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I'm not sure how we can square the idea that integrated economies outperform hermit kingdoms, yet somehow that if hermit kingdoms became isolated to the extreme

by bnralt 4y ago

I'm not sure how we can square the idea that integrated economies outperform hermit kingdoms, yet somehow that if hermit kingdoms became isolated to the extreme they'll actually start to become very productive again. You have to believe that a hermit kingdom would both be more productive if it was more open, and simultaneously believe that it would be more productive if it was even more isolated. I don't believe settler civilizations outperform their home countries across the board. Certainly there have been many that failed. Successful ones tend to be in places that offer a lot of natural resources, often even surpassing the home country. But of course, the opposite would be true for Mars.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> yet somehow that if hermit kingdoms became isolated to the extreme they'll actually start to become very productive again A Mars colony wouldn’t be a hermit kingdom. It would be isolated, but there would obviously still be dependence on followed by trade with Earth. Recreating that mix of semi-isolation and adversity on Earth strikes me as silly. Even if you got the mechanics right, what’s the attraction for the denizens? What keeps them there when the going gets tough? What are they doing and seeing that they fundamentally couldn't in more comfort?