324 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
324 lines
18 KiB
Plaintext
The New World Reader
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An Electronic Magazine of Future, Fiction, and the Human Condition
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May 1995
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Vol. 1 * No. 6
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This month's quote: "Mellontolatry, or the worship of the future, is a fuddled
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religion." --C. S. Lewis
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Contents-
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From the Editor: On the Possibility of World Government
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Communications
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Feature Article: "The Final Frontier" by Randal Duff
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Political Futures: Government by Pledge
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___________
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From the Editor: Are we ready for World Government?
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It is difficult to go very long without hearing something about the "global
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community." Those of us on the Internet can experience the global community just
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by frequenting the newsgroup of our choice. There we can find conversations,
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arguments, flame-wars, going on between people from all across the world.
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Everyone with a TCP/IP connection has achieved "equality" regardless of race,
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religion, gender, or color. When we talk about community though, we are
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discussing the relationship between individuals and a group of other individuals
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who can be communicated with either collectively or singly. So the global
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community on the Internet is a community of people. What of a community of
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nations? Can there be such a thing?
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The world can be divided (but perhaps not very well) into two kinds of states: those
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striving to be members of a global community and those states who desire to remain
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autonomous in order to protect their cultural heritage--language, ethnicity,
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customs. The first sort wish to establish an economic community, an environment
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in which trade and business can flourish. These kinds of nations value their
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standard of living more than their culture. When the trade routes open to other
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nations the import and export of culture is inevitable--just look at the
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westernization of countries like Japan, while middle eastern countries try like mad
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to keep this sort of "corruption" from entering their society.
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John Lukacs, in his History of the Twentieth Century, say that the twentieth
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century's defining characteristic is nationalism. I am certain that there are plenty of
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historians which would like to argue with Lukacs. But if Lukacs is not too far off the
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mark might there not be a shift toward globalism in the twenty-first century? Might
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not nationalism give way to globalism--a sense that all people are equal and we all
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live on this same small global spinning around the sun and that fact somehow
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unites us all. Environmental awareness leads to a simplistic form of globalism.
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Would globalism ultimately lead states to renounce their sovereignty to a larger
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political organism? Does globalism lead naturally to World Government?
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A community of nations may not be a practical possibility. Associations, treaties,
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agreements, can be made between nations, but true community lies just outside the
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capacity of nations. Inherent in community is a "feeling" of unity or connectedness.
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Communities like families are bound together by the mutual love of individuals. A
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nation is a collection of individuals and lacks the collective capacity for feelings such
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as love. So a group of nations can enter into a relationship, but their ties would not
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be strengthened by the bounds of love and as such can enter into true community.
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A truly global community relies on the relationships of individuals not the nations
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which act for the individuals in matters of state. So, I would say that, no, globalism
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does not necessarily lead to World Government. Nations act in the best interest of
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nations not of individuals. Thus it would be highly unlikely that a World
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Government could be established which would naturally aim at first providing
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individuals with the best quality of life; rather nations will come together provide
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the best conditions for nations to prosper. This indirectly leads an improvement of
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the quality of the lives of some individuals, but makes not assurances of a universal
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provision of good quality of life.
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Part of looking to the future, is imagining what form our government will take as
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peoples attitudes and perceptions change. So to provide a form for this sort of
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future gazing we are going to provide a section in NWR for you to tell us what you
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think politics will be or should be like. Two years ago when we were developing the
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concept for NWR, current events and politics were to be a main component of this
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little publication. Now, Ed Blakely is joining our staff as the Politics Editor, he will
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be taking over this new section: Political Futures. He is asking for you to send in
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your suggestions on how you would change the government here in the US or in
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some other country, in addition to your ideas on what will happen to politics in the
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twenty-first century.
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To warn you--next month's issue of NWR will be on the topic of television. Jack
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Lang's got an essay in the works on the effect television has had on the human
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condition. If you have any thoughts on the subject of television, even if its only a
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few words, let us hear them.
