Future Global Risks, Space Settlement and Antinatalism. Will Future Space Exploration Exacerbate Social Exclusion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21494151 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Konrad Szocik (0000-0002-7262-3915, University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, corresponding author), Massimiliano Esposito (0000-0001-7880-3450, Università degli Studi di Enna Kore), Rakhat Abylkasymova (University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 239-256 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Futures (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0260-4027 • E-ISSN: 1556-1844 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02604027.2025.2586446 |
| OpenAlex | W4416127273 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 34 |
The concept of space settlement is often embraced for granted as the only ultimate way to save humanity in the face of future global cataclysm. This vision seems to overlook the difficulties associated with survival in space. In the paper, these difficulties and the resulting expected poor quality of life in a space base become the starting point for adopting a philosophy of antinatalism. If we expect the quality of life in space to be low, it may not be worth directing our technical development toward space settlement, but to look for alternative means of survival other than space settlement. Antinatalism is discussed as a counterintuitive but rational alternative to space settlement understood as the only means of saving humanity. The paper also discusses the racist and discriminatory consequences of the concept of space settlement which de facto could mean the survival of only the privileged, and exclude those already excluded now on Earth, for which antinatalism may be one alternative, however counterintuitive and difficult to accept. The paper suggests that if space settlement can only save a small group of the privileged, humanity should accept its extinction and not attempt to prolong the existence of the human species by settling a small number of unrepresentative humans in space
Human settlement · Space exploration · Space exploration and regulation · Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life · Spaceflight effects on biology
The Bioethics of Space Exploration
Better Never to Have Been
The Oxford Handbook of the Welfare State
Procreative Generosity
Imposing a Lifestyle
If You Must Give Them a Gift, Then Give Them the Gift of Nonexistence
Confessions of an Antinatalist Philosopher
Exit Duty Generator
Antinatalism—Solving everything everywhere all at once
The Toxification of Population Discourse. A Genealogical Study
Barbarian hordes
Biological and social challenges of human reproduction in a long-term Mars base
Covid-19 pandemic and future global catastrophic risks as a challenge for health-care ethics
The Dimming of Starlight
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |