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So, I mentioned last Monday that my microwave went to that Great Kitchen In The Sky. I also mentioned that, were I a character in one of my novels, repairing it in lieu of replacing it would be seriously under consideration. Since I just write books, not live in them, I went to Target and got a new unit over the weekend and junked the old one.
But the post got me thinking about life in a space colony. Now, in your basic Heinlein novel, the society of your basic space settlement is libertarian. I'm not sure how the libertarian values of "don't mess with me" square with the practical needs of making sure the airlock door is in good repair. Realistically, living in a space colony would be more like living in a condominium development on Earth, both in terms of available personal space and in having to deal with the local association. Although, considering not maintaining parts of the unit can be a life-or-death problem, I suspect the association would have more governmental-level powers.
I also got to thinking about who would voluntarily move to a space colony. In the near future, colonists would be the kind of misfits, dreamers and idealists who today set up communes and compounds in the wilderness, or sign up to be merchant seamen. In sort, folks in some way fundamentally not happy with life on Earth. There is no reason to think that these people would immediately want to recreate 21st century Terran society. Nor is there any reason to think that there would be one common vision of what a good society looks like.
In short, the people who would be the pioneers of space would be the same sort who were pioneers to Colonial America. Except, just picking up and moving west will be much more difficult, because you'll need to figure out where your next breath of air is coming from. I think this could result in several counter-intuitive developments, including the establishment of a "landed" (or more accurately "titled") inherited aristocracy. I'll expand on that thought tomorrow.
But the post got me thinking about life in a space colony. Now, in your basic Heinlein novel, the society of your basic space settlement is libertarian. I'm not sure how the libertarian values of "don't mess with me" square with the practical needs of making sure the airlock door is in good repair. Realistically, living in a space colony would be more like living in a condominium development on Earth, both in terms of available personal space and in having to deal with the local association. Although, considering not maintaining parts of the unit can be a life-or-death problem, I suspect the association would have more governmental-level powers.
I also got to thinking about who would voluntarily move to a space colony. In the near future, colonists would be the kind of misfits, dreamers and idealists who today set up communes and compounds in the wilderness, or sign up to be merchant seamen. In sort, folks in some way fundamentally not happy with life on Earth. There is no reason to think that these people would immediately want to recreate 21st century Terran society. Nor is there any reason to think that there would be one common vision of what a good society looks like.
In short, the people who would be the pioneers of space would be the same sort who were pioneers to Colonial America. Except, just picking up and moving west will be much more difficult, because you'll need to figure out where your next breath of air is coming from. I think this could result in several counter-intuitive developments, including the establishment of a "landed" (or more accurately "titled") inherited aristocracy. I'll expand on that thought tomorrow.
