Too Little, Too Late

A year ago, this would've worried me.

However, Burt Rutan and Paul Allen have radically changed the playing field. Capitalism and market forces will prevail in space, just as they have on terra firma.

Don't get me wrong; China is a threat. While they are currently adopting the facade of capitalism for their own purposes, they remain a communist dictatorship. We may yet have to spill blood on their soil before the serpent is slain.

However, I have no doubt that the drive for discovery, the love of risk for its own sake, and the motive of private profit will eventually rule in space. From a purely practical perspective, it cannot be otherwise. While the ChiComs may wear the clothing of entrepreneurs, the underlying concepts are alien to them. Totalitarian communism has failed on Earth, and it will fail miserably in space.