This is in response to Hawking’s fear. I am not a short term optimist. That the arc of humanity tends toward justice may prove true. The data support that assumption but that matters not one wit to the individual getting the short end of the stick today. That is the perspective of most of my writings so if what follows strikes you as inconsistent it is a long view position taken because space is really really big and it takes an assload of time to get anywhere.
Totalitarian states fail at collaborative creative endeavors. The resources that interstellar space travel would require for any species with similar technologies and life processes would not be likely without a cooperative based society so I don’t fear them. If their chemistry is radically different, perhaps they have a sulfide based metabolism if they just want shit then there are too many easier ways to get it. I am of course assuming that evolution works the same on all life. Outside of Homo sapiens battles for mates and territory rarely are fought to the death. Even among the genus Homo we are becoming less violent. That is the same for predatory behavior. The cheetah never goes all in against the gazelle, I should say rarely. My point being that coming here and taking our shit would be stupid when the same shit is available on say Pluto with no risk so the marauding bands are more likely to take the moon than the earth. Heinlein got to the trust nature of space travel in his “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”, When even the smallest screw up can kill everyone you learn to co-operate or they space you.
