I'd argue that a properly designed dyson swarm -does- launch itself, is self replicating, and only takes construction of, say, fifty first generation Von-Neuman

I'd argue that a properly designed dyson swarm -does- launch itself, is self replicating, and only takes construction of, say, fifty first generation Von-Neumann machines. I further suggest that we could start it if we spent an equivalent of the energy we put into the cold war.