What made you think the author was suggesting space should be exploited without use of tools like ownership and investment?
In fact, he even says about space: "We need to take it". If that doesn't imply intended ownership I don't what does. He even goes on to say: "It will belong to humans. To people." So why on Earth are you calling him futile and foolish for eschewing notions of ownership? I'm beginning to think you only read the article title.
Quite obviously the main thrust of the article is a call to arms to forgo petty nationalistic concerns, and to embrace the space project as a rational undivided planetary population. His excitement was infectious, and the idea a worthy one, but I don't think there's much more to read in to it.
(I did read the whole article from top to bottom.)
When space exploration and colonization of planets and moons will costs trillions of dollars over decades (the international space station alone costs $150 billion, costs $650 million every shuttle launch) how can a country invest so much into something that will be fruitless for the nation?
Now I'm with him in terms of desire. I don't "like" any ONE country to own mars or the moon in the same I way a lot of early Americans, African Nations, Indians, etc... didn't "like" being owned by the British Empire. But we have to be realistic, when the people of a colony (on the moon or mars) use taxpayer funded space ships, equipment, support, fuel to reach and colonize that planet or moon and depend on their home country for constant sustenance. Claiming independence is ridiculous and just not going to happen. I wouldn't blame them for desiring independence, but that's just not possible given the expensive nature of interplanetary exploration. The only way to have an independent Mars is to hope for privatized space exploration. Not like NASA + SpaceX but a completely private space program. From funding to execution, from creation to exploration to maintenance.
I'm sure the early explorers' bankrollers and later colonizing powers thought along similar lines. And yet the Americas are neither French nor English or Spanish nor Portuguese properties.
The America's didn't require water and food to be constantly shipped from France, England, or Spain on government funds. This isn't another continent, this is another planet. The rules are different.
In fact, he even says about space: "We need to take it". If that doesn't imply intended ownership I don't what does. He even goes on to say: "It will belong to humans. To people." So why on Earth are you calling him futile and foolish for eschewing notions of ownership? I'm beginning to think you only read the article title.
Quite obviously the main thrust of the article is a call to arms to forgo petty nationalistic concerns, and to embrace the space project as a rational undivided planetary population. His excitement was infectious, and the idea a worthy one, but I don't think there's much more to read in to it.