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Just to remind you, NWR has a World Wide Web page now. If you would like to
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check it out it is at "http://goodrich.phys.lsu.edu/nwr/nwr_index.html".
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Trevor Austin, Editor of NWR
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__________
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Communications
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\\\Send your comments to NWR at NEWORLDR@aol.com.///
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__________
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The Final Frontier
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By RANDAL DUFF
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The first era of space exploration ended because we had no compelling reason to
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maintain a human presence in space. National pride and the Cold War propelled
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the space age of the sixties and seventies. Once the United States established
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dominance in space, the public perceived that the space program had lost its raison
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d'etre. Of course, scientists know what to do with a space program--study the
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universe. Pragmatic reasons for doing such studies are not necessary for scientists
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who view investigation and exploration as an end in itself. However, some
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pragmatism is necessary to justify the expense of billions of dollars on a space
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program to a public called upon for its financial support. What will the taxpayers
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get for their investment? If scientists are to establish a program which seeks to
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maintain the active presence of humans in space, they must come up with valid
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reasons for implementing it.
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Olaf Stapleton, a philosopher and author, stated in 1948 three motives for
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maintaining a human presence in space: to exploit available physical resources, to
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increase human control over the environment, and to make the "most" or "best" of
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humans. In addition to Stapleton's motives, others are: to escape overpopulation
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and pollution of Earth, to create genetically controlled environments to eradicate
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disease and defect without instituting a eugenics program at home, and to escape
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mutually assured destruction. Undoubtably, other reasons could be put forward;
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however, let us focus (for the moment) on the exploitation of natural resources
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available on moons, asteroids, and other planets.
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The sort of space program our country needs is not one that just blasts shuttles off
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into Earth orbit every two weeks, but one which has as its main goal placing people
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in space for long term habitation of orbiting stations, moon bases, and Mars
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colonies. We must do these things because our technology is based on the
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consumption of natural resources for its sustenance. The Earth does not hold an
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unlimited supply of resources, thus eventually all Earth's available resources will be
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consumed. To continue our technological growth and development we must
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venture to nearby moons, asteroids, and planets to harvest these requisite resources.
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Should such a space program be a public or private venture? If the fate of our
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standard of life is at stake, should not the public financially support this program?
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One of the arguments that Columbus made to the queen of Spain to encourage her
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to support his voyage west was that he would open up new trade routes to India and
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China. He made an economic argument. Financing exploration yields economic
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profit for nations. Large undertakings (such as exploration) have often been
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supported by the public. Once an economic benefit has been established then private
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businesses get involved in the exploitation of fruits of exploration. Considering the
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present cost of space exploration, it is doubtful that an appeal to economic
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advantages alone will launch us into a new space age. What would be a convincing
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argument? To avoid the possible extinction of the human race perhaps?
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Is the universe ripe for the picking? The word "exploitation" makes us cringe; it
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conjures of images of oppressors taking advantage of the weak. We Americans do
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not want to be associated with any form of exploitation. This attitude denies the
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obvious fact that we owe our quality of life (which is technologically based) to the
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exploitation of the Earth's natural resources (not to mention foreign labor).
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Whether we like such exploitation or not, who is willing to give up their cars or
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electricity? Both of these technological luxuries are afforded at the cost of
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exhausting an irreplaceable supply of fossil fuel.
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The most pressing problem of exploiting Earth's resources is pollution.
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Technology's polluting by-products could be serious enough to render the Earth
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uninhabitable. If for no other reason, we must shift our exploitation of resources
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from the Earth to the Moon, to near-Earth asteroids and even to other planets to
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avoid the destruction of our own world.
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Our current technological program demands exploitation of Earth's limited natural
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resources which eventually will lead to the migration of humankind to space to
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look for additional raw materials. An alternative to leaving Earth in search of off-
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world resources is to shift the present technological paradigm, to a make use of
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renewable resources and non polluting energy sources. However, a complete shift
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to renewable resources is not possible overnight; such a shift will require many
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years. A combination of shifting to more environmentally benign technologies and
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exploiting off-world resources will be necessary to carry us through the next century.
