this post was submitted on 09 Oct 2024
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Late Stage Capitalism
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It will be a challenge of the century to see if socialism can fix this crisis where capitalism clearly hasn't.
I certainly hope that, as China improves living, working, and social conditions, that birth rates rise back up to replacement rates or higher. That would cement the superiority of socialism and prepare the world for the population required to expand into space across the solar system.
Colonizing other planets is way, way, way beyond our current abilities. It would be easier to colonize the ocean first, because at least that has water and a biosphere, or even Antarctica, because at least that has breathable air. Counting on flight to another planet is a bad idea: it's infinitely harder than fixing things at home.
I don't know where y'all get the idea that I want humans to escape from Earth. That would be incredibly stupid.
We need to go to space for resources to increase living standards at home and avoid further ecological destruction. For instance, the only good sources of helium-3 (an excellent fuel for fusion) is mining from the moon or gas collecting from gas giants. Nothing is alive in space, so there aren't downsides to mining there like there is on Earth. Socialism is also the only way to prevent space resources from only bulking Jeff Bezos' (or his childrens') pockets.
I, for one, do not think socialism means forever stalling at 2030s-era tech.
It's just a matter of priorities. In order to build a spaceship and get it out of the atmosphere, you have to do a colossal amount of ecological damage, which is the last thing we can afford right now. Space ships are made with lots of lithium and cobalt and fun stuff like that.
I'm not saying forever, I'm saying that we're in the ER for internal bleeding and you're talking about doing an operation to fix our scoliosis.
Getting large numbers of people into space will be prohibitive for a long time. It's more important right now to focus on the problems of the here and now. Build international socialism and improve habitability of the world.
none of that stuff requires high birth rates btw.
Eh, it's a matter of investment into the technologies required for bulk space transport. Infrastructure like space railguns (basically a really long Hyperloop section that points towards the sky to shoot payloads into space) are feasible today (and China is researching them already: https://newatlas.com/space/china-railgun-spacecraft-orbit/ ), and more out-there ideas like space elevators are a matter of time. In order to reach full communism without strip mining the entire Earth, getting resources from lifeless space is essential. That will require lots of people in space.
The interesting thing to see at this time is if China can show another way to sustainable population management. Capitalist countries seem intent on shrinking their overworked populations into nothingness. South Korea's birth rates have only decreased further, even as their population keeps shrinking.
Space elevators are likely not feasible. Off-planet mining would probably be a better fit for autonomous robots as long as weight is a factor in sending things to space. Plus, you won't get people to space with a railgun.
As for the question of population maintenance, it's not necessarily a crisis in itself. One thing is for sure, though: any policy viewing women as docile broodmares or encouraging more pregnancy without a comprehensive and clear analysis of the whole situation and the input of educated women will not succeed. If any country can successfully encourage more births it would probably be a socialist one. The GDR had relatively good policies for its time, for example.
I'm content with getting the billionaires into space. Preferably on a Sun-oriented path. Since getting them into submarines so far hasn't catched on...
Much more environmentally friendly just to shoot them.