I think SpaceX’s regular non-Mars-colonization activities are in fact taken seriously by relevant governments, and the Mars colonization stuff seems like it probably won’t happen and also wouldn’t be that big a deal if it did (in terms of, like, national security; it would definitely affect who gets into the history books). So it doesn’t seem to me like governments are necessarily acting irrationally there.
Same with cryptocurrency; its implications for investor protection, tax evasion, capital controls evasion, and facilitating illicit transactions are indeed taken seriously, and while governments would obviously care quite a lot if it displaced fiat currency, I just don’t think there’s any way that’s happening. If it does, then this is probably because fiat currency itself somehow stopped working and something was needed to fill the void; if governments think this scenario is at all plausible, then presumably their attention would be on the first part where fiat currency fails, since that’s much more within their control and cryptocurrency isn’t really a relevant input.
The scientific and regulatory culture around fusion power seems to be shaped, as you suggest, by the long history of failures in that domain; judging by similar situations in other fields, I wouldn’t be surprised if no one wanted to admit to putting any credence in it, so that they wouldn’t look stupid in case it fails again.
The state of pandemic preparedness does indeed seem like just straight-up government incompetence.
I think SpaceX’s regular non-Mars-colonization activities are in fact taken seriously by relevant governments, and the Mars colonization stuff seems like it probably won’t happen and also wouldn’t be that big a deal if it did (in terms of, like, national security; it would definitely affect who gets into the history books). So it doesn’t seem to me like governments are necessarily acting irrationally there.
Same with cryptocurrency; its implications for investor protection, tax evasion, capital controls evasion, and facilitating illicit transactions are indeed taken seriously, and while governments would obviously care quite a lot if it displaced fiat currency, I just don’t think there’s any way that’s happening. If it does, then this is probably because fiat currency itself somehow stopped working and something was needed to fill the void; if governments think this scenario is at all plausible, then presumably their attention would be on the first part where fiat currency fails, since that’s much more within their control and cryptocurrency isn’t really a relevant input.
The scientific and regulatory culture around fusion power seems to be shaped, as you suggest, by the long history of failures in that domain; judging by similar situations in other fields, I wouldn’t be surprised if no one wanted to admit to putting any credence in it, so that they wouldn’t look stupid in case it fails again.
The state of pandemic preparedness does indeed seem like just straight-up government incompetence.