資本主義の行く末

English Version

　1. Market Economy and Capitalism

　In medieval Europe, pepper is said to have had the same value as gold. Though there might be some exaggeration, it is certain that pepper brought from India via the Islamic region was traded at hefty prices. Thus, European countries developed marine technology and searched for other trading routes. As a result, such historical feats as Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India and Columbus’s discovery of the New Continent were brought about, which proves how important pepper was in Europe. On the other hand, in Japan, pepper was not so valuable. There remains a commercial document that shows that pepper was traded at a low price in the Edo period. That’s because pepper was not so badly needed in Japan.

　Under the market principle, when demand goes up, prices increase and when supply goes up, prices decrease. If you move something from one place to another, some value might be added to its original value. The different values of pepper in the two cultural areas simply prove the relation between demand and supply. In the modern world, as well, the economy works under the same principle. Take chocolates; Cacaos, which are produced at low costs in the Middle and South America and in Africa, are transported to the rest of the world to be made into chocolates which were sold at certain prices. Here goes the market principle. Although chocolates are not priced so high as pepper in medieval Europe because of the intensive farming and the development of transportation which have made possible mass-production and mass-transportation, the chocolate market is based on the different prices of cacaos between the place of production and that of consumption.

　When we focus on the cost differences, we can see that there exists a kind of unfairness in the market economy. To carry something from one place to the other costs money, so the transporter cannot do business without taking some commission. It is quite natural there arise price differences between the place of production and the place of consumption. On the other hand, some producers of cacaos have never eaten chocolates which we eat without difficulty on a daily basis. This means that advanced countries exploit developing countries. The fact that pepper was traded at the same price as gold also reveals that the traders in-between made excessive profits though exploiters are on the opposite side in this case. Thus, the market principle consequently causes unfair exploitation. According to Adam Smith, an English economist, the invisible hand coordinates the balance between supply and demand, eventually determining proper prices. However, to balance supply and demand is one thing, and to guarantee the fairness of trade is another. Therefore, it causes misconception to say that the market economy is a perfectly fair economic system. Against the problem of exploitation of developing countries, some countermeasures must be taken. In fact, through fair trade and bank loans to individual entrepreneurs, advanced countries are trying to help people in developing countries financially get independent and nurture some kind of industry there.

　In spite of such unfairness, the market economy has been developing with the geographical frontier vanishing. While innovations create markets for new products, people in advanced countries are fed up with the extravagance brought by technology. Compared with advanced countries, developing countries are more promising markets. The reason why a market expands outwardly instead of circulating in itself is that the market economy has been connected with capitalism. A market arises where goods are traded, which means that the market economy exists throughout human history. In contrast, capitalism has rapidly developed since the Industrial Revolution. History shows that these two systems were related to each other, which causes markets to expand outwardly as capitals move to gain greater profits. Capitalism has such a nature as it drives the market to expand. Then, assuming that developing countries make dramatic progress and catch up with advanced countries, will a new economic system superior to capitalism emerge? An expected scenario is that the market economy, which has once taken in capitalism, will get rid of it and settle in the self-circulating system. Is it possible?

　1.1 The birth of the capitalism

　Human beings had been hunter-gatherers for almost all of their history since their appearance on earth. It was not until recently that agriculture started. For reference, the working hours of hunter-gatherers were four hours a day.

　About ten thousand years ago, at the end of the Ice Age, agriculture started, which brought humans stable access to food and accommodation leading them to settlement. The greatest benefit of settlement was for humans to secure an environment where they could bring up their children in safety. A human child takes some years to become able to go without their mother’s nursing hand. This, being the distinctive feature of the human species which separates them from other animals, was a burden in the hunting-gathering lifestyle. In hunter-gather lives, the infant mortality rate was high and it was not a rare case for them to lose their child at quite a young age. Agriculture enabled humans to settle in one place, which reduced the risk of child loss. After the appearance of agriculture, the population rapidly increased, allowing humans to dominate the earth. Without a doubt, it was agriculture that brought humans their prosperity, considering the population ten thousand years ago was only four million. However, in exchange for a stable lifestyle, humans had to spare much time for farming and livestock rearing.

