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By outsourcing NASA to the private sector (e.g. Space X and whoever else enters this potentially lucrative market) and allowing capitalist competition expose th
by ihodes 16y ago
By outsourcing NASA to the private sector (e.g. Space X and whoever else enters this potentially lucrative market) and allowing capitalist competition expose the bureaucratic fluff that NASA is composed of these days. Eventually, the giant NASA-yak will be shorn, and scientists will do work again.
At least, that's what I think.
- nihilocrat 16y agoI'm skeptical that merely privatizing NASA or really any other public sector agency would automatically remove bureaucratic fluff, and that bureaucratic fluff is such a gargantuan problem at NASA that removing it would cause a miraculous internal shift for the better. It strikes me as more of a libertarian utopian cure-all than a decision based on NASA's particular problems and objectives.
- gridspy 16y agoIf not bureaucratic fluff, what is to blame for the great success of organisations such as SpaceX while Nasa has done less with more? Still, I concede that we must be cautious about potential silver bullets. Good point on the "libertarian utopian cure-all"
- ihodes 16y agoI wouldn't characterize myself as a libertarian, nor do I think that privatizing is a cure-all. You misrepresent me. What I said and what you portray my comment as saying are very different; contracting with third parties != privatizing NASA. If SpaceX delivers, they'll be delivering a lot more for a lot less money. I'm sorry that my use of the word competition set off your "libertarian alarm", but I can't see how anything but good is coming out of contracting with SpaceX.