Musk, as most billionaires, obtained his wealth through oppression & exploitation of less afluent people & people of color. His intentions to colonize Mars & space itself has completely turned me against the continuation of his ventures. It seems these days my taxes only go toward exploitative, egomaniac, genocidal billionaires rather then where I'd like them to go. Funding kids education & school lunches, housing the homeless. REAL Universal Healthcare just to name a few.
If banal connotes harmlessness, there is no such thing as banal capitalism and the privatization of space exploration gives a great example. What appears as normal entrepreneurial ambition - launching satellites, planning extra-planetary colonies and mining operations- actually represents the extension of private property rights and market logic beyond Earth itself, with implications for humanity's collective future that are anything but banal. Give them enough time and they will break the moon.
When it was starting to become somewhat plain who elon musk actually is, I had this idea that he wanted to save the world, but only on one very specific condition -
He wanted to be the one to do it. If it was anyone else and/or done in any way he didn't approve of, he makes it clear he would rather blow the world up.
I think this contention makes it clear why he hates public transit, that he thinks electric cars are the ONLY way forward. It explains episodes like the bullshit submarine rescue and the (non) ventilators for COVID patients.
When you combine the above with his fascination with space, eugenics and ethnonationalism, it becomes clear that musk is less Henry Ford and more Hugo Drax.
Oh. I should add that I begrudgingly have to admit that Tesla made electric cars "cool." His company made them desirable. Before that it was that weird thing that GM put out in the 90s, the (very) short lived electric Rav 4, and the Nissan Leaf (which is actually a good car, and has persisted to boot.)
But even then, he didn't actually design the cars himself. And the one he did design is one of the most ridiculous self-owns in American industrial history.
I don’t believe that Elon is actually interested in going to Mars. That’s just marketing sizzle to cover the far more mundane reason he needs a giant rocket: to launch enough satellites to give Starlink true global coverage. Being the ISP to the world is where the real money and power (you think him controlling twitter is bad, just wait!) is. But it will take forever to launch the damn things in penny-packets on Falcon 9’s. Starship can deploy them in the hundreds. Just watch. As soon as he’s done building that constellation of satellites, his interest in Mars will vanish, though by then I suspect we’ll all wish he go and never come back.
It's unlikely the human brain can flourish offworld, unless there is a planet with the same gravity as Earth. Our brain is highly delicate, and evolved at Earth gravity. Mars has significantly less gravity. The cells of our body will be affected by this but particularly our brain cells and its structure. Longer times in space affect astronauts' brain structure.
Musk, as most billionaires, obtained his wealth through oppression & exploitation of less afluent people & people of color. His intentions to colonize Mars & space itself has completely turned me against the continuation of his ventures. It seems these days my taxes only go toward exploitative, egomaniac, genocidal billionaires rather then where I'd like them to go. Funding kids education & school lunches, housing the homeless. REAL Universal Healthcare just to name a few.
Damn right
If banal connotes harmlessness, there is no such thing as banal capitalism and the privatization of space exploration gives a great example. What appears as normal entrepreneurial ambition - launching satellites, planning extra-planetary colonies and mining operations- actually represents the extension of private property rights and market logic beyond Earth itself, with implications for humanity's collective future that are anything but banal. Give them enough time and they will break the moon.
When it was starting to become somewhat plain who elon musk actually is, I had this idea that he wanted to save the world, but only on one very specific condition -
He wanted to be the one to do it. If it was anyone else and/or done in any way he didn't approve of, he makes it clear he would rather blow the world up.
I think this contention makes it clear why he hates public transit, that he thinks electric cars are the ONLY way forward. It explains episodes like the bullshit submarine rescue and the (non) ventilators for COVID patients.
When you combine the above with his fascination with space, eugenics and ethnonationalism, it becomes clear that musk is less Henry Ford and more Hugo Drax.
Oh. I should add that I begrudgingly have to admit that Tesla made electric cars "cool." His company made them desirable. Before that it was that weird thing that GM put out in the 90s, the (very) short lived electric Rav 4, and the Nissan Leaf (which is actually a good car, and has persisted to boot.)
But even then, he didn't actually design the cars himself. And the one he did design is one of the most ridiculous self-owns in American industrial history.
Hooray.. a good article... thoughtful and compassionate
I don’t believe that Elon is actually interested in going to Mars. That’s just marketing sizzle to cover the far more mundane reason he needs a giant rocket: to launch enough satellites to give Starlink true global coverage. Being the ISP to the world is where the real money and power (you think him controlling twitter is bad, just wait!) is. But it will take forever to launch the damn things in penny-packets on Falcon 9’s. Starship can deploy them in the hundreds. Just watch. As soon as he’s done building that constellation of satellites, his interest in Mars will vanish, though by then I suspect we’ll all wish he go and never come back.
Ugg! You're most likely correct. The proletariat need our own communication system. Where are tge white hats?
It's unlikely the human brain can flourish offworld, unless there is a planet with the same gravity as Earth. Our brain is highly delicate, and evolved at Earth gravity. Mars has significantly less gravity. The cells of our body will be affected by this but particularly our brain cells and its structure. Longer times in space affect astronauts' brain structure.
Progress trap.