Like energy (working really hard to make solar and wind and so on more efficient) and then shit like gold (maybe mining uninhabited space rocks) and white truffles (IDK something or other, science)
You’d have better luck mining discarded piles of cellphones for gold than sending mining equipment and personnel into space tbh
we just finished this discourse comrade
I mean yeah but when we’ve gotten through all that and people still want earrings, also I was thinking ideally unmanned (or only people who want to go dig up shit in space… I feel like I know a few people who would be intensely up for that)
honestly if we are considering the kind of resource use to go mine gold in space for earrings im gonna be like ‘communism was a mistake’ no kidding
I mean only if we have them to spare, also to, you know, go explore space
I mean there’s an element of – why would these rare metals have such importance for a socialist society to make accouterments and what not? i can’t imagine that possibly being the case. like sorry all but there won’t be an endless supply of real diamond jewelry because the labour intensity of getting it vs. it’s actual worth for a communist society would be totally not worth it
Cause they’re shiny and don’t corrode/are inert so you don’t risk allergic reactions and you can get them wet without worrying so if you don’t like taking off your rings to wash your hands they’re kinda nice. As to diamonds, I mean we’ve figured out how to turn regular carbon into diamonds relatively easily, it’s just that the process is patented (which are actually quite plentiful naturally anyway, they’re only scarce cause De Beers hoardes them and also loves treating its workers like shit, they’re actually only a semi-precious stone). One reasons diamonds (like artificially created moissanite which is also relatively easily created, the process is just also patented) is a nice material for rings and other items is their hardness, they aren’t worn down by wear as badly as softer gemstones. Diamonds are also useful for a number of industrial applications due to their hardness, thermal conductivity, and ability to refract light.
Gold is also extremely useful in electronic components and like it’s useful for making components going into space (among other things).
Like all I’m saying is if we’ve got everybody fed, clothed, medically cared for, entertained, nice dinette setted, housed and happy, why not go to space to get shiny stuff? Like if we’ve taken care of all the basics and a whole lot more, and there are people who like an adventure, who’s it hurting?
If it can be done without expanding the socially necessary labour time then yeah I see little harm
I figured it would be something for the kind of person who like wants to trek over the antarctic would do for the thrill of it. I thought part of the point of communism is that we’ve got the basics covered and aren’t wasting time on shit like busy work useless customer service jobs, and so beyond reducing human misery, people will have a lot more time to do exciting shit like embroidery or digging for shiny stuff in space
Also like materials considered luxurious under capitalism usually aren’t just some random rare shit, they’re stuff that is rare but also often does legitimately have some cool and unique properties. Like silk is light but profoundly insulating, surprisingly sturdy and again hypoallergenic, if we could find a way to create it artificially in the lab and produce it en masse in a less labor intensive way, that’d be awesome. it’s a great material
Thoughts From The Peacock Angel 