　It should be noted that prosperity does not necessarily mean happiness. Livestock animals increased their number by being fed by humans, thereby, ensuring the continuation of their species. However, not being able to run freely in the field and fed to become humans’ food, they cannot be happy. Humans, on the other hand, heightened their survival rate thanks to the stable lifestyle brought by agriculture and stock farming, which deprived them of their freedom. In addition, agricultural development caused environmental destruction, which sometimes put an end to civilization. Compared with hunter-gatherers, who were on good terms with nature with four hours of working a day, were agricultural people happy?

　The settlement gave birth to nations with various civilizations burgeoning. At the same time, it is to blame for creating unfairness referred to as hierarchy. Considering that humans live on a group basis, it is no wonder that there arise status differences among them. A group needs a leader and, therefore, a group of a large scale must be organized for management. Then, there appear people who play a variety of roles dividing work into some parts. According to this theory, producers engaging in agriculture and fishery first appeared. Surplus products produced by them enabled people in other classes to engage in their own business. Some became craftsmen making furniture and gadgets which made their lives more comfortable and convenient. Others became merchants trading various goods. To facilitate trading, people coined the notion of money. In the course of time, currencies were issued under the name of the nation. Currencies made it possible to deposit money, which promoted lopsided possessions of wealth. However, never have producers, who play the most important role in human society, been dominant in the social hierarchy. It was always aristocrats or merchants who enjoyed prosperity dominating the society and monopolizing the wealth.

　The development of the market economy began with the appearance of currencies. In principle, currencies themselves are worthless. Even gold depends on its rarity to guarantee its worth. The application of gold is unfamiliar to the general public. Accordingly, what authorizes currencies issued by a nation is trust in them which is intangible. Though trust is nothing but imaginary, currencies are given a certain value by people who use them according to the rule stipulated by the nation. The trust in currencies makes it possible to trade a great number of products and hold vast wealth in the form of currencies. Suppose, under the bartering system, you exchange a cow with ten knives. As one knife is quite enough as a tool, the rest of the knives are of no use, so you have to exchange them with some other goods. Currencies save you this trouble as they represent values with numbers. Things have values and values change. Rises and falls of a value are determined by the balance between supply and demand. What is interesting is that the values of currencies fluctuate as well. When the amount of a currency in circulation increases, there arises inflation, and when it decreases, deflation occurs. That is to say, when people deposit more money in the bank, deflation arises, and when they use more money for consumption, inflation takes place. The economy is actually influenced by people’s mood. Also, it is possible for a nation to determine the value of its currency by controlling its amount in circulation. If supply and demand of money and goods are kept in balance in a nation, the economic activities there work by themselves within its territory. However, once the currency circulates beyond borders, the matter becomes far more complicated.

　It was Knights Templars in Medieval Europe that played a significant role in this respect. They issued documents of deposit for the crusaders and pilgrims who were going to visit Jerusalem. Those who deposited money at their branches could withdraw money at any other branch in exchange for the documents. Knights Templars that had many branches in the wide area from England to Syria created this banking system for the first time in history. The bank created two notions that had never existed, which are to store up wealth and to move capital. To be sure, there had been other ways of storing wealth, such as collecting gold and silver or taking power, but it was not until the banking system appeared that trust in the nation and the currency could be a method of storing money. This system made it possible to use stored money as capital, which gave birth to a monetary economy exclusively existing without goods or services. In a monetary economy, what the goods are doesn’t matter. What is important here is whether the goods yield profits and how capital are increased. Under this system, it is possible to increase the capital with stocks and bonds which have little to do with the real side of the economy. The main focus here is not to circulate goods and money by building up a sound economic system but to increase the capital. Thereby, the divergence between the monetary economy and the real economy develops.

　1.2 The Limit of Capitalism

　The Tulip Bubble, which occurred in Holland in the first half of the 17th century, is the epitome of a bubble economy, in which the market value rises far beyond its real value. In Europe, the monetary economy had already been mature at this point, but it was not until the Industrial Revolution which happened in England in the 18th century that capitalism made a great leap. Various industrial machines, including the steam engine and the spinning machine, were invented, which made mass production possible. As a result, England enjoyed its prosperity so much as to be called “the factory of the world.” Other countries followed the example of England. During this period, laborers flowed into urban areas from rural areas, which accelerated the urbanization of the world. There appeared capitalists who made a fortune by mass-production boosted by great workforce. They expanded their businesses investing profit margins in new markets. Surplus capitals don’t stay in a domestic market and flow into overseas investments. Thus, as long as markets to cultivate exist, the capital continues to grow outwardly.

　What should be noted here is the difference between the market economy and capitalism. The market economy is essentially self-sustaining with supply and demand kept in balance in a certain area. Connected with capitalism, though, it has no choice but to expand outwardly to increase capital. In the modern world, where geographical frontiers have disappeared, capitalism has promoted population growth to create new markets. As already described, however, it is a misconception to see the population growth as human beings’ prosperity. The rapid growth of the population is the biggest problem human beings are facing, which can be ascribed to capitalism. Benefits brought by capitalism can be the bane of human beings. Capitalism is innately self-contradictory in that it goes bankrupt when it exceeds a certain point.

　Once you understand that the purpose of capitalism is to increase capital, you can see other defects of this principle. One of them is the relationship between capitalists and laborers. Capitalists obtain a workforce by paying wages, but they need to improve productivity to efficiently increase their capital. In the factory-based industry, it is an easy calculation that longer operating hours improve productivity. According to this idea, in England, the working hours of factory workers reached fourteen to twenty hours a day. Here, the operation of machines was confused with human labor. On the other hand, wages were cut as much as possible. In consequence, the productivity declined and there arose health problems of the laborers. In addition, it caused the economical gap between the capitalists and the laborers, which developed into a class struggle. This reflects the nature of capitalism and exactly the same is happening in the modern world.

　Karl Marx, who had detected the absurdity of capitalism, proposed socialism as a replacement for capitalism. He argued that the next four articles should be included in wages.

　1. Cost of living such as house rent and food expenses

　2. Cost of recreation

　3. Cost of childrearing to create the labor force in the next generation

　4. Cost of self-improvement

　Marx’s argument, based on the theory of reproduction of labor force, foresaw the adequate labor environments and defined not only how wages should be determined but also how to establish a rational and highly productive society. This is the very perspective that must not be lost in capitalist society. In light of England’s failure in the 19th century, the standard working hours of the world are 8 hours a day, or 40 hours a week. That is to say, capitalism must be reined by some kind of regulation.

　Not perfect as it may, Germany is one of the countries where capitalism works well. The strict regulation on working hours in this country contributes to not only the protection of human rights of its laborers but also its high productivity. Defeated twice in the wars and its land divided into two between the Social and the Democratic bloc, Germany has been restored to become a country which deserves to be called “the factory of Europe,” which can be ascribed to its people’s diligence and their craving for rationality. However, in the EU, where the economical gaps are widening between its member countries, problems caused by capitalism have not fully been solved. How they will restore the countries in the financial plights, such as the Hellenic Republic and Spain, is a problem that must be shared by all the countries involved. From Germany’s standpoint, they should ride out the crisis, for which they are responsible, on their own. On the other hand, the member countries of the EU are important markets for Germany, whose economy lopsidedly depends on export. In other words, the prosperity of Germany is kept on the basis of the EU. From this perspective, Germany should bail out Greece and Spain for its own sake.

