. They would prefer to live in, let's say, the EU. And not even all of the EU; how about a Paris arrondisement? That's the place we find desirable. A few people would like to be the first to space colonies. I fail to see how a few billion people would like to move there, to become some sort of worker drones. Plus, this tend to not end well. Compare how well do people in Spain live, and compare it to how people who went abroad to South America live.

mschuster91 9y ago
> Compare how well do people in Spain live, and compare it to how people who went abroad to South America live. The fate of South America is not due to the failures of the local population... more "thanks" to decades of racist and/or anti-"communist" US foreign policy.
- cgmg 9y ago
  South American (Venezuelan) here. This is not true. Blaming US foreign policy for all or even most of South America's failures is silly and a common tactic of demagogues, with no basis in reality, to deflect from bad domestic policy. Admittedly, I did not fully understand the point the GP was trying to make with the Spain comparison.
  - thriftwy 9y ago
    We may argue why South America has lower life quality than Spain, but the fact that it has. This will be the case with space colonies too, I'm afraid. While it will be debatable why colonies perform worse than Earth, it will be apparent that the best course was to stay.
    - ghostcluster 9y ago
      So you're going to ignore the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, etc?
      - thriftwy 9y ago
        They're very special cases, and still, I'm not sure that Australia (and even US) fares much better than e.g. source England and Norway.
        nathanasmith 9y ago
        > I'm not sure that Australia (and even US) fares much better than e.g. source England and Norway. I don't know many fellow Americans that are of Norwegian descent but the US fairs better than the UK on lists of human development, happiness, and productivity. That has to mean something.