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Can you give some examples please? I'd be particularly interested in ways colonizing Mars would help us solve the serious problems we already have like bigotry,

Can you give some examples please? I'd be particularly interested in ways colonizing Mars would help us solve the serious problems we already have like bigotry, inequality, the climate catastrophe...

ben_w 7y ago
Mars is significantly less hospitable than either the summit of Mt Everest or Antarctica; by developing the necessary tech to colonise Mars, you could re-populate the Earth after any environmental catastrophe short of the planet being physically dismantled. One more immediate benefit is that the ability to refuel on Mars is identical to the ability to take CO2 out of the air and turn it into (un)natural gas. Doesn’t do much for bigotry or inequality though.
- anoncake 7y ago
  It's not about Earth, it's about the humans on it. Being able to repopulate Earth after they all died isn't all that helpful.
  - TomMarius 7y ago
    Then it seems beneficial to have some somewhere else
    - anoncake 7y ago
      No, not at all. That doesn't benefit the people who died.
      - TomMarius 7y ago
        Well you said it's not helpful because everyone would be dead, this response seems like moving the goalpost, also do you think these people will be born mostly on Mars?
        anoncake 7y ago
        No, I'm not moving any goalposts. Nothing is helpful for dead people as they're dead.
        TomMarius 7y ago
        If some of these people first moved to Mars and later back, obviously it helps them.
        anoncake 7y ago
        Then they basically escaped. That is not solving a problem, it's giving up and pathetic.
Faark 7y ago
For a start, people having a problem with our current society on earth can build a life away from it. Have you ever noticed racists yearning for "their own" homeland? With a self-sustaining colony on mars, the tech should be available for them to build one. I'd love reading about their attempt to govern something independent with no one else to blame. Many people also like having bigger goals to strive for, and this one might cause less conflict than those wanting to reorganize society in whatever direction. At the same time I also hardly see it hurting us. The cash is certainly better spend that way than putting another few billions into entertainment, cosmetics or the likes. But yes, the direct impact on your own backyard will be limited, if that is all you care about.
- justapassenger 7y ago
  Your average racist is not wealthy enough to spend trillions of dollars to find a new place for themselves. And I’ve yet to see racist ideology that says “OK guys, we got some invaders here, time to pack and look for a new place for us, they won”.
- anoncake 7y ago
  We've got plenty of land on Earth that we don't exactly consider habitable but still beats Mars. That is not why sending our racists to Mars is a ludicrous idea. > this one might cause less conflict than those wanting to reorganize society in whatever direction. Is that the "go to North Korea/Chile/Somalia" argument on steroids?
  - 4bpp 7y ago
    The difference is that all the unhabitable land on Earth is still nominally owned by someone, and human society has committed itself to treating these claims of ownership with a lot of respect. Modulo a few famous and very small exceptions, even stretches of hundreds of square kilometres of empty desert far inland belong to some country and building an earthbound sovereign "Mars base" there will quickly result in missiles and dudes with guns raining down on you with the full backing of the international community. Hardly anyone who suggests that the racists move to Somalia believes that the racists, after doing so, should be free to take over the place and rule over, displace or genocide the Somalis. Conversely, if this offer were actually on the table, I'm sure plenty of racists would step up to take it.

Can you give some examples please? I'd be particularly interested in ways colonizing Mars would help us solve the serious problems we already have like bigotry, inequality, the climate catastrophe...

ben_w 7y ago

Mars is significantly less hospitable than either the summit of Mt Everest or Antarctica; by developing the necessary tech to colonise Mars, you could re-populate the Earth after any environmental catastrophe short of the planet being physically dismantled. One more immediate benefit is that the ability to refuel on Mars is identical to the ability to take CO2 out of the air and turn it into (un)natural gas. Doesn’t do much for bigotry or inequality though.

anoncake 7y ago
It's not about Earth, it's about the humans on it. Being able to repopulate Earth after they all died isn't all that helpful.
- TomMarius 7y ago
  Then it seems beneficial to have some somewhere else
  - anoncake 7y ago
    No, not at all. That doesn't benefit the people who died.
    - TomMarius 7y ago
      Well you said it's not helpful because everyone would be dead, this response seems like moving the goalpost, also do you think these people will be born mostly on Mars?
      - anoncake 7y ago
        No, I'm not moving any goalposts. Nothing is helpful for dead people as they're dead.
        TomMarius 7y ago
        If some of these people first moved to Mars and later back, obviously it helps them.
        anoncake 7y ago
        Then they basically escaped. That is not solving a problem, it's giving up and pathetic.

Faark 7y ago

For a start, people having a problem with our current society on earth can build a life away from it. Have you ever noticed racists yearning for "their own" homeland? With a self-sustaining colony on mars, the tech should be available for them to build one. I'd love reading about their attempt to govern something independent with no one else to blame. Many people also like having bigger goals to strive for, and this one might cause less conflict than those wanting to reorganize society in whatever direction. At the same time I also hardly see it hurting us. The cash is certainly better spend that way than putting another few billions into entertainment, cosmetics or the likes. But yes, the direct impact on your own backyard will be limited, if that is all you care about.

justapassenger 7y ago
Your average racist is not wealthy enough to spend trillions of dollars to find a new place for themselves. And I’ve yet to see racist ideology that says “OK guys, we got some invaders here, time to pack and look for a new place for us, they won”.
anoncake 7y ago
We've got plenty of land on Earth that we don't exactly consider habitable but still beats Mars. That is not why sending our racists to Mars is a ludicrous idea. > this one might cause less conflict than those wanting to reorganize society in whatever direction. Is that the "go to North Korea/Chile/Somalia" argument on steroids?
- 4bpp 7y ago
  The difference is that all the unhabitable land on Earth is still nominally owned by someone, and human society has committed itself to treating these claims of ownership with a lot of respect. Modulo a few famous and very small exceptions, even stretches of hundreds of square kilometres of empty desert far inland belong to some country and building an earthbound sovereign "Mars base" there will quickly result in missiles and dudes with guns raining down on you with the full backing of the international community. Hardly anyone who suggests that the racists move to Somalia believes that the racists, after doing so, should be free to take over the place and rule over, displace or genocide the Somalis. Conversely, if this offer were actually on the table, I'm sure plenty of racists would step up to take it.