The Ethics of Space Tourism?

[Coito ergo sum]

CES, saddling future generations with a massive tax burden. For shame.

Space programs must saddle future generations with a massive tax burden?

[pErvinalia]

What's this "we"? We, as in us here, have no stake in this. We will all be dead before any of this stuff materialises.

It's not all about those of us who are breathing today.

Socialist.

It's the socialists who tend to say "this has nothing to do with me" -- "what do I care what happens to generations long after I'm gone..." -- interesting, that, eh?

Were I a socialist, that's what I'd be saying, too, most likely.

Bollocks.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Yeah. Even I don't give a fuck about anyone 100 years down the track from now..

That's very human of you.

That's what being an atheist does to you. If I was a good Christian I'd care about all those unborn souls...

I don't care about souls, but I do care that someone else has a chance to be born.

[pErvinalia]

That makes no sense. There is no "someone" before a birth.

[Clinton Huxley]

Yeah. Even I don't give a fuck about anyone 100 years down the track from now..

That's very human of you.

That's what being an atheist does to you. If I was a good Christian I'd care about all those unborn souls...

I don't care about souls, but I do care that someone else has a chance to be born.

Even if that person is future-hitler?!?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Even if that person is future-hitler?!?

If there was only one person to be born in the future whether or not they were a proto-Hitler or not wouldn't matter. But if more than one person is born I have no problem with there being a variegated crop.

[Coito ergo sum]

What's this "we"? We, as in us here, have no stake in this. We will all be dead before any of this stuff materialises.

It's not all about those of us who are breathing today.

Socialist.

It's the socialists who tend to say "this has nothing to do with me" -- "what do I care what happens to generations long after I'm gone..." -- interesting, that, eh?

Were I a socialist, that's what I'd be saying, too, most likely.

Bollocks.

Aren't you pro socialist? And didn't you just say you don't give a shit about people 100 years from now?

[Clinton Huxley]

CES, saddling future generations with a massive tax burden. For shame.

Space programs must saddle future generations with a massive tax burden?

Private enterprise will build the space elevato?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

CES, saddling future generations with a massive tax burden. For shame.

Space programs must saddle future generations with a massive tax burden?

Private enterprise will build the space elevato?

Know anything about Space-X?

[Clinton Huxley]

CES, saddling future generations with a massive tax burden. For shame.

Space programs must saddle future generations with a massive tax burden?

Private enterprise will build the space elevato?

Know anything about Space-X?

I do but orders of magnitude and all that. And how do you structure ownership of a space elevator? One company owns it and has a monopoly? The state owns it? If china has a space elevator, will Brazil have to build a bigger one? And by the time you have it, is it obsolete?

I'll be surprised if one ever actually is built.

[Sean Hayden]

Well that's that then Jeeves, you're right and there's nothing else to be said about it.

[Coito ergo sum]

CES, saddling future generations with a massive tax burden. For shame.

Space programs must saddle future generations with a massive tax burden?

Private enterprise will build the space elevato?

Not necessarily and/or not exclusively.

But, public funding is not equivalent to saddling future generations with massive tax burden. One may fund things publicly in a why which does not massively burden future generations depending on the total amount that is spent.

[Clinton Huxley]

Well that's that then Jeeves, you're right and there's nothing else to be said about it.

Well, that's hardly the spirit! Think of the Alamo.

[Coito ergo sum]

I'll be surprised if one ever actually is built.

Me too, but it never gets built if nobody tries. If somebody tries, it might.

[Sean Hayden]

Now you're encouraging me to think more about it? I think you're stringing me along.