　Although German rationality and diligence have created a highly productive industry, the economy doesn’t work without markets that consume them, however efficiently they produce quality products. In this sense, industrialized countries in northern Europe including Germany, and less industrialized countries in southern Europe are mutually dependent. The reason why there arises a gap between the north and the south is that the south is always put in the position to offer markets. It’s quite natural that countries whose consumption is larger than their own output are in deficit. The trade imbalance between these countries can be fixed by the financial support from the north for the south. As long as capitals circulate within the EU, the economy holds. However, the financial imbalance has already gotten into an irrecoverable phase. For example, there was a financial crisis in Greece and the government of Cyprus was reduced to imposing a tax on people’s bank deposits. Accordingly, these countries can no longer afford to buy as many products from northern European countries as before. That is to say, countries in the EU cannot consume all the products produced in the industrialized countries in the northern part of Europe. Provided that the less industrialized countries take some measures to boost their economy in order to cancel the commercial imbalance, it will not be so effective as expected unless they cultivate new markets outside the EU.

　1.3 Capitalism out of Control

　The fact that the EU has come to an economical deadlock shows the limit of capitalism. Capitalism, whose survival depends on the expansion of markets, causes distortion in society when it loses markets to cultivate. This formula can be applied to the world economy. Distortions caused in the world have materialized in the form of social differences. Capitals flowing into cyberspace have gone into the hands of some people after a series of insubstantial financial trades and the collected capitals are swelling like snowballs. However, it is no use building up wealth in the virtual world without objects of investment. The investors or the capitalists, who seem to be successful at the moment, are just collecting money that cannot find the way to go. However much money they have, there is no way to use it. The nature of the currency, which made it possible to represent wealth with numbers, has not changed in that it is useless in itself. Money doesn’t help until it is exchanged for something that has real value. In a sense, then, the phenomenon that money flows into virtual financial markets helps maintain the soundness of the real side of the market. Should the overabundant money in financial markets flow back into real markets, major inflation would arise, which would cause turmoil in the world economy. In other words, capital wandering in cyberspace at the moment are losing their value, which means problems will happen where the virtual economy is related to the real economy.

　Capitalism has caused various problems in human society, such as overpopulation, the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor, materialism, and scientism. The illogicality of capitalism was pointed out as early as in the 19th century, but, in the 20th century, the rise of communist nations caused the conflict between the Capitalist bloc and the Communist bloc, which went on to the postwar era. During this period, the problems involved with capitalism did not materialize. From a different viewpoint, the Cold War subtly kept the two conflicting ideologies in balance. Both the West and the East contributed to the development of the global economy, the former making greater progress and the latter less. The decline of the Communist bloc, symbolized by the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, allowed capitalism to regain power. Now, at the beginning of the 21st century, capitalism, having lost the rivaling economic system, is getting out of control. The rise of nationalism and superpowers explicitly showing their tendency toward imperialism are the materialization of the violent nature of capitalism. The US prioritizing its national interests over other issues, Russia invading Ukraine, and China searching for marine resources neglecting the international laws are epitomes that show the vicious aspects of capitalism. To sum up, the trade friction between the US and China, which broke out after Donald Trump’s inauguration to the presidency, is a competition for the commodity market, which means they protect their domestic industry by building up the tariff barrier, excluding foreign businesses from their domestic markets. However, excluding foreign businesses doesn’t lead to the expansion of the market. To be sure, if new products or new services are produced by innovation, there arises a new market, but they just replace old ones and don’t infinitely encourage people’s or companies’ consumption. In the modern world, where geographical frontiers have been lost, whatever the goods are, there is little room left for the market to expand. An ever-growing population helps the market to expand, leading human beings to extinction, which is definitely unacceptable. Contrary to its will, human beings are rushing toward their own downfall for the convenience of capitalism.

　Moreover, the gap between rich and poor has become ever more serious, going on to form a social hierarchy as if turning back the clock. It can be attributed to the educational gap, a phenomenon that the educational services a child can take differ, depending on the amount of their parents’ income. While children who have parents on a high income can receive good educational services, which provides them plenty of opportunities to reach higher ranks in society, ones from low-income families are likely to get poor education leading them to stay in lower ranks for life. Then, are elites with good educational careers exempted from the vice of capitalism? Unfortunately, it is not necessarily the case for them, either. The problem of working hours, which ailed English people in the 19th century, has resurrected now in Japan in the 21st century. The nightmare of 14 hours of working a day has become a sheer reality. Whichever class you belong to, nobody can evade this fact as long as companies and society are the incarnations of capitalism.

