Welcome to the Space Policy Edition of Planetary Radio.

I'm Casey Dreyer, the Chief of Space Policy here at the Planetary Society.

Dr. Rebecca Lowe first caught my attention when I came across her paper called The Value of Space

Activity.

And this paper is interesting.

It explores the concept of value through the lens of classical liberalism,

the philosophical tradition that prioritizes individual freedom and flourishing with a limited but effective state.

I was particularly struck by her, I believe, unique application of theories from John Locke

and Henry George, concept of land value taxation, to pressing question of lunar property rights

and making a broader argument for why we, humanity, needs to be considering the concept

of property rights beyond Earth, particularly at the moon. Her proposal, I think, really

cleverly balances incentives for lunar development while ensuring opportunities for fair

access to resources. I had never seen anything quite like this before,

and such an explicit application of concepts of classical liberalism

seemed quite, I'd say, relevant at the moment

as we have a burgeoning, growing and more capable private space market

than at any point in human history.

She goes further in her writings that these types of philosophical perspectives apply not just to,

in a sense, the practical things, the instrumentally valuable concepts of economic activity

or private ownership, but to the concept of the individual

themselves, the idea of the experience of the individual through flourishing and freedom

and intellectual growth. In other words, the value of space activity is also value intrinsic to the concept of knowledge itself.

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