[Moonbase-discuss] Re: Vol 1 #22 - Unfettered free enterprise

[Randall Clague]

On Wed, 15 May 2002 09:37:36 -0700, jnasiatka@inhale.com wrote:

>Ok, I need to drop my .02 in here.  I think what Mr Alexandr is getting =
at=20
>here, is not so much condemnation
>of the *idea* of free and unfettered capitalism, but the practical=20
>applications of it.  I don't know if America has
>truly had totally free capitalism by the pure definition, but if not,=20
>we've come extremely close.  Look at the history
>of the railroad empires, the early oil industry, the early food/drug=20
>industries - all of these rose to power during
>the industrial revolution when we had a ton of laissez-faire action =
going=20
>on.  There were massive amounts of
>corruption, abuses of power, and abuses of people, which finally caused=20
>the government to have to step
>in and do things like create anti-trust laws, the FDA etc...

Yes, that is the popular history.  But what I've been hearing recently
is that the railroads and the oil companies were not laissez-faire at
all.  They were heavily subsidized by the government.  Now there's
fertile field for corruption and abuse.

>It's not so much that we need total regulation of space such that NASA =
et=20
>al. is the *only* place one can go to,
>but we need to make sure that when we go (either as a public or private=20
>venture) we do it correctly with a level
>of ethical considerations such that we don't screw things up long term.=20
>Figuring out how to ensure that is the hard part.

Oh, I don't know - defining "screw things up long term" will be no
picnic either.  One perspective is, "Strip mine the moon?  Why not?
The place is a dump." Another is, "The moon is a beautiful place - the
ultimate desert - as Buzz Aldrin recognized when his first words from
the lunar surface were, 'Magnificent...desolation.'  The moon should
be a park."  I flip back and forth between the two according to my
mood.  It doesn't affect my current activities, because either way, we
have to go back.

-R

--
"You told him about the statue?
I can't believe you told him about the statue."
                     -- William T. Riker