OT: Immigration as opposed to colonization

I've decided to post a sequel to my last one about colonization. But I ask
that, to avoid a sequel to the furor over the last one, people read the WHOLE
post before responding to any one part.

First of all, let me state once and for all, I'm sorry that my quote on the
expense of space travel was not made more specific. I was NOT referring to
the cost of space travel throughout the entire history/future of human
space travel. I was merely referring to the cost of leaving our solar system
for the first few times, going out to uninhabited, unfamiliar space, and
colonizing.

As for the level of technology: Why must we assume that every technological
innovation available in the games was available at the dawn of exploration and
colonization? What if we had not yet achieved anti grav technology? What if
our first interstellar ships, and they'd be exploration and colonization
craft, could only reach say.7 or.8 C? Only the closest stars would be

attainable, and even they would be long, arduous journeys. Colonists would
know that they were going away for good - live or die, many will never
see earth again.

Now let's move forward, to the time AFTER we've colonized, and are now dealing
with commerce and migration between established systems. And let's use the
same analogy as before.

The Push and the Pull are still there. As for the resistance, well... let's
add a new element, which we'll call Lubrication. In this case, further
technological advances and the profits from interstellar commerce are the
lubrication which eases the old forms of resistance. space travel is now

cheaper, safer, faster, and easier (happy every one?).

There will be new pushes and pulls, and the old Pushes and pulls will gain
strength. The home world will still have extra people to pawn off, every
little separatist group will want there own new homeland. Some colonization
will still go on, and it will be slightly easier for those who attempt it. But
most of the moving going on at this point will be to established colonies with
booming new economies. The mines and factories on Barton's hell need workers,
air conditioning is as common as mine shafts, and the

last venoskunk in the habited areas is in a zoo.

But new forms of resistance will arise. Xenophobia will be an issue on some
colonies. Colonies and the home world will have decidedly different opinions
on how the colonies should be run, and who should make that decision (Sound
familiar?). More than one colony may be competing on the same planet. (This
can be both a force and a resistance. Both governments are going to want to
pump bodies into their colony, and both are going to try to hinder each
other.)

Sure, by now, it's fairly easy and cheap for people as poor as the lower

middle class to emigrate, maybe even for the poorer with government help. But
once you get there, you're called Streeter, or old dirt, or any other
brand new racial/planetial slur that can be invented.  It may be
ppossible to strike out on your own for uninhabited parts of the new planet,
or you may endure and make your way in the main colony (or you may just die).

Either way, you're an entirely new breed of individual from the first settlers
who colonized the planet. You, and they, have a different set of advantages
and disadvantages that you may not entirely understand about each other. But
you both share a common drive to make a better life for yourself, and you are
both very important to the development of the history of humanity in space.