Looking at it through the economic lens that the author does, I think what he fails to recognize is the payoffs. War has immediate and substantial payoffs. Whether that is material gain, new energy or food sources, pillage, prestige, etc., or moral gain, in the destruction of a regime that commits heinous acts, war has benefits which can be easily seen in the short term, and so it is easier for the governors and governed of a state which chooses to undertake war to make that decision.<p>Space exploration is significantly more long-term. You're spending billions of dollars (not just lives) for what in the short-term does not seem like much benefit. Although landing on the moon and other such projects are incredible achievements, and although the development of the technologies that have allowed such achievements has dramatically impacted daily life, it's much harder to make clear to people the benefits of exploration in both a human or a economic cost.<p>If the benefit is defeating Nazi Germany, or Assad's Syria, or Osama Bin Laden, we're able to accept the costs. If the benefit is Tupperware, GPS, and some cool pictures of the lunar surface, then we will most likely not (not that I agree with that, it's just how most people see it).