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The consumption of raw materials for the production of technological comforts
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built our modern society. Our standard of living entails the depletion of the Earth's
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natural resources. Consumerism, the destructive consumption of available
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resources (the "use it then junk it" mind set), dominates the present paradigm of
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material life. Might it not be possible to mend this attitude? The realization that
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the Earth has limited resources (we will most assuredly run out of fossil fuel
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someday) has encouraged some people to investigate the possibility of a shift to
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renewable resources and alternate energy sources. The most emotive reason for this
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shift is that renewable resources are, in general, clean. The by-products of
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consuming fossil fuel are causing global changes in the climate and degrading the
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quality of the atmosphere. The threat to our ecological system is real; to avoid its
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irreparable damage we must forgo consumerism.
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The largest problem with switching to renewable resources is that the technology
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remains in its infancy. Shifting suddenly to this type of technology is not feasible
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because it is inefficient and costly. A natural, deliberate introduction of technology
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that relies on renewable resources must be encouraged to preserve Earth's
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environment. Basic research supplemented with intensive development must be
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encouraged. The dominant image of science being the tamer and conqueror of
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nature must change. Nature might be able to be rationally ordered on the small
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scale, but our science is far from being sophisticated enough to successfully order the
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global environment. Until we have the knowledge to successfully micromanage
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our biosphere, we must work with the Earth rather than casually raping her for her
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resources without a thought for the future of humankind. The diminishing of the
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ozone layer and the greenhouse effect are the early warning signs that the Earth is
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experiencing the weight of the human technological presence. Our race will be the
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loser if we tip the balance of nature.
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Ultimately, it may be impossible to shift to an ecologically benign technology
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because of the rapid growth of the Earth's human population. Consumption of
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unrenewable resources may be unavoidable since cultivation of renewable resources
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might prove impossible for the ten billion people expected to inhabit the Earth by
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the middle of next century. The servicing of such a large population will place
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considerable demands on our technological growth. We will be forced to come up
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with ways of housing and feeding people, rather than put a substantial amount of
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money into developing ways to improve our quality of life. If this is the case, we
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would be better off to make an investment now in providing for the raw materials
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needed to sustain ten billion people by gaining a foot hold in space.
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The best reason to step out into space is the third on Olaf Stapleton's list: to make
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the "most" or "best" of humans. Our innate rational faculties have endowed us
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with an insatiable curiosity for the world in which we live. This rationality has
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given us also the power to see that dominance is not always the safe means to
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ensure one's survival.
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Even if we did instigate an active program to develop the resources of near-Earth
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space, this does not alleviate our responsibility to develop renewable resource
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technologies to reduce the negative effects of consumerism on the delicate ecological
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balance of Earth, our island home. The universe holds vast resources; however, the
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Earth's resources are limited. To sustain human life at its present pace of
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development requires a permanent human presence in space to obtain the resources
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we require for modern technological life.
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__________
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Political Futures: Government by Pledge
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by Ed Blakely
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The near convergence of National Public Radio's pledge week and income tax
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season got me thinking about a way we could change the way government is run.
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Where I live the local public radio station sets aside two weeks the year to bug its
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listeners for money. The staff at the station will beg and plead for the listeners to
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call in and pledge their support--a euphemism for money. Well, since I'm an NPR
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news junky, the threat, that if I didn't pledge my support, then my local station
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wouldn't be able to carry Morning Edition or All Things Considered anymore, got
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my attention. I dialed up and told them to expect a sizable chunk of my student
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loan check. They thanked me and sent me a Morning Edition T-Shirt. Something
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else arrived in the mail from my public radio station: a listener survey. I was asked
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(as a pledging member of the station) to make my programming selections. This is
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what gave me my idea.
