Prîvtîzñ ɖ mūn me sǎnd lîc a crezi îdīa bt ɖ scî’z no limit fr aṿris
(Transcription of an article published in the Guardian on 17 February 2022)
A fri-marcit ʈnctanc sz it’s tîm t start selñ of ‘plots v mūnland’ – w nīd t act nǎ bfr ɖ plunḍrñ starts
Arwā Mādawi, Ʈrzde 17 Febrri 2022
Evr hŕd v ɖ oṿvy ifct? It wz cônd bî a spesraitr cōld Franc Ẃît t dscrîb hǎ lcñ dǎn at ǎr litl blu planit fṛm abv cn criet a śift in hǎ astṛnōts ʈnc abt Rʈ: ol v a sudn y riylîz hǎ frajîl ɖ Rʈ z n hǎ importnt it z ɖt w ol wrc tgɖr t pṛtct it. “Lcñ at ɖ Rʈ fṛm afar y riylîz it z tù smōl fr conflict n jst big inuf fr cooṗreśn,” ɖ astṛnōt Yuri Gagarin sd.
Alas, it lcs lîc w nīdd t rples ɖ oṿvy ifct wɖ ɖ aṿris ifct, bcz attydz twdz spes sīm t hv śiftd. Rɖr ɖn mcñ ppl imajin a betr wrld, modn spes xpḷreśn sīmz t b ol abt muni, muni, muni. Īlon Musc’s SpesX hz bn wrcñ wɖ a Cnedịn start-up on planz t lōnć saṭlîts wɖ bilbōrdz on ɖm intu spes so ɖt ádvrts cn lît p ɖ nîtscî. No dǎt sm v ɖoz ádz wl b fr spesturizm: on Wnzde Vrjin G’lactic opnd ticitseilz t ɖ public fr ɖ frst tîm. N bî ɖ “public” I mīn ɖ smōl slivr v ɖ public ɖt cn aford $450,000 fr a jôrîd 300,000 fīt abv Rʈ.
Ɖ riyl muni, v cors, z nt in inṭġlactic bilbōrdz or śort spestrips: it’s in plunḍrñ spes fr rzorsz. Apaṛntli, ɖ rês t prîṿtîz ɖ mūn z on. V cors, mni ppl hu r stari-îd abt spesmînñ wd bōlc at ɖ îdīa ɖt ɖ’r suḟrñ fṛm ɖ aṿris ifct: ɖ’d argy ɖt it’s ol fr ɖ gd v mancînd. Tec, fr xampl, ɖ fwd-ʈncñ foc at ɖ Adm Smiʈ Insttyt (ASI), an influenśl ʈnctanc ɖt ćampịnz fri marcits. T aćiv pīs n pṛspeṛti on Rʈ, w nīd t sel of pìsz v spes, “wɖ a ptiklr foc̣s on plots v mūnland”, ɖ ASI rīsntli dclerd in a pepr.
Ẃt’s ɖ lojic bhnd ɖs? Wel, ɖe recn ɖt, az loñ az y’r nt tù boɖrd bî ɖ fact ɖt globl iniqoḷti cntribyts t ɖ deʈ v wn prsn evri for secndz, p’ Oxfam, untramld capiṭlizm hz dn ɖ wrld a lot v gd. “Proṗtirîts ple a ci rǒl in būstñ livñstanddz, iṇveśn n hymn digṇti hir on Rʈ,” Dańl Prayr, hed v rsrć at ɖ Adm Smiʈ Insttyt, sz. “Ɖ sem wd b tru f w aplaid ɖs lojic t spes, ẃć preznts a ynīc oṗtyṇti t start afreś ẃn dzînñ ifctiv rūlz v ǒnrśp.”
