(Capitalist) Pigs in Space

Rand Simberg isn’t impressed with China’s manned space program. He also doubts that the new competition will do us any good:

Programs of exploration undertaken only for reasons of national prestige and competition will always eventually come to tears, because they’re not sustainable. The two traditional motivating factors behind human endeavors have been fear and greed. Unfortunately, actions based only on fear aren’t sustainable, because the national adrenalin eventually runs dry, and, whether in individuals or nations, the “fight or flight” response ultimately takes its costly toll.

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