Imagine a society where the elite could travel via expensive, but commonly available portals. Transportation is now instant for those with money. How would this affect politics?
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
-
2$\begingroup$ Do you need portals at one end or both? And define "expensive". Is it \$100 per trip? \$1,000 a trip? How many people would be willing to pay \$5,000 per month (25 days, two-way) to live in Hawaii and commute to London in an eyeblink? $\endgroup$– o.m.Commented Feb 23, 2015 at 6:28
-
$\begingroup$ Your question is a little too open-ended to answer properly, but if you wrote a longer question, that may be more material for others to work on. Also, some questions, why is it so common yet so expensive? Is that due to the meddling of the politicians with super high taxes on teleportation? Is that the kind of politics you were thinking about? $\endgroup$– grimmsdottirCommented Feb 23, 2015 at 10:56
Add a comment
|
4 Answers
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
1
The question is very, very, open-ended. There's no implied limitations apart from cost.
I first thought about national politics, as this would be convenient for politicians, congressmen (and women), and lobbyists would use it to attend meetings without having to fly across country. It's a very nice time-saver. Business executives would use this too.
Then I went a step further, this could be very influential in the international arena. Since there's no limitations to this, you could coerce every foreign nation with 'portal-ing' in an invasion force. Wait, why bother with invading? People are made of atoms. Bombs are made of atoms too. The threat of being bombed anywhere, any time, with no way of defending is a scary things for a country to face.
-
$\begingroup$ As I understood from OP's question, you could only teleport to built portals. So ennemies won't build connected portals, it won't be a real "invasion" issue. $\endgroup$– Carlos2WCommented Apr 29, 2016 at 21:14
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
To take a more positive view on this -- I feel like this would contribute to a friendlier world, putting us closer as human beings. It would be like the internet, but without the anonymity. I believe that this would contribute towards the dream of a united Earth, where a world congress can be established far more easily.
Prices of materials will also drop, as they will be more easily accessible, which would lead to some interesting market shifts. I think that this would also contribute to the united Earth dream, as the rich will be able to expand their monopoly on a wider scale, big sharks will devour the smaller ones, thus expanding outwards. This will result in them pushing towards a union.
At first the shifts will be fast and unforgiving, favoring the swift and clever. After a while the dust would settle and what we would be left with, I imagine, will look like a borderless world, with a few exceptions. Each country will probably be able to keep its autonomy, to a degree. I imagine it would be something like the US, but on a global scale.
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
Depends dramatically on the restrictions on the technology.
Does there need to be a teleportation device at both ends, only one end, or neither. Implications for each of these three are massive (if its anything other than the former, the millitary, civil liberties and social implcations are huge)
Expensive to build a device, or expensive to operate it (or both). Expensive to build but cheap to run would make it sensible for bulk goods transportation, available to the masses but only from certain locations (like Airports). Expensive to operate but cheap to build would mean the rich and important would teleport betweeon home, work and other locations, but would be rare to use for others and only things that needed to be moved fast (medical gear? luxury goods to demanding people) would get moved.
How expensive? Luxury car expensive? Private yacht/jet expensive? Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier expensive? Put a man on the moon expensive? Are we looking at a situation where well off people (US/Europe upper middle class people) could have one? Where millionaires could? Where only big corporations with investment could manage it if they have a use for it? Where only governments running major programs could?
Are there range limitations? Size/mass limitations? Energy potential limitations (ie, can I teleport stuff up/down the gravity well of earth) What does the cost scale with? (Or is the cost per teleport so small it doesn't matter?)
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
I don't think there would be much difference.
Compare this to owning it's own personal jet. Normal person would have to wait for a flight, get prepared for the flight, then wait for plane to get full, then wait for takeoff. This also assumes you find direct flight to your destination, which is also a limitation.
But having your own personal jet removes all of those problems. You don't have to wait for right flight, you don't have to prepare yourself for flight, you are not waiting much for takeoff. There are many stories about rich people going across a globe on a whim just to enjoy some nice cup of coffee in their favorite café and return back right after they are done with it.
As for politics, this probably doesn't matter much. Most of the politics is spent actually having to talk and socialize with people. The travel time is used for other work or relaxation. So even if politicians could move instantly, they would still need some time for themselves. And instead of spending that time in jet, they would spend it in hotel.
