Under capitalist society space expansion is unsustainable-only in a socialist system can we expand towards stars
Mark Rahman 15[Mark Rahman, Writer for socialist revolution, Socialist Appeal Usa "The role of the state in the space race",6-23-1905, Socialist Appeal, https://www.socialist.net/the-role-of-the-state-in-the-space-race.htm, 1LEE]
In a relatively short period of time, what seemed something only found in science fiction novels became reality. Humanity has left footprints on the moon, has satellites orbiting nearly every planet in the solar system, has a rover on Mars, and very recently the European Space Agency put a lander on the surface of a comet. However, as the capitalist crisis unfolds, it seems we will have to abandonhopeful plans for the exploration of space and the further development oftechnologies associated with it. The astronomer Fred Hoyle once said, “once a photograph of the Earth, taken from the outside, is available . . . a new idea as powerful as any will be let loose.” Astronauts and cosmonauts who have had the opportunity to view the Earth from space have all experienced something called the “overview effect.” Viewing the Earth for the first time from the outside reveals how fragile our “pale blue dot” is. It is the only planet we have yet discovered capable of sustaining human life. It has just the right amount of water, it is just the right distance from our Sun, and it has an atmosphere to protect us from the hostility of space. Inherent in the "overview effect" is a sense of internationalism—after all, when viewed from above, the Earth has no visible borders.
The Earth has been described as being our one space ship, with only one crew. And unless we overthrow the capitalist system, our spaceship is in jeopardy. Capitalism threatens the environment through pollution and unplanned usage of natural resources. It threatens human culture through the destruction of public education and cuts in funding for the arts and sciences, not to mention the destruction caused by wars and the shuttering of the means of production .
The Marxist James Connolly, speaking of the starry plow banner of the Irish Citizen Army, said that its significance was that a free, socialist Ireland would control its own destiny from the plow to the stars. Only international socialism, free from the constraints of capitalism and private ownership of the means of production, with universal, quality education for every human on the planet, and free exchange of all technology and research, can usher in a new age in which humanity can look to conquerour own destiny, from the Earth to the stars.
