Capital and the cosmos : war, society and the quest for profit / Peter Dickens.

Author
Dickens, Peter, 1940- [Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/​Created
Cham, Switzerland : Palgrave Macmillan, [2022]
Description
xi, 158 pages : illustrations (black and white) ; 21 cm

Availability

Copies in the Library

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Engineering Library - Stacks HD9711.75.A2 D53 2022 Browse related items Request

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    Subject(s)
    Summary note
    This book offers a new understanding of societys relations with the cosmos. Entrepreneurs such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk receive a great deal of publicity, but offer unlikely and implausible visions of space tourism for the general public. Meanwhile, asteroids are seen as rare materials which will be extracted and used to produce untold riches for earthbound citizens. The reality is rather different. First, there is no evidence that owners of capital are attempting to extract rare materials in the cosmos. The costs would be out of this world. But capital, not governments, is determining how outer space should be used. Capitals investments in aerospace companies are actively determining forms of military interventions and the equipment used. And satellite television pumps out forms of culture aimed at a global audience. But these are being ignored and subverted by, for example, indigenous peoples. In short, this book sets out a new understanding of our relations with the cosmos. The forces of capital are certainly powerful but at the same time they are being challenged, subverted and even overturned.
    Bibliographic references
    Includes bibliographical references and index.
    ISBN
    • 9783031185007 ((pbk.))
    • 3031185005
    OCLC
    1348390440
    Statement on language in description
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