John Buell

Mars and Other Fantasies

Eighteenth century political philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau famously argued that one of the most severe pathologies of a sharply hierarchical society is that the rich have such ample resources as to be able to escape social problems and the poor so few they are unable to influence policy. Powerful is this insight is, I wonder if it isn’t in need of revision in a world of global capitalism. Perhaps one of the pathologies of contemporary US capitalism is to encourage and add to hubris among the very wealthy. Since they are able to escape most of the burdens and indignities of the workplace or the simple struggles of daily sustenance many can convince themselves of their own invulnerability. And part of this mindset is a naïve reverence for technology.

I sometimes wonder if it is simple stupidity or a colossal arrogance born of wealth and always being first to have the latest gadget that leads some to assume that if the planet becomes unlivable, just go to another planet. Mars is usually the choice location of this extraterrestrial getaway. In her blog Naked Capitalism, Yves Smith provides the summary dismissal this fantasy deserves: “I continue to be amazed at this discussion. Mars has among other things, different gravity, radiation ... light in a very different part of the spectrum due to atmospheric differences, and no greenery (greenery has been found to be important to mental health). People who live on Mars are likely not to live very long. Living in lead domes with pressurized air is probably as good as it gets.”

Of course some of the wealthy are convinced they need not move to Mars in order to enjoy then luxurious life to which they have become accustomed. If Mars is no longer your thing, perhaps the Kansas planes offer an enticing alternative. The Wichita Eagle reports that a private company is now building and successfully marketing luxury survival condos in the now abandoned hardened Cold War era missile silos. As one of the company’s promoters puts it: “If you’re designed to withstand a nuclear explosion, you already get a lot of the other threats you can keep out. You get protection from things like meteors, comets, tornadoes, hurricanes, solar flares, civil unrest, global climate change, earthquakes, tsunamis.”

But are these units as independent of the “outer” world as the purchasers assume? The wealthy may be able to escape climate change, but like the rest of us they depend on water and prescription drugs when they are ill. The luxury condos have a 75,000-gallon water supply with reverse osmosis filtration, but will this system avoid the risks of PFOA, the highly toxic component of Teflon and now in many of our water systems. And as these wealthy join in the attack on science itself in the interests of their deregulatory agenda, will these owners even learn of other as yet undiscovered threats?

And what of illness? The wealthy may now have access to the best quality care and not be subject to a range of occupational issues or proximity to superfund sites, but they still suffer from a variety of acute and chronic conditions. Many of these conditions are treatable, but will not be treated in a world reduced to luxury survival condos.

Mental health is another area of possible concerns. The condos’ “fake windows can stream live, high-definition camera feeds from the outdoors, showing the wind blowing on the Kansas plains. One resident had her window screens changed to live video of different seasons looking over Central Park in New York City,” To me this suggests a longing for public space that will not long be met by video feeds, which in any case depend on maintenance of a complex communication infrastructure.

One immediate concern is what happens in a complete economic and social breakdown that may include desperate bands attacking the condo. Part of the package deal includes guards. These are expected to go home to their own families, but the facility includes a “remote controlled sniper post” at the tope of the silo.

Of course neither the condo marketer nor apparently his new clients have asked just how loyal the guards will be, especially in a situation of complete breakdown. Perhaps owners should entertain the possibility that their own survival depends on more than concrete walls, however thick.

John Buell lives in Southwest Harbor, Maine, and writes regularly on labor and environmental issues. Email jbuell@acadia.net.

From The Progressive Populist, December 1, 2018

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