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From: Jong@HIS-BILLERICA-MULTICS.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Scutle the Space Program?
Message-ID: <860305153340.481402@HIS-BILLERICA-MULTICS.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 5-Mar-86 10:33:00 EST
Article-I.D.: HIS-BILL.860305153340.481402
Posted: Wed Mar  5 10:33:00 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 8-Mar-86 18:33:05 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 38

Ed Turner questions whether colonizing space really provides more
chance of preserving the culture that did the colonizing, and
looks to Earth's history of colonization for examples.  I think
there are several differences to consider:

1.  Earth was, during the colonial era, everywhere populated.
    Much of space probably isn't (but more on that later).

2.  The colonial powers wanted to exploit the minerals and other
    resources on the New World and Africa; more so, I think, than
    they wanted merely to replicate themselves.

Did Spain successfully preserve its culture by colonizing?  Well,
what language do they speak in the villages near the ancient
Mayan temples?  The most recent wave of colonizations came from
England; English is the dominant language on the planet.

I think colonizing space is a wise idea, if the goal is to
preserve humanity.  There's plenty of material to sustain such
colonies, and perhaps it will be feasible to trade.

Of course, if we encounter another civilization out there, the
odds are it won't be anywhere near the level we're at.  Most
likely, we would encounter an unimaginably more advanced
civilization.  Earth history suggests we'd be in a lot of
trouble, whether that other civilization was kindly disposed
toward us or not.  Cultural interaction has usually been a
devastating experience.  (I'm thinking of the Spanish
conquistadores who introduced smallpox to the South American
natives, sometimes inadvertantly, sometimes deliberately.  Even
the benign American conquerors of Japan have had enormous impact
of Japanese culture.)

As to Ed's other point, about humanity's destructive tendencies,
I wonder if the news that the colony on Epsilon Tau had blown
themselves to pieces would have a sobering effect on the rest of
the Federation.  (Or would they all gather at night to admire the
glow?  :-)