　1.4 The Future of Logistics

　In retaining human prosperity, it is evident that capitalism is no longer a reliable ideology. On the other hand, any economic system which will replace capitalism has not been proposed yet. Taking this into consideration, it is essential for the logistics industry, which has developed together with capitalism, to create a new value in order to develop more than ever. Judging from the vice of capitalism, the conventional model of development based on mass production, mass transportation, and free trade, will no longer be applicable. With the encouragement that local products should be consumed locally in terms of saving natural resources, reduction of personnel expenses, transportation cost, and time loss, the proportion of logistics in the whole economy is expected to dwindle. This is true not only to agricultural products but also to industrial products. For example, many carmakers have their factories both inside and outside the country. It is quite natural for companies to streamline their management, cutting personnel and transportation costs, and avoiding exchange loss, which is unfavorable for the logistics industry. Then, the key to more progress is how it creates new forms of services.

　Advanced technologies have brought about major social changes. In particular, the progress in AI and robot engineering are remarkable, which will realize automation in various fields. In the field of delivery, for example, by combining a supercomputer and self-driving cars, quicker service can be provided. It is difficult even for a supercomputer to calculate the shortest route of delivery because as the number of deliveries increases, the sum of the combination increases exponentially. Besides, many variables, such as the distances between the recipients’ residences, the time for loading and unloading, and traffic situations must be taken into account. In practice, it has been impossible for conventional computers to do the calculation. Fujitsu, a Japanese computer maker, is now developing an innovative computer called “Digital Annealer,” which can do the calculation that takes 800 million years for the supercomputer called “Kei,” which they made with some help from the government, in just a second. In this computer, the logic of quantum computer is incorporated, which makes it possible to give the most efficient route in real-time depending on the situations, doing the conventionally time-consuming calculations in a flash. By using Digital Annealer as a mother computer, individual delivery cars can be controlled collectively, which can easily respond to the increase of the deliveries and leads to a solution to the drivers’ overwork. Moreover, self-driving cars directly connected to the mother computer will even save drivers’ hands. Self-driving cars are under development and are almost put into practice not only by carmakers but also by some entrepreneurial companies like Google.

　Also, drones with high mobility can be introduced in the delivery business, which will make the car delivery service out of date. On-demand service using drones, which can directly deliver packages from a collection point to recipients, will lead to reducing the delivery loss. By installing delivery boxes in the backyards of houses and on the roofs of condominiums, it will be possible to deliver packages during recipients’ absence. With a lid on a box that can be opened with passcodes and an appliance on a drone that enters the code to open the box, thefts can be prevented.

　Or, like Uber’s taxi dispatch, the service connecting cyberspace with the real world using smartphones is applicable to the logistics business.

　To appropriately respond to varying requests, new types of services will be created, but they reduce their value as they prevail. Values added by these services are available only for a certain period of time, so companies must keep on creating new ideas and providing new services. As it is difficult to survive on their own, companies must find allies in different fields. What they choose from a variety of ideas as described above determines their way to go. The management of companies must have the foresight of what to invest in and who to ally with.

　At the end of the day, in order for companies to continue to grow, they might have no alternative but to follow the conventional model of development based on capitalism. In the globalizing world, just staying in Japan doesn’t grow business. It is important to carefully watch the world not to miss any single business chance. If Japan has a better logistics system, it can be transplanted in other countries, by which the business can be expanded. It must be noted here that speed is essential in modern business. To win the competitions with other companies, you must develop a useful and universal service more rapidly than others. Competitions for markets are more severe in the world than in Japan. Japanese companies tend to prioritize unity when they make their company policy, which could be a disadvantage in the situation which requires a quick decision. It is essential for Japanese companies to establish a system to make it possible to develop businesses with speed.

