I think space travel has a special escapist appeal to it. There are massive intractable problems with human society on earth at the moment which lack easy solutions (poverty, aids, overpopulation, climate change, social order). Space allowed the last generation to write stories where those didn’t have to be dealt with because the protagonists could leave earth behind, but now we’ve realised we’re stuck here and have to fix things.
There are massive intractable problems with human society on earth at the moment which lack easy solutions (poverty, aids, overpopulation, climate change, social order).
Poverty—has always been with us. Many, many people are better off.
AIDS—We will solve this.
Overpopulation—Population will stabilize at 10 billion. See 2nd link.
Climate change—see below.
Social order—so long as we don’t extinguish ourselves, this will work itself out.
I think space travel has a special escapist appeal to it. There are massive intractable problems with human society on earth at the moment which lack easy solutions (poverty, aids, overpopulation, climate change, social order). Space allowed the last generation to write stories where those didn’t have to be dealt with because the protagonists could leave earth behind, but now we’ve realised we’re stuck here and have to fix things.
Poverty—has always been with us. Many, many people are better off. AIDS—We will solve this. Overpopulation—Population will stabilize at 10 billion. See 2nd link. Climate change—see below. Social order—so long as we don’t extinguish ourselves, this will work itself out.
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/hans-rosling-ted-2006-debunking-myths-about-the-third-world/
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html
We might be stuck in the solar system for the next century, but we’re certainly not stuck on Earth.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/elon-musk-says-ticket-to-mars-will-cost-500000/