I see this moon launch as an exorbitantly wasteful, nationalist project. No money for healthcare and housing, but plenty of money to boldly go where man has gone several many times before.
When I bring this up with liberal friends and family, they give me a sort of incredulous look and talk about how wonderful and scientific and non-political it is. I don’t mind being the “you’ve gone too far left” guy, but you talk to the same people about military spending and they’re right on board.
Is someone here able to diagnose my crankiness and explain why this is actually a good use of resources? (Will also accept echo-chamber validation and ways to use this to increase class consciousness, if offered.)
With you on this one. In general the space stuff the way it’s done in the West seems like manufacturing false hope about a humanity in space while our home is roasting due to climate change.
I am probably doompilled from seeing how all the tech bros talk about space, but I really don’t care as long as on this planet immense suffering, exploitation and environmental destruction just goes on.
There’s no planet B. This space travel stuff is just like religion in the way it gives people an out: “Suffering now does not matter because you will go to heaven/Boiling the planet doesn’t matter, we’ll live on Mars”.
Also I’m sure that in a capitalist’s mind space is basically an infinite source of more resources to exploit
Exactly this. There is no evidence that Mars is even habitable for humans to my knowledge and the only planets that genuinely seem promising are light years away and not something we’ll even get to explore within the next few lifetimes.