Anglo-Futurism: Why Go To The Stars?

The mantra of going “To The Stars” is a key part of AngloFuturism.  But why bother?  Why spend the money to put people back on the Moon?  Why build a space colony on Mars or an orbital space station around Venus?

This phrase is part of a broader idea, and it’s not just ‘To The Stars’, but it could also be terrestrial too.  It could mean building cities at the bottom of the sea, or in the deepest mine, or even the coldest place on Earth.

The simple answer I’ve heard amongst Anglo-Futurists seems to be about doing something outrageously hard.  Completing a near impossible challenge.

It’s similar to the reason why mountaineers climb a steep mountain, ‘because it’s hard’.  Some humans need a challenge, and the harder the challenge, the better. This was the motivation behind the explorers, the challenge of pushing back the boundaries of geographical knowledge.

Another answer is the profit motive.  There are exceedingly large amounts of minerals in the skies above our heads.  Plans are already to laid to mine asteroids.  The top ten most cost-effective asteroids to mine would produce a profit of $1.5 trillion dollars.

There could be a science motive too.  Not only would trying to build a colony in space or on Mars, push back the boundaries of human existence, but new side technologies would be discovered.  From the various space missions, scratch-resistant lenses, fire-resistant polymers, cordless appliances, solar cells, freeze dried food and many more inventions have been developed.  By returning to space, what other inventions could be created?

Competition is another motive.  The striving between the capitalistic USA and the communist USSR help create the 20th Century Space Race.  If competition arose once again, but this time between the Collective West and the BRICS nations, then it could kickstart a new paradigm of space exploration.

The final motive could be spiritual.  From a Christian perspective, when God planted the Garden of Eden, it was to create a place of habitable order in a wild Creation.  The early Church writers believed it was the role of Adam and Eve and all of us to bring this order to the rest of Creation.

And even now, it seems that wherever humans go, they multiply, bring order, and make it habitable for themselves.  Going into space, fulfils that spiritual desire.

This could also be framed as bringing human consciousness to the darkness of outer space.  As we head forth, leaving the confines of Earth, we would expand the human experience.

Though whatever our motive, or combination of motives, to go into space and settle colonies, we need to ensure we go forth in humility.  Just as sailors on the high seas respect the fickle oceans, astronauts and space colonists need to respect the extra-terrestrial environments they find themselves in.

After all, “Pride goes before a fall”.

Without humility, any mission will be cut short.  Without due respect, proper care and attention, the Heavens will push back and spit us out.

Without humility, colonists may be filled with bravado and hubris, only to find their great achievements quickly become hollow, and their life ends, buried in an non-terrestrial grave.  Humility will give a balance to our motives, whatever they may be.

So why do I personally bother with this?  Sometimes I think we get caught up in utilitarian arguments to justify doing a particular action.  So even though I’ve put forward the possible motives above, I would say my preferred motive is love.

I would love to see humanity expand, develop and grow beyond the Earth.  I would love to see us occupy outer space, developing new technologies which help society to survive in these harsh conditions and build colonies on extraterrestrial worlds.  And thereby, bring love and light to the darkest parts of Creation.

Image: Chris Foss