same but for either end
While working on what is basically just glorified fan fiction I thought about how true space exploration/colonization will likely not be possible without world socialism.
A Hypothetical Future, likely hundreds of years from now
Social Background
This is following collapse of the U.S., a large regional war, the rise of China as industrial and research superpower, various climate wars, mass migrations, and expansion of a new international socialism that will be unlike anything we could predict today (and might even upset some, it could borrow from a variety of normally oppositional sects). Whatever it is, the material conditions of that moment, as well as historical forces, will give birth to it. Likely a number of currents, some Marxist, some ad-hoc, will form a mutual project and later a Federation. A glorious tapestry of local flavors of worker dominated governments, from libertarian socialist/anarchist collectives to Marxist-Leninist state powerhouses, all united under a world forum government against the bourgeois and exploitation of old.
A short history over a century or so
As capitalist nation after nation falls to rule by the working class, more frantic efforts will be made by the bourgeois to both make Hail Mary colonies (planetary or orbital), set up basic industry to sustain them, and otherwise bootstrap. They will flee from one nation-state to the next, trying to outrun the inevitable and strip their new "homes" for resources for this endevour. Con-men and grifters, they will bring wealth to poor nations and whisper promises, but really they are just there to build a few more rockets and leave wreckage in their wake. Eventually they will start to run out of places to loot, and some of these nations might even force ably exile these former rulers to space (basically a "you ruined the planet, you like space so much, why don't you go there and never come back").
As the world socialist project works on a massive climate change mitigation project, this nascent space society of capitalists, libertarians, reactionaries, and their lackeys is allowed to do whatever it wants outside of Earth's orbit. Eventually the last of the supply launches cease, and it's do or die. Using their stolen wealth, they manage to just barely establish a stable space economy that goes from Earth's Lagrange points, to Mars, and even the asteroids. It relies primary on large orbital stations, spun up to 1G, that receive unlimited energy from the sun and materials and volatiles from asteroids and intercepted comets.
There is an implicit threat here at all times: Leave us alone and we won't direct an asteroid at Earth. Vulnerable and recovering, the socialist nations of Earth make no moves against these "Spacers" as long as they stay out of low Earth orbit. Secretly, China and Russia (or their successor states) place weapons platforms in orbit. A promise of mutually assured destruction. Nobody can hide in space.
Over time (let's say it's around 2200ish), the world socialist project becomes a truly unified Earth government, living conditions are massively improved, and the Earth has a global baby boom as people again have something to live for and a world to bring up a family in. Tentative diplomatic agreements are made with the Spacers to be granted sovereignty where they are established and even trade (such as Earth produced materials/supplies in exchange for zero gravity manufactured stuff). Capitalism after all can hyper accelerate development, and even in space it has done so. They are always kept on a leash by Earth, but there is a sort of arms race cold war that develops.
As the terrestrial work week shortens to 30, then 20, and even 15 hours (meanwhile Spacer workers work 60-70 hrs/week in appalling conditions), most of humanity takes time to build a vibrant cultural scene and large swaths of the population, with universal access to education, start forming research cadres and Earth's technological progress supercharges. Post-scarcity on Earth is a realistic horizon now, with both fusion and solar power becoming mature and widespread. Life extension using regenerative biomedical science means a healthy quality of life until 100 or more. Sexuality and families become flexible and post-capitalist outside of some local respected cultural and religious norms. Gender becomes post-gender, and some experimentation with further biological modification becomes common.
While most cultures maintain their integrity, there is a new "Terran" culture that begins to form that unites humankind as comrades and children of Earth. True AI is developed and put in service of humanity as a whole, allowing central planning and automation in service to the People and further accelerating cultural and scientific development.
The Industrial Fabricator, a fully automated factory capable of micron scale precision, combines with highly distributed networks of local fabs, artisans, and craftspeople to produce a new economy of true abundance (lol fuck off ezra).
All of this possible because the worst of the worst bled the planet dry, and were forced off while the bulk of humanity spent generations planting trees, pushing back deserts, evacuating and housing the vulnerable, and rebuilding the husks the capitalists left behind. Often they did not even see significant results in their lifetimes, but did this knowing it would help their children and their comrade's children.
Earth, united and healed, returns to the Heavens
Soon the Earth government starts sending significant state assets into space. Research cadres, now with the state capacity of 21st century major nations, begin a flury of space exploration. Imperatives to secure the "wild west" of the last capitalists begins to drive manned expeditions and outposts. A research cadre maybe builds a Skyhook, space elevator, or magnetic accelerator to basically help assert it's authority over the Spacers and sovereignty over the Earth-Luna system. After all, the counter-revolutionaries (if there are any among them) cannot be allowed the high ground and dominance of the Solar System.
Meanwhile, the Spacers (divided into state-like oligarchic Corporate Blocs) entice bored young people of the large baby boom generation to offworld "adventure". Even in a developed socialist society, there will always be some enamored with being competitive and a promise of becoming a "king or queen", as well as reactionaries looking to escape or cultural/religious supremacists that see building an Orbital colony a way to escape the "godless commies". Counter-revolutionaries fail again and again, offering nothing to a content and purposeful global population, but mercifully are often simply exiled to Spacer colonies instead of being executed or imprisoned.
"Keep your capitalism and feudalism off our planet, you can go join your fellows up there. We'll even give you a free ride."
So basically the world socialist state slowly exerts it's influence against increasingly technologically backward Spacers, pushing them further into the frontier of the Solar system. A worker's revolt (supported by Earth) on the Mars colony establishes the Earth-Mars Collective. And the Spacers are pushed into the Outer System.
Advanced propulsion and power technologies are stolen by spies and Spacer AI systems, allowing them to scrape by. They remain backwards compared to Earth-Mars, but occasionally make their own breakthroughs often by just developing a novel but dangerous new method of using Earth tech. And of course, the elite of the Spacers live like kings of old, in orbital palaces. The vast majority are indentured servants, permanently indebted and highly policed and surveilled. Many of the wayward youth, betrayed, start seeds for militant unions and worker revolts. After all, they are typically educated and have connections back home.
And the Spacers need them. They always need fresh meat for the grinder.
So yeah this is just some basic background. Originally this was a project to fill my own timeline for Warhammer 40k's Age of Terra and Age of Technology and it can still be used by I might split it off into my own Kim Stanley Robinsonish semi-hard sci fi space opera. Like Expanse but more communist. With capitalism still there to add a dynamic setting and conflict (it's just too damn peaceful on Earth! everyone just hangs out at the theater and parks and wants for nothing!)
