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Space Debris, Governance, and the Economics of Space with Alex Salter

earth-moon_system_as_seen_from_saturn_pia17171

What follows is an edited transcript of my interview with Alex Salter about the economics of space. The first half deals primarily with the issue of space debris, while the second half deals with the possibility of private governance in space. There’s something in this episode for everyone to enjoy, so I hope you’ll listen, read, and share it with your friends.

Petersen: My guest today is Alex Salter of Texas Tech University. Alex, welcome to Economics Detective Radio.

Salter: Thanks very much for having me.

Petersen: Our topic today is the economics of space. Alex has written two papers on the subject. The first is entitled, “Space Debris: A Law and Economics Analysis of the Orbital Commons.” The second is, “Ordering the Cosmos: Private Law and Celestial Property Rights.”

So Alex, let’s start by talking about space debris. What is it and why does it matter?

Salter: So space debris is basically junk in space that no longer serves any useful purpose. So as you can imagine, since the first piece of space debris launched up in 1957—which was the rocket body from Sputnik I—a lot of orbits around the Earth, especially low Earth orbit, have become kind of cluttered with space junk. And the reason it gets cluttered is because no one has an incentive to clean it up. (more…)

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The post Space Debris, Governance, and the Economics of Space with Alex Salter appeared first on The Economics Detective.

Space Debris, Governance, and the Economics of Space with Alex Salter

earth-moon_system_as_seen_from_saturn_pia17171

What follows is an edited transcript of my interview with Alex Salter about the economics of space. The first half deals primarily with the issue of space debris, while the second half deals with the possibility of private governance in space. There’s something in this episode for everyone to enjoy, so I hope you’ll listen, read, and share it with your friends.

Petersen: My guest today is Alex Salter of Texas Tech University. Alex, welcome to Economics Detective Radio.

Salter: Thanks very much for having me.

Petersen: Our topic today is the economics of space. Alex has written two papers on the subject. The first is entitled, “Space Debris: A Law and Economics Analysis of the Orbital Commons.” The second is, “Ordering the Cosmos: Private Law and Celestial Property Rights.”

So Alex, let’s start by talking about space debris. What is it and why does it matter?

Salter: So space debris is basically junk in space that no longer serves any useful purpose. So as you can imagine, since the first piece of space debris launched up in 1957—which was the rocket body from Sputnik I—a lot of orbits around the Earth, especially low Earth orbit, have become kind of cluttered with space junk. And the reason it gets cluttered is because no one has an incentive to clean it up. (more…)

Subscribe to Economics Detective Radio on iTunes, Android, or Stitcher.

The post Space Debris, Governance, and the Economics of Space with Alex Salter appeared first on The Economics Detective.

Identity is the Mind-Killer

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There’s a joke among anarchists: “What’s the difference between a minarchist and an anarchist? Six months!”

For context, a minarchist is someone who believes in a minimal state. The joke is commenting on the large number of people who discover libertarian philosophy and end up gradually becoming more extreme in their views until they conclude that the state should not exist.

This is part if a broader pattern that affects other ideologies as well. Have you noticed that self-professed socialists tend to be left-wing activists? And that left-wing activists are much more likely to identify as socialists than, say, politically inactive non-voters?

In fact, the connection between extreme views and political engagement is so strong, we often don’t bother to distinguish between the two. The word “extremist” is used interchangeably to describe people with extreme viewpoints and people who take extreme action for their views. But there’s no reason why someone with moderate political views can’t be marching in the streets, circulating petitions, joining activist circles, burning down buildings, and the like, all in the name of moderation. There’s also no reason someone can’t have extreme views while not engaging much with political or social activism. And yet, extreme views tend to go hand in hand with activism. To borrow Jason Brennan’s terms, you have the Hobbits, who have low political engagement and moderate views, and the Hooligans, who have high political engagement and relatively extreme views.

Why is this so? And how come the difference between a minarchist and an anarchist is six months? (more…)

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