Look Homeward Angel

Look Homeward Angel (con.)

Citizens react to the image of the future as if it were already here and, therefore, act in a purposeful way that is directed toward this future's goals and expectations. It is the vision that puts the population to work, that increases the productivity of its people, and it is the productivity of its people that is the wealth of a society. Many people, even experts, believe that the wealth of a society is tied up in the amount of gold it has, or the amount of natural resources. This belief continues in spite of the many lessons of history that tell us otherwise.

History shows us three types of conditions that provide the type of vision and energy needed to keep the engines of a society running: 1) War, 2) Religion, and 3) A New Frontier to explore and settle. In addition, there are isolated cases where societies band together with energy and industry because of a common "threat" from without.

In recent history it has been war that has been the most successful in increasing our drive and productivity. For example, the United States entered World War II a poor nation, coming out of the Great Depression. Four and one-half years later the war was over and the United States emerged as the greatest economic and military power on the Earth. This "wealth" was accomplished without stealing any of the "treasures" of Europe or gold and diamonds of the world. At the end of the war we did not demand reparation for what the war had cost us. In fact, we immediately began a restoration program to bring those nations back from their personal devastation, spending additional millions in the process. Also at the end of the war most of what we had built during those years was either at the bottom of the ocean or on a battlefield in Europe, and, most sadly of all, many of the strongest men and women of an entire generation were lost in that effort.

And yet, our economic depression was over and we were a rich nation. Why? What changed in those few short years? The answer is simple, our people went to work. The productivity of our people was at an all-time high.

It was our image of ourselves and the impact that image had on the productivity of our people that made the difference. And the difference was felt by our society almost immediately, only four terrible, war-torn years took us from devastating depression to socio-economic health. We believed, both during and after the war that we were the greatest nation on the Earth, and that was what it took to bring about that reality. War and religion (sometimes both together) have often had this affect on societies. But, war efforts are no longer an acceptable solution to bring about a healthy economy, to support our pursuit of happiness.

How does this relate to space settlement? One of the major issues concerning the exploration of space is the vision that it provides a society. Let me ask you a question. Would a national goal involving energy independence, space industrialization, and ultimately space settlement result in a positive, goal-oriented image of the future for our society? We know that it would. This was shown during the years of the Apollo program when we were committed to landing a man on the moon. The result of that vision played a major role in a decade of economic health, work enough for all who wanted to work, a sense of destiny, of the acceptance of a massive challenge at which we were determined to succeed.

The acceptance of the challenge of the "high frontier" and the commitment to space exploration and settlement is the kind of vision that moves societies, a vision that doesn't leave an entire generation dead on the battlefields of a foreign land. The result of the acceptance of this kind of vision by a society would be a period of economic expansion that would last as long as the frontier lasted or until the universe has been explored and charted from one end to the other.

What would it mean if our society were healthy? There would be jobs enough for those who wanted to work. In a healthy society most are able to earn a living doing what they enjoy doing, they are able to spend a significant percentage of their income on things that make life better, that help them feel better about themselves and good about what they are accomplishing. There are funds enough to support programs that are designed to aid those who are ill, disabled, disadvantaged or retired. Funds for programs to help put those people with capabilities back on their feet so that they can again be contributing members. And, since many worthwhile organizations are funded privately, individuals with the funds are able to financially commit to programs that will ultimately lead to a betterment of the human condition, to the preservation of our world and its ecology.

When a society is economically unhealthy much of this is not possible. Government funds dry up when income tax dollars drop off, and all the money from taxes goes to support the structure that has been built up over the years. In addition, individuals don't have as much disposable income, so privately funded programs find the sources of their funding reduced. As jobs become scarce more and more people are out of work, increasing their dependence on the government or private organizations already strapped for funds.