{"product_id":"astrotopia-the-dangerous-religion-of-the-corporate-space-race-9780226821122","title":"Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race","description":"\u003cb\u003eA revealing look at the parallel mythologies behind the colonization of Earth and space--and a bold vision for a more equitable, responsible future both on and beyond our planet.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e As environmental, political, and public health crises multiply on Earth, we are also at the dawn of a new space race in which governments team up with celebrity billionaires to exploit the cosmos for human gain. The best-known of these pioneers are selling different visions of the future: while Elon Musk and SpaceX seek to establish a human presence on Mars, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin work toward moving millions of earthlings into rotating near-Earth habitats. Despite these distinctions, these two billionaires share a core utopian project: the salvation of humanity through the exploitation of space. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eAstrotopia\u003c\/i\u003e, philosopher of science and religion Mary-Jane Rubenstein pulls back the curtain on the not-so-new myths these space barons are peddling, like growth without limit, energy without guilt, and salvation in a brand-new world. As Rubenstein reveals, we have already seen the destructive effects of this frontier zealotry in the centuries-long history of European colonialism. Much like the imperial project on Earth, this renewed effort to conquer space is presented as a religious calling: in the face of a coming apocalypse, some very wealthy messiahs are offering an other-worldly escape to a chosen few. But Rubenstein does more than expose the values of capitalist technoscience as the product of bad mythologies. She offers a vision of exploring space without reproducing the atrocities of earthly colonialism, encouraging us to find and even make stories that put cosmic caretaking over profiteering.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMary-Jane Rubenstein\u003c\/b\u003e is dean of the social sciences and professor of religion and science in society at Wesleyan University. She is coauthor of \u003ci\u003eImage: Three Inquiries in Imagination and Technology\u003c\/i\u003e, also published by the University of Chicago Press, and the author of \u003ci\u003ePantheologies: Gods, Worlds, Monsters\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eWorlds Without End: The Many Lives of the Multiverse\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eStrange Wonder: The Closure of Metaphysics and the Opening of Awe\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Chicago Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50705889460498,"sku":"9780226821122","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_708e157b-edb3-40f2-a2ac-912d78afe236.jpg?v=1734488797","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/astrotopia-the-dangerous-religion-of-the-corporate-space-race-9780226821122","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}