Moon mining, the meaning of “value” and the collective good

Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. Signed Order to Mine on the Moon

On the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first journey into space, the US Executive Order, stipulating that Americans should have the right to use the resources of space, was received as outrageous. The order encourages US companies to mine the Moon and other celestial bodies for resources and the US has had a longstanding interest in mining resources in outer space. According to different media, the US will oppose any international effort to bar it from removing chunks of moon, Mars or elsewhere in space. The US-sponsored international Artemis Accords has not been shared, but proposes ‘safety zones’ around future moon bases.

The order to mine the Moon shows how prevailing neoliberal ideas about ‘value’ impose themselves over the collective good.