Generation Ships

[Astromancer]

Some observations.

First, a viable generation starship would need to be large. If not quite on the same level as RED DWARF, not a great deal smaller. Why? Population.

In order to have the kind of stablity needed for a interstellar settlement/colony, you need at least a few hundred thousand to a million people. That requiers a big ship.

Second, a group of at least several hundred thousand people will be diverse and see the needs of society in different ways. Certainly some people would never be allowed to join the crew. Religous extremists probably wouldn't want to leave the solar system, but they'd be a burden on the ship anyway, and rejected. Stalinists, Fascists, and other groups favoring violence and tyranny are useless too. Similarly, Liberterians, though rarely violent, wouldn't be suited to the necessary rules and required comformity of shipboard life. Still, there would be cultural and social diversity in the group. This would be both a source of conflict and stablity.

Third, to survive interstellar space in a fragile bubble of technology a society would require both an awareness of all problems in the ship's society/culture and a society/culture composed of teams of individuals. Thus an Open Society is required and a highly egalitarian one too. And as talent can come from anywhere, and this society would need to develope all of its talents to survive, a society that educated all of its members to the limits of their abilities.