PROPERTY IN OUTER SPACE: THE COMMON HERITAGE OF MANKIND PRINCIPLE VS. THE 'FIRST IN TIME, FIRST IN RIGHT' RULE OF PROPERTY LAW

摘要

Despite the fierce intent of the international community, full acceptance of the common heritage principle will come slowly, if at all. Though evolution shapes life, such progression requires time. Life on earth shows that physical evolution results when a need arises. However, man's broad acceptance of a common heritage approach to land and its resources demands a psychological evolution rather than a physical change mandated by his environment. Man seems incapable of such change; consequently, psychological evolution will require intense, long-lasting global effort. The international community cannot reverse thousands of years of behavior in one generation. Ancient, nomadic man fought over land resources when permanent occupation of a single area proved impossible due to the essential pursuit of food. Later, when farming and agriculture replaced nomadic existence, man fought over the land itself—as well as its resources. As technology advances, this pattern will continue into space and other previously uninhabitable areas on earth.