A C Grayling

One of the UK’s best known philosophers Professor A C Grayling looks to the moon and other celestial bodies and asks what rights of ownership we have as the superpowers and big corporations begin to consider the wealth of natural resources they contain and how do we avoid competition in space becoming conflict on Earth.

Does history give us confidence that humankind’s rapidly approaching commercial exploitation and perhaps colonisation of the moon and Mars will be peaceful and constructive, instead of a further reason for conflict, trouble and wars? If we look at the precedents, at humanity’s ‘common inheritance’ of such places as the Antarctic and the world’s oceans, Grayling asks: How well have we succeeded in avoiding international competition and conflicts over them? In general, how well do international agreements work? He says the history of ‘gold rushes’ and the infamous ‘Scramble for Africa’ in the 19th century are troubling examples of what could go wrong in space. How shall we avoid that happening? Grayling looks at the precedents set by recent history and asks: What should be done to avoid competition in space becoming conflict on earth?

Grayling is professor of philosophy and founder and principal of the New College of the Humanities. He is a regular commentator on television and radio and author of many books including The God Argument, Democracy and Its Crisis, The History of Philosophy, The Good State and Philosophy and Life.