Awatmath.1615 net.space utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!watmath!pcmcgeer Fri Jan 29 18:52:55 1982 Government Funding of Exploration However much we revere the free market domestically, buccaneering capitalists haven't ever been able to explore new frontiers without some government assistance. Even the enthusiastically laissez-faire 19th Century British governments supported financially and legally extraterritorial firms. A classic example is the East India Company, and, as jcwinterton pointed out, the Hudson's Bay Company. The anti-space enthusiasts may have a point, though. Contrary to popular leftist belief, an Empire doesn't usually materially benefit the Imperial nation. Britain bled itself white subsidizing Canada, Australia, India and South Africa, and didn't exactly make a killing on the American colonies. Space will, one suspects, ultimately be of tremendous benefit to the human race - but that portion of it that remains on Terra herself may not be the principal beneficiaries. Oh, well, with any luck, the only people on Earth by 2200 will all be amed Proxmire - and their heads firmly rooted in the sand. Cheers, Rick. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.