Continuing with themes in the stories for Lunatics… Here’s number nine:
Theme #9
Libertarian Visions of Space versus the Statist Reality of the Space Program
Most of the serious space fans I know are in one form or another “libertarians”. They may not be actual members of the Libertarian Party, but they certainly do put a high value on individuality and personal freedom. This is not surprising — after all, they want to go live on another planet. It makes some sense that this might arise from some chafing against Earthly authority.
Yet, when it comes to real space missions, we are pretty much at the mercy of state-run institutions. Some space enthusiasts rationalize this as a matter of convenience, others argue that it is just as it should be. But whichever you believe, it’s pretty clear that these two visions are going to come into conflict at some point.
