One giant leap for capitalistkind
Private Enterprise in Outer Space
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5794635 |
|---|---|
| Authors | L Shammas (0000-0002-3087-8901, OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University, corresponding author), Tomas B Holen |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Publication date | 2019-01-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Palgrave Communications (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2055-1045 • E-ISSN: 2055-1045 |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1057/s41599-019-0218-9 |
| OpenAlex | W2914099332 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 29 |
Outer space is becoming a space for capitalism. We are entering a new era of the commercialization of space, geared towards generating profits from satellite launches, space tourism, asteroid mining, and related ventures. This era, driven by private corporations such as Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origins, has been labeled by industry insiders as 'NewSpace'-in contrast to 'Old Space', a Cold War-era mode of space relations when (allegedly) slow-moving, sluggish states dominated outer space. NewSpace marks the arrival of capitalism in space. While challenging the libertarian rhetoric of its proponents-space enterprises remain enmeshed in the state, relying on funding, physical infrastructure, technology transfers, regulatory frameworks, and symbolic support-NewSpace nevertheless heralds a novel form of human activity in space. Despite its humanistic, universalizing pretensions, however, NewSpace does not benefit humankind as such but rather a specific set of wealthy entrepreneurs, many of them originating in Silicon Valley, who strategically deploy humanist tropes to engender enthusiasm for their activities. We describe this complex as 'capitalistkind'. Moreover, the arrival of capitalism in space is fueled by the expansionary logic of capital accumulation. Outer space serves as a spatial fix, allowing capital to transcend its inherent terrestrial limitations. In this way, the ultimate spatial fix is perhaps (outer) space itself
Capital (architecture · Space exploration and regulation · Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
The changing shape of climate technofixes
Platform Visions and Invasions
On the problem of astronomy and popular prejudices
Anti‐ Astrotropik — Outer Space, Technology and Resistance in the Tropics
The terrestrial trap
Space Resources and the Politics of International Regime Formation
More-than-Human Space Diplomacy
Towards a critical space theory
Social work in space
Better Together? The Values, Obstacles, Opportunities, and Prospects for Collaborative Research in Environmental History
The evolving sociotechnical futures of outer space
Geek saviours to the rescue? Primitive accumulation, astropropriation, and exoimperialism in NewSpace entrepreneurship
Is there such a thing as a capitalist eschatology
Sustainability beyond Earth
Engineering Territory
Out of Place in Outer Space
Who Owns the Moon?
Cosmic Society
Spatial Fixes, Temporal Fixes and Spatio‐ Temporal Fixes
The Digital Spatial Fix
The Sources of Social Power
Karl Marx
Three steps to a historical anthropology of actually existing neoliberalism
Inglorious empire
The Californian ideology
The paradoxes of space tourism
The Spatial Fix – Hegel, Von Thunen, and Marx
Anti-Oedipus
The condition of postmodernity
A thousand plateaus
L'urbanisation du capital
Capitalists in Space
The right to the city
Exit Strategy
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life
Alien life matters
Outer Space and Internal Nature
| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2,67 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2026 (7) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 15 |