Should we sell our struggling postal system to private investors? Should we convert our interstate highway system into tollways, leased or owned by private interests? What about “contracting out” our prison systems, schools, libraries, and parking lots? Should we turn more of the Afghanistan War over to private military contractors who would replace U.S. troops? Should we replace public libraries with Amazon? In general, should we shrink our governments and privatize as much as possible in order to increase efficiency, save money, and diminish the role of government in our lives? Most commonly, privatization follows two patterns: 

(1) Contracting out, where government, in effect, turns over a portion of its duties, such as garbage collection, to a private firm.

(2) The sale or lease of public assets, such as an airport, to a private party. Privately operated prisons, now rather common across America, are a primary example of the privatization movement. Of course, privatization also brings worries about job losses, reduced services, reduced responsiveness to consumers, corruption, and so on. 

Do you think privatizing and commercializing space is the best approach for the good of the world?