　If logistics business cannot be separated from capitalism which keeps growing outwardly, where can we find the next frontier? Considering that logistics belongs to the real economy, its raison d’eter is the transportation of goods and materials, though it is necessary to cooperate with the IT industry. Now that the geographical frontier has been lost, we have to find a new one in other places. In the material world, the only frontiers left for human beings are the sea and space. Of the two, the space has the higher potential of development in terms of transportation. At the moment, the only method to go to and from space is the rocket, which is the first step of the business. One idea is to invest money in a private company developing rockets and get the right to use them. Another is to develop rockets on their own to establish the way to and from space.

　An interesting idea is attracting people’s attention and seriously discussed as a practical matter; a space elevator. The theory of a space elevator is very simple. From a geosynchronous satellite, which floats at the altitude where the gravity of the earth and its centrifugal force are in balance, a cable is extended toward the earth. As a counterbalance, another cable with the same length is extended toward outer space. The cable will be extended until it reaches the earth and an elevator is installed and moves on it. The cable is required to have the rigidity to endure both the gravity and the centrifugal force. Regarding this problem, a carbon nanotube that endures the tension has already been invented in Japan, so technological challenge has been cleared already. In this way, people can travel between the earth and space without using rockets that consume a lot of fuel, which means that transportation at lower costs will be available. Although an immense investment will be required, it is feasible with a long-term plan by a large enterprise that holds great capital. Making it a joint project that some companies invest in will be a practical way to realize it. For the stakeholders, it will be a promising investment with the prospect of future development including the monopoly of its use.

　In the future, it is expected that those who create new values will win in the business on earth. Companies will repeat mergers and acquisitions changing types of business and business conditions. To survive this chaos, they might have to take chances on setting up grand and totally new businesses like one in space.

　1.5 Space Business

　If human beings were to survive on capitalism, they must find the way through to the universe where infinite resources remain intact, and which provides them with a new frontier. If it’s possible for them to cultivate the space frontier, they can provide markets without limit for capitalism, which voraciously keeps on expanding. Some entrepreneurs who have succeeded in the IT business and some billionaires have noted the possibility of space business and have already commenced the business.

　Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, founded “Space X” committed to the transportation of humans and materials in space. Aiming at the exploration of Mars and the human immigration to Mars, this company is steadily making progress in the business in space as they assume the transportation business from NASA.

　Jeffrey Bezos, the founder of Amazon, set up a space venture called “Blue Origin.” Stating that we need to take advantage of space to save Earth in the future, he makes a plan to expand human civilization to the universe.

　Peter Diamandis, who set up “the X Prize Foundation,” promotes industries in space by holding prize contests. The origin of his idea is the transatlantic flight without landing achieved by Charles Lindberg. Thinking it unreasonable for human survival to solely depend on earthly natural resources, he aims to do research and development on resources in space.

　Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, is now establishing the Internet infrastructure in the areas where the services are insufficient, combining the technologies of artificial satellites, drones, and lasers.

　Besides, there are investors who support these entrepreneurs. Steve Jurvetson, saying the space industry is still in its infancy just like the IT industry used to be, invests in Space X and Planet Labs through DFJ. He is said to have covertly supported Elon Musk, when his space business was about to go bankrupt.

　It is because the world unknown to human beings spreads beyond the vast universe that renowned billionaires like them invest their money in the space business in unison. They are inspired by the romanticism of cultivating the unexplored frontier. As exceptionally successful people in human society, they commit themselves to saving human beings from extinction in the face of the depletion of earthly natural resources. However, goodwills are not the only cause of their conduct. When they considered how to use their wealth which had no way to go under the system of capitalism, they found the answer in the universe. As described above, the purpose of capitalism is to increase capital. Accordingly, it is an inevitable consequence for humans to go out in the universe so that they can keep meeting its requirements. If it is possible to set foot in the universe, dangerous as it may, human beings can perpetually increase their population and continue to enjoy their prosperity. Conversely, human beings have no other option but to spread their domain in the universe unless they find a more rational economic system that replaces capitalism.

