Way cool that Space Shuttle "Atlantis" is taking a Soviet crew to thier
Space Station "Mir." I really hope everything goes OK! This event alone, 
could overshadow the problems in bosnia, and get the UN and the World
looking in a much more unifying direction. I've also read in the local papers
here in Seattle that Boing and Lockheed are working on the "X-33" shuttle.
Which apparently will be a *commercial* service to the new international 
Space station that Boeing is working on. Right on Boeing! Let Airbus, have
some aircraft bussiness, keeps Europe economically stable, Lets be as smart
as we say we are, and start getting into space, and perhaps the ocean, Instead
of pandering to a bunch of undereducated, paranoid, "Voters" that want to keep
thier factory jobs. Hell, Let japan make all the cars, they're better at it!
Lets start moving into a more non-sociocentric society and lead the way, by
example! The US should be more into technical inovation, and if you want to
stay being an autoworker, then move to japan! You want to continue being a
factory worker, then move to where the factories are working! There's no reason
this can't be done. We're wasting time and resources if we're not going in
this direction!

5 responses total.

Er, what is a "non-sociocentric society"?  Isn't that an oxymoron?

I was not aware that emigration to Japan was a particularly easy thing to do,
nor that success for a foreigner was particularly likely there, but I don't
think that is really your point.

Well, I guess I'm looking forward to more open borders and less nationalism
so, yea, I guess you did get my point. and Yes presently it is an oxymoron!

Er, I don't see how I could want it to be otherwise.  It's no accident
that "society" and "sociocentric" share a common root, and I find it
hard to envision a society which is not structured around the needs of
people and the ways they interact.  The only such society I can think of
would be some sort of post-apocalyptical bad movie in which machines
rule the earth and humans service them, like the Borg or the Terminator
flicks.  I'll pass, thanks.

I think the idea that futuristic technologies like space exploration
could be economically self-supporting on any nontrivial scale in the
forseeable future is, er, a bit implausible.  We will still need
factory workers, and people working at Burger King, for some time yet.
Indeed, it's not hard to make a case that our society as it is is
over-educated and people end up wasting time, brains and talent
learning to do things but being bitter when they have to do something
else to pay the rent.

  Dunno exactly what's meant by "sociocentric," but I'd think a
severely class-separated society, with a small aristocratic class
and large poverty-stricken class could be viewed as non-sociocentric,
in that the culture is not focused on the needs of society in general,
but just on the needs of the aristocrats.

Well, sociocentric is akin to egocentric and thus is usted to state
"nationalism" in a different way. All semantic dissections aside, the US isn't
exactly setting a good example to the developing countries on this subject. We
should be aon the verge of Post-Industrialization and setting a good example
for developing industrialized countries, i.e. advancing instead of trying to
protect what we have, simply to make ourselves feel better about things. "We"
are a planet now, and its time to start behaving like one, with limited
resources, Machines are tools, not controllers.
 
Technology isn't something to be afraid of, its something to more efficiantly
organize our time, and thus our deeds. There is sort of a promethian thing
about it. Like Fire, it can be used for great good, or great evil, I believe
the next dark age may be the last, especially on this scale, and so we can't
let it happen. Humanity is always on trial, how are we going to tdo this time?

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