As the nation's Artemis Program was coming a milestone moment, Ross Douthat, columnist for The New York Times, was telling us that "The Idealism Of The Space Program Isn't Enough." Click the link to read Douthat's argument. No paywall will prevent you - at least, that's what I am assured!
In short, Douthat is saying that "ambition suffices to get us to space, but self-interest is what will keep us going." That boldface emphasis has been added by me. That's the main message that Douthat is delivering in his column. It's great to demonstrate that America (or human beings) can "conquer space," with glory going to all involved, but the bottom line question will always be this: "What's in it for us?"
That question, "what's in it for us?" means "what's in it for us, in terms of money and wealth," and let's be clear that the "us" may not mean "everybody." Currently, as Douthat accurately notes, no justification has been advanced by anyone (including the fabulous Elon Musk) demonstrating that our exploration of space is "exactly close to generating cash flow." And that's the quest we're on, according to Douthat: "The 21st-century space race is less of a race toward physical destinations and more a quest for commercial discoveries."
Douthat's column, which appeared in the paper on Thursday, April 9th, made me think about a book I am currently reading. Maybe you've heard of it: Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, And The World. The book attracted me because, as the title makes clear, it's about my old home town. From First Grade through Stanford Law School, Palo Alto was my home. Malcolm Harris, the author of the book, grew up in Palo Alto, too, as I did, but he was born in Santa Cruz, which is where I have lived for the last fifty-five years (significantly longer than Harris has been alive, by the way).
At any rate, Harris' book makes a very good case that California, beginning with the Gold Rush, has been all about wealth, about "cash flow," about making money. The way he tells the story, Palo Alto and Leland Stanford were right at the heart of the money quest that has defined the state - and, actually, the nation, if not "the world," entire.
I'll probably write again about Palo Alto (the book) - but probably not until I am done with it (it's 712 pages long). Still, I can already recommend it. The quest for wealth has led to happiness for some, but has destroyed much that should have, it's clear, been valued far more than money. Current observations of what's happening in Santa Cruz (no book yet written about that) leads me to think that the observations of hometown boy Harris are particularly timely in the place I now call home.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/opinion/artemis-apollo-kennedy-musk.html
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