Arthur Clarke said it first: if mankind is to survive, then fro all but a very brief part of our history the word "ship" will mean "space ship." We will spread through space. We will build a colony on the Moon: if we had a government of courage and imagination we would have that in time to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbu's voyages of discovery. As it is, it will take a bit longer; but we will go back to the Moon. We will settle other moons, and asteroids and the planets; and we will go to the stars. Where mankind goes, government goes. It is no idle thing, then, to think about what forms of government we will take to the stars. We in this enlightened age think we know; but do we? We are, after all, no smarter than our ancestors. We know more, but that's quite a different thing - and we have forgotten much that we had best relearn before we pay for what they knew and we don't.

Genre: Science Fiction