Everybody roll in the hay a Brobdingnagian space empire . A far - flung interplanetary culture combines the romance of geographic expedition with the superbia and cool - factor of construct something . But not every star - spanning regime is a viable proposition . Here are 10 star - empires from scientific discipline fable that make economical sense .
The independent problem with an interstellar ( or even interplanetary ) conglomerate is justifying the huge price of traveling from one world to another — there have to be good or services valuable enough to justify shuttle back and forth and maintaining mastery over multiple planets . This is especially the case if you rule outfaster - than - light travel , but it ’s conk out to be an government issue in either caseful .
https://gizmodo.com/can-galactic-empires-exist-without-faster-than-light-tr-1555347751
( Because theeconomics of interstellar tradeare in reality quite ambitious . )
So here are some space empires from skill fable that actually have an economic principle :
In Bujold ’s creation , wormholes set aside quick travelling between star systems , and terraforming is comparatively unglamourous . And this comparatively easy theodolite , combine with fortune of commodity worth trading , make for a authorities with a self-coloured economic basis , the Barrayaran Empire . A tidy sum of satellite have unique good to trade — one planet produces “ butterbugs , ” which host a microbial suite that produces a non - perishable “ sodding food . ”
In the character of Trantor , the capital of Asimov ’s Galactic Empire , the main point of the economical arrangement seems to be obtain solid food . Trantor originate to the gunpoint where the entire planet ’s open is covered with city , with 40 billion people living there and administering the Empire . So food has to be imported from other planet , via one - person interstellar spaceships that prevail on nuclear vigor . This is n’t exactly an efficient system — you ’d imagine people on Trantor would get jolly tired of frosty pea , and Trantor ’s vulnerability to besieging is a major broker in its inevitable doom — but at least you could see why it works . As long as ravish food for thought is cheap than telepresence technology that would allow some of those 40 billion people to hold up nigher to farms , anyway .
plausibly no Holy Writ has spent as much time talk about the intricacies of interstellar barter and economics as this one . And the principal invention that makes this whole system potential , in the absence of magical FTL change of location , is “ slow money ” — as we put it inour review article , this is “ money whose very lack of liquidity shit it a unchanging investing tool for millennially long term projects . ” Which make it a unique fiscal instrument … and uniquely vulnerable to a special cozenage .
The opening move pages of this novel actually pass a lot of time discussing the economics of the Alliance - Union cosmos . The main scarce commodities are precious rare ore , which can only be mined outside the solar system , and “ biostuffs , ” which can only be bring about affordably on a few planets . At first , Earth is the source of all “ biostuffs , ” grant the Earth Company absolute control over the mineworker on the outer globe — until another planet that can produce “ biostuffs , ” Pell , is come upon . And the being of another world that can produce nutrient for human beings allows the outer station to become independent and produce their own quasi - imperium . Soon , other lyric with food informant are discovered , including Cyteen , Fargone , Paradise and Wyatt ’s . The canonic economic modeling , though , remain “ food for ore . ” ( A serious trade , credibly , than Asimov ’s “ food for bureaucracy . ” )
Yep , here ’s the only TV show on this list — because Joss Whedon ’s Firefly devotes quite a bit of sentence to the economics of the huge star system of rules where Mal Reynolds operates . The principal gadget that make the Alliance and the Outer Worlds economically plausible ? frail terraforming . We ’ve terraformed a ton of planets , but have n’t done all that neat a job of it , meaning that there ’s a constant want for good ( foodstuff and music ) on those outer humanity , which are by no means self - sufficient . Plenty of work for a guy like Mal Reynolds , in other words .
In Hamilton ’s trilogy , humanity is ruled by the Confederation , but is divided into two major factions , the Adamists and the Edenists . The Edenists mostly manipulate the saving , because they have a monopoly on harvesting He 3 from accelerator pedal giants — the fuel source which everybody practice to power their starships . The only other workable fuel source , antimatter , is illegal because it could be used as a weapon .
As with a lot of the object lesson on this leaning , the economics of Dune swear on scarcity — the planet Arrakis is the only generator of the Spice , which you might have heard “ must flow . ” Arrakis , meanwhile , is a desert hellhole where piddle is incredibly scarce . Spice is the magical item that makes interstellar travel potential , by facilitating the “ navigation spell . ”
This series is often compared to Firefly , in terms of its focus on people who are just getting by . We comply the crew of a cargo watercraft hauling ice around the asteroid belt ammunition — the smaller ships cart meth and other commodities , while large corporations deal in more high - profit item . afterward in the series , interstellar travel becomes potential , and a thousand worlds open up up .
Robinson ’s succeeding solar system is actually a plan thriftiness , which he’sdescribedas a “ funhouse mirror ” version of our system . The economical necessities are all ascertain by the Mondragon , a refinement that provides for everyone ’s needs — but there remains a capitalistic system that swop in sumptuousness , or “ above and beyonds . ” A liberal part of the viability of this system remain on the use of goods and services of asteroid , both for transport and as hokey biome , or “ terrariums . ”
This is a mostly corporate - controlled Earth , which is in the cognitive operation of colonise Venus and other planet — and the big contrivance that make the thriftiness viable is the fact that most products sell by the potbelly have habit-forming substances in them , from candy to fag . Also , food and fuel are very scarce , and scarcity always reach for honest political economy . This satiric dystopia , co - written by a former ad man , isone of the acute novels about economic science you ’ll ever read .
Sources : Rocketpunk Manifesto , Project Rho , SF Signal . extra reporting by Abhimanyu Das . Thanks to Annalee and Danny for the input !
FireflyJames s.a . corey
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