Ɖs ASI rport, tîtld Spes Invedrz: Proṗtirîts on ɖ Mūn, me sīm a litl ǎt ɖr bt it z vri on-brand fr ɖ YC-best ʈnctanc. “W pṛpoz ʈñz ẃć ppl rgard az biyñ on ɖ éj v lūṇsi,” its prezidnt, Dr Madsn Piri wns bostd. “Ɖ nxt ʈñ y nǒ, ɖ’r on ɖ éj v poḷsi.” Ɖt’s nt hîpŕḅle: ɖ ʈnctanc hlpt pṛpel a renj v prîvtîześn eḟts in ɖ YC jrñ ɖ 80z n 90z. Aḷn Rusbrijr, ɖ Gardịn’z formr editr, hz dscrîbd ɖ insttyt az “a bodi ẃć hz bilt p a starṭlñ tracrecord fr flotñ îdīaz ẃć end p on ɖ statyt bcs”. In śort: d’nt dsmis ɖs pepr az ɖ ramḅlñz v a bunć v spes cdéts.
Ɖt sd, d’nt xpct a McDoṇld’z on ɖ mūn iminntli. Ɖr r a fy obsṭclz ɖt stand in ɖ we v ɖ ASI’z fanṭsiz v intrepid capiṭlists plunḍrñ ɖ cozmos. Ćīf amñ ɖz z ɖ 1967 Ǎtr-Spes Trīti, ẃć z ɖ fǎndeśn fr inṭnaśnl speslw. Ɖ trīti istabliśz ɖt spes b’loñz t evrwn n no neśn hz ɖ rît t apropriet a s’lesćl bodi.
Ɖ Ǎtr-Spes Trīti wz drwn p in ɖ rli dez v spes xpḷreśn. It wz īzi fr wrldlīdrz t b mgnaniṃs abt nt muṇtîzñ spes bac ɖen bcz ɖ îdīa wz stl larjli ʈịreticl. Nǎ ɖt mînñ ɖ mūn z bcmñ mor v a practicl posbiḷti, hvr, ɖ trīti z swiftli fōlñ ǎt v fevr n ɖr hv bn a siriz v atmts t unḍmain it. In 2015, fr xampl, ɖ YS Congres n Prezidnt Barac Obama pást lejsleśn gvñ Americn cumṗniz ɖ rît t ǒn n sel enʈñ ɖe obten fṛm spes. Ɖ YS argyd ɖt ɖs wz’nt a contṛvnśn undr ɖ Ǎtr-Spes Trīti (ẃć z nt ptiklrli dīteld) bcz ɖr z no clem v sovṛnti involvd.
Doṇld Trump advanst ɖ cmrṣ́lîześn v spes frɖr jrñ hiz tîm in ofis. In 2020 h sînd an xektiv ordr incuṛjñ ɖ cmrśl dveḷpmnt v spes. “Ǎtr spes z a līġli n fizicli ynīc dmen v hymn activti, n ɖ Ynîtd Stets dz nt vy it az a globl comnz,” ɖ xektiv ordr stetd.
Ɖ stedi cmrṣ́lîześn v spes hz nt pást ɖ ASI bî. “Wɖ mor cuntriz n cumṗniz cmpitñ in ɖ spesrês ɖn evr bfr it’s vîtl fr s t muv past ɖ ǎtdetd ʈncñ v ɖ 1960z n tacl ɖ qsćn v xtṛṭrestrịl proṗtirîts snr rɖr ɖn lêtr,’’ ɖ ʈnctanc’s rport sz.
Ɖe r abṣlutli rît abt ɖt: ɖ Ǎtr-Spes Trīti z ǎtdetd n z olrdi biyñ ignord. W despṛtli nīd t istabliś a fremwrc rgardñ proṗtirîts bfr biłnerz, prîṿt corṗreśnz n slf-inṭrested wrldlīdrz start ōx̣́nñ of ɖ yṇvrs. Az ɖ ǎtrejd onlîn riax́n t ɖ ASI’z rport demnstrets, nt evrwn z sold on ɖ îdīa ɖt gvñ corṗreśnz fri rein t mîn ɖ mūn z gwñ t mc ɖ wrld a betr ples. It’s olrdi wel istabliśt ɖt tricl-dǎn īc̣nomics dz’nt wrc. D ɖe riyli xpct s t b’liv ɖt wlʈ z gwñ t tricl ol ɖ we dǎn fṛm spes?
