Re: RE: starship-design: Numbers needed for Colonization (was Antiproton-Cataly

[Kelly St <KellySt@aol.com>]

==>
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>> Population Growth:
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>> As someone pointed out, most industialized countries have
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>> trouble keeping
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>> their population CONSTANT, never mind increasing it... Personally I'd
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>> think that the Knowledge of how having lots of kids is a
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>> NECCESITY for the
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>> colony will help somewhat. This is still one of the BIGGEST problems
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>> Though.
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>
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>In a frontier economy, even a technological one, children are wealth. A
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>family with more children can produce more, occupy more land, etc. This is a
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>somewhat naive and simplified view, the actuality is more complex, but like
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>the above argument, I think it will take care of itself. The biggest problem
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>may actually be providing sufficient infrastructure to support such
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>population growth.

Children were helpfull where you need a lot of unskilled labor.  Now a days
that isn't a factor.  Now kids are a financial liability until they get well
educated, at which point they move out and our no longer a factor for their
parents economics.  I.E. kids are a expensive hobby.


>Lee


Kelly