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.
