X, I don't believe Terrence has children, but on environmental and societal issues his opinions are somewhat close to Skipper's, and Skipper has a lot of children. So this is all very complicated. I also think extremely wealthy people who can afford to live behind elaborate security systems feel impervious to declining societies in ways that the middle and lower classes do not. Certainly, being at the top of the heap economically can lead to distancing oneself from the plight of most humans on earth, and I think this is somehow related to the way Terrence feels (or doesn't feel) about "hick wage slaves".
Ayn Rand had a very long affair, with a married man as I understand. I am sure Terrence has more details, but would put a different spin on the whole thing. She definitely did not have the perspective of bearing children who will inherit the earth, or even of trying to keep a marriage together, which requires a great deal of work. I didn't really understand that very well either, until I got married.
The problem with space colonization is that it may take much longer than we expect it to, and help only the very rich. However, the IDEA of space colonization is dangerous because it allows some very bright people who could be our best thinkers to treat the planet earth as a resource to be pillaged instead of respected and nurtured. And since we are animals first, who developed in this environment, not space, I believe there is no guarantee at all that we will thrive or survive in space. There may be essential things we get from having our feet on the earth, the wind blowing our hair, the sun shining down on us, open space, music, the freedom to move about and the sounds of wheat growing in a breeze and the ocean splashing on shore, that we will not be able to replicate.
Incidentally, in support of one of your previous posts, to Skipper I believe, I agree with you about natural limits on human populations. Here is a url in the same vein about the recent decline in male human fertility:
wri.org |