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On my desk was my income tax form (which I hadn't filled out yet; I am a terrible
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procrastinator). I looked at the public radio survey and then back at my 1040 EZ.
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What if, I thought, I could tell the federal government what programs were my
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favorite. And what if the government was somehow obliged to use my tax money
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to pay for the programs I marked off on my list. Let's say that I don't like MediCare
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and wanted my "pledge" to the government to be spent on scholarships for
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students, then I could check off Federal Student Aid and leave MediCare blank.
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This would solve a yearly problem, deciding the federal budget. It doesn't seem that
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anyone wants to take responsibility for balancing the budget, because balancing the
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darn thing means cutting entitlements. But if the government said the taxpayer,
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"Here, you decide what will be done with all the tax money." Then when the tax
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returns arrived the Congress or the President could say to the special interest groups,
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"Hey, don't blame us for the decrease support of (insert name of federal entitlement
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program here), it was the tax payer who didn't pledge." The budget would have to
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be balanced because only money sent to them could be allocated to the chosen
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programs. Any short falls in the income for any particular program would simply
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mean a downsizing of that program.
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Send in your comments about how you would change the government to make it
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better or your views of how government will have to change to address the issues of
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the future. Just put "Political Futures" in the subject line of your message and
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Trevor will forward it on to me. See you next month!
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__________
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Have you noticed...?
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[We have selected some journal articles for those of you interested in
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interpretations of quantum theory. --TA]
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-----Foundations of physics-----
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JAN 01 1995 v 25 n 1
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Eberhard, Philippe H.; Rosselet, Philippe. "Bell's Theorem Based on a Generalized
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EPR Criterion of Reality." p. 91
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Redhead, Michael. "More Ado about Nothing." p. 123
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Paty, Michel. "The Nature of Einstein's Objections to the Copenhagen Interpretation
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of Quantum Mechanics." p. 183
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MAR 01 1995 v 25 n 3
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Chiatti, Leonardo. "Path Integral and Transactional Interpretation." p. 481
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APR 01 1995 v 25 n 4
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Omnes, Roland. "A New Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics and its
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Consequences." p. 605
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-----Physical Review Letters-----
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APR 03 1995 v 74 n 14
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Popescu, Sandu. "Bell's Inequalities and Density Matrices: Revealing "Hidden"
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Nonlocality." p. 2619
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APR 24 1995 v 74 n 17
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Hall, Michael J. W. "Information Exclusion Principle for Complementary
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Observables." p. 3307
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-----Physics Letters A-----
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APR 10 1995 v 200 n 1
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Santos, E. "Constraints for the violation of the Bell inequality in Einstein-Podolsky-
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Rosen-Bohm experiments." p. 1
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APR 24 1995 v 200 n 3 / 4
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Khrennikov, A. "p-adic probability interpretation of Bell's inequality" p. 219
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__________
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NEXT ISSUE: The Future of Television
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NWR Information
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Subscriptions to NWR are free via e-mail. Send a note to SubNWR@AOL.COM
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requesting to be put on the mailing list. Also current and back issues of NWR are
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available via FTP at FTP.ETEXT.ORG in the directory
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/pub/Zines/NewWorldReader. NWR can be read on the World Wide Web at
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http://goodrich.phys.lsu.edu/nwr/nwr_index.html.
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Contributions should be sent electronically to NEWORLDR@AOL.COM. Essays and
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Scientific Currents should be 1000 words or less; book and journal reviews and
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letters 500. Short stories up to 5000 words in length will be considered.
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Donavan Hall, Publisher
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Danford Hall, Senior Editor
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Trevor Austin, Editor
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Jack Lang, Managing Editor
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Adam Fisher, Religion Editor
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Ed Blakely, Politics Editor
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David Branson, Copy Editor
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Red Drake, Subscription Coordinator
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Denise Hall, Editorial Assistant
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copyright, 1995 FMI Publishing |