Poul Anderson Quotes:
Ocupation: Author
Life: November 25, 1926 - July 31, 2001
Birthday: November 25
Death: July 31
It is a truism that the structure of a society is basically determined by its technology. Not in an absolute sense-there may be totally different cultures using identical tools-but the tools settle the possibilities; you can't have interstellar trade without spaceships. A race limited to a single planet, possessing a high knowledge of mechanics but with its basic machines of industry and war requiring a large capital investment, will inevitably tend toward collectivism under one name or another. Free enterprise needs elbow room.
source: Poul Anderson (2011). “Trader to the Stars: Polesotechnic League”, p.26, Hachette UK
topic: Capital Investment, Interstellar
