From poverty to the stars?

摘要

Sir, Your World Ship discussion impressively imagined the engineering future, (November Spaceflight p. 428 ff) but seems stuck in a sociological past. The reported views seem to only imagine the future as a repeat of English and Irish emigration between the 1600s - 1800s: 'Famine, poverty, war, disease, social disorder, over-population, and limiting resources were all seen as potential driving factors in the construction of a World Ship...cults might decide to move off world' (p.431). The definition of poverty in South Africa is someone who cannot afford a train fare to look for work, still less an airfare. How do poverty-stricken people pay for a space travel ticket out of the solar system? Poverty-stricken persons cannot afford to build their own house.