　In Japan, lastly, some companies have begun full-fledged space business. Though it seems to lag a little behind Europe, America, and China, they take a unique approach to the business with its splendid technology.

　In 2007, the launch service of H2A rockets was transferred from JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, to Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Ltd., which keeps high rates of successful launches and on-time launches.

　Canon Electronics Inc. developed a small satellite 50 by 50 by 85 centimeters in size and 65 kilograms in weight, succeeding in its launch in India in 2017. Now it is establishing a manufacturing method to produce one unit for less than 1 billion yen.

　Interstellar Technologies founded by Takafumi Horie is now developing a rocket specialized in putting a small satellite in lower orbit around the earth, aiming at mass-production to reduce the cost.

　In addition, there are some ventures, such as Astroscale providing the service of removing space debris floating in orbit around the earth where artificial satellites pass, and i-space developing a small rover for the purpose of exploring the moon and planets. I-space is the support base of “HAKUTO,” which participates in “the Google Luna X Prize.” It is planning to send robots to other planets to develop habitable environments for humans to reside in. It is also taking up global business, cooperating with the government of Luxemburg to make a lunar exploration rover with a mass spectrograph.

　As of 2016, the market scale of the space industry was approximately 339 billion dollars, including satellite services, such as data communications and global observations, the manufacture of artificial satellites, the launch of rockets, and network infrastructure and satellite broadcasting facilities. These industries attract attention from a lot of countries. While some companies have already commenced concrete business, there remain a good many untrodden fields. Unlike on the earth, there is no geographical limit in space, where you can create infinite business opportunities. Now in the dawn of the space industry, any company involved can become a frontrunner that will dominate the market in the future. If you are to start businesses in space, you should make a plan taking account of global markets. As cooperation among different businesses is indispensable, it does make sense to develop a business in the world where you can access knowledge and technologies in a wider variety of fields than to do research and development on your own. Space development will accelerate if Japan, which succeeded in sending a space probe to an asteroid to take some sample soil and bring it back to the earth, and other countries, which take the lead in other fields, cooperate with each other.

　As to the logistics industry, if the mass-production of rockets realizes, it will become possible to transport a great number of goods and materials to space. From artificial satellite orbit to the moon and to the planets, space business will expand based on logistics. Also, as a means to access space more cheaply and safely, the space elevator should be considered as a practical matter, not as a dream. Mass-production of rockets and high-frequency periodical launches are being put into practice. If there is capital to invest, latecomers must have good foresight to enter a new business. The space elevator deserves to be discussed as a new business the logistics industry will startup.

　1.6 Postscript

　Globalization has allowed people, things, and money to move freely beyond borders, causing a trend called neo-liberalism, a thought of a free economy where people can do business around the world outside the control of nations. At the supreme of capitalism, this principle separated a handful of the successful from the majority of the ordinaries, causing a gap in society. The widening gap triggered the reverse phenomenon that the hierarchical system is back in the modern world. Now that the geographical frontier has been lost, what provides support for capitalism is the ever-growing population that directly expands the market. Meanwhile, people are running out of natural resources on earth, which can no longer afford the population growth. It is an imminent issue for human beings to stop the growth of population and resume the market economy which circulates on its own without expanding. However, if capitalism were to stop growing, capital dealt in financial markets would lose its values, which nobody wants to happen. At the end of the day, nations or their agents have to let capitalism survive, modifying the imbalance of wealth. To give a solution to this dilemma, some capitalists have started up businesses in space.

　It is interesting that many IT entrepreneurs start up space businesses. They know very well that money and financial goods traded in cyberspace are losing their value. That’s why they opened new industries in space, which connects their capitals with the real economy. With the human domain expanding in space, not only will their capitals recover their real values, but also human beings can enjoy their prosperity for eons without discarding capitalism.

　What matters is whether human beings will become extinct eating out natural resources on earth, or technological innovation will allow them to immigrate to space. In any case, it is good news for the majority of people who cannot be successful that some who worry about the future of human beings have appeared from neo-liberalists who believe in capitalism.