The technology we do have is very pathetic: Everything is created on Earth, and has to be put together as modules in space. In addition, it's insanely expensive, with no price drops in sight. Only governments can afford to put people in space, with private industry barely being able to reach low Earth orbit. I'll count myself lucky if we see another moon landing or trip to Mars in my lifetime.
. . . and if we have to deal with any environmental diasasters, that's probably gonna push going into space further away, as we will be focused on our own planet rather than researching space construction. Sure, knowing how to help us live may help us in one respect, but it is hardly the same as overcoming all of the challenges we'd face in constructing such a vessel.
Hmm, you are not implying only communist societies can come up with an efford such as this because capitalistic sociesties simply lack the potential to do so, are you? That is an interesting point.
After all much of our current space technology was developed during the cold war, with Russia having a head start.
The US only caught interest into a space programm after the Sputnik shock, desperately trying to prove they are indeed capable of the same. Furter it was to showcase missile range power because any power picking up a programm reaching the moon can surely build ICBMs.
"We are a superpower", very much like China is doing at the moment.
Interestingly the US won the race, proving very well capitalist societies CAN do it. The problem is the motivation. Its a shame decent process can only be seen during times of conflict.
Capitalist society thrives on efficency. You use resources to gain more resources and so on. Actually, its a pretty self-run system and decision making has slipped a bit from our grasp. If a situation arises where long therm damage will result with a big payoff, that situation WILL be exploited. If a big player decides against it he will put himself on a disadvantage, and the next will take up the opportunity. The system is seriously flawed in a way it puts a lot of power in the hands of people wich are the least to trust this decision making with. In fact much of our decision making process is computer run, analyzing opportunities and directing the course of action. Are humans in charge at all? Or is it some kind of mechanical process?
So the real issue is that most people simply do not take the efford seriously. They are absolutely capable of an efford but only use it for showcasing missile power or mass manipulation purposes - or a morale factor, if you prefer that expression. Something with short time revenues.
People in general seem not to be interested into the future. Thats odd. I personally do not belive a race that deprived of survival instinct has any chance of a continued existance.
Still as the catastropical evidences of their failiure is slowly piling up there is undeniably some learning effect going on. I wonder if people will one day make the leap of awareness to realize that the people they currently curse for being responsible for the desasters of our time had exactly the same attitude they feature currently, driving furter future generations into deeper problems. Relizing that there is really not difference between "them" and "us", and a change of attitude is neccesary.
We need quite a bit more idealistic values in our current society models. The sad fact is that we currently abandon them. Of course we pay in blood for it at some point.
Case in point "this is of no concern to us" is a critical faliure wich the evolutionary process is sorting out currently. Either we let it go or we will be sorted out. There is not only an evolution of body, also there is an evolution of the mind.
Will humanity be able to make the leap?