This is a response to Robert Dean's response to me...
He suggests that caravans made a better model for star trading then water
shipping. He mentioned that sea shipping was quite a bit cheaper then
caravans, especially in bulk. I agree with him mostly, but I am wondering why
expensive cargos were shipping in caravans then ships? Why wasn't all shipping
(where possible) done by sea; was there any advantages to shipping by caravans.
Was it substantially quicker, so that expensive cargos could have a quick
turnaround?
Will space trading have a similiar dichotomy? I can see that in a system
economy, bulk cargos may be shipped on long minimum energy orbits in unmanned
freighters taking years to reach their destination at certain TL. More
important cargos will be sent on faster conventional ships. Is a similiar
scenario possible with interstellar trade? Will this happen regardless of TL?
Rob mentions that population is a big factor in self sufficiency. I agree that
the important factor is the size of the economy involved, and population is
probably a good measure of this. I touched on this in mentioning the amount
that a system was developed mattered.
The population will determine how high a TL a planet can support, and the
amount of trade per population can determine how much TL can be imported. Can
we put this in the rules? This way we can describe how well equiped a high
tech, but only just planted colony is; and where the native TL meets the
imported TL on what economic level.
I in general agree that a planet ecology can't literally be summed up in one
word. non-industrial planets will still export *some* things that only are
made there (for whatever reasons). An Argicultural world, I would imagine
could exist only if there is an special argicrop (ie spice) which is only
grown there. (or else the planet has for some reason decided to stay at a low
TL world where the majority economics is providing for their own *basic* needs
such as food) The same thing for 'mining' worlds, etc. Bulk products will be
shipped only if there is something special about the product.
In shipping between planets/systems of different TL, think about shipping
between the US and SA or AF. There is *very* little technology in some parts
of AF and SA. This would be even worse in space trade because I don't think
we'd have the massive trading of stuff *to* the US that we have now: bannannas,
coffee, oil, etc.
Let's see... you say that Narsil a 10 billion pop world (or am I off a place?)
had 300 100Kton battleships, etc? this sounds *very* high to me. We have,
what, 5 billion on earth here, and we have a couple of orbiters. granted the
difference in TL is substantial, and I may be off a digit of pop, but I still
think it's high for a planet, even for an entire developed system. and these
are just militery ships.
I can't imagine how this is economically possible. what do you suppose is the
maximum population of an earth-like planet, anyway? surely it goes up with TL.
You can synthesize food, and recycle metals. How long before you have to
recycle water and air in the same fashion, and the planet becomes a large space
ship??? (wow, what a concept!)
I have a hard time relating to such megatonnage shipping between the stars as a
matter of course. I more likely expect that the average 5 billion pop planet
is likely to have 1000 1000 ton ships... maybe a good guideline would be ship
tons equal to the pop for military & commercial ships owned & operated there?
With a variance from nothing to double for some planets?
I remember thinking that there was a lot of usefull economc stuff in TCS, but I
don't remember how realistic it was.
Jim Baranski
Norwich CT