Originally posted by GwynnInTheHall
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I remember when iphone apps were just getting popular and there was a $10,000 app that just showed a picture of a gemstone, and did nothing else. It was a status symbol. Literally nothing else.
Designer clothes are status symbols.
Luxury cars to some extent are status symbols.
All of these things, if you asked a child "would you want <insert status item>", they'd stare, look confused and then run back to the playground.
If you changed the price to $1 on all of those items, there's a large contingent who would stop wanting them.
If you ask a child "do you want to go to space", they'd beam and smile and beg you to do it.
I'm not questioning that the uber rich waste their money for prestige. There's no doubt they do, in vast amounts. I'm just questioning whether space travel is "nothing more than looky what I can afford".
Space tourism is an EXPENSIVE tourist destination. I'm sure there's a level of prestige/status that comes along with it, but it's actually something that people care about even if the money was stripped away. If you changed the price to $1, the vast majority would still want it. It is entertainment.
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