To live offworld without sacrificing freedom, then, would entail creating a massive, self-sustaining habitat that answers to no executive suite, no board of directors, no shareholders, only to itself. Far beyond our current technology, of course, but a hundred years ago we hadn't even launched anything into orbit.
I am also arguing that it's not so much the technology than the sovereignty that matters. Any orbital habitat generates its own mode of sovereignty, and unlike on Earth, that sovereignty must extend to the life-support system. That is a profound (and fraught) renunciation.
Added "monetized gravity" to my Worst Muse file.
"fresh gravity in a jar"
To live offworld without sacrificing freedom, then, would entail creating a massive, self-sustaining habitat that answers to no executive suite, no board of directors, no shareholders, only to itself. Far beyond our current technology, of course, but a hundred years ago we hadn't even launched anything into orbit.
I am also arguing that it's not so much the technology than the sovereignty that matters. Any orbital habitat generates its own mode of sovereignty, and unlike on Earth, that sovereignty must extend to the life-support system. That is a profound (and fraught) renunciation.