One question which can be posed about the ascent to space travel in an alien civilization is: Are there barriers to the achievement of asymptotic technology by an alien society in the realm of economics? In other words, as we try to hypothesize how alien civilizations develop, are there pitfalls within their economic systems which might lead to a halt in progress or a descent from a high standard of living to one which cannot support space travel? Thinking through economic systems and their evolution, in parallel with technology, might provide some insights.
All alien civilizations start out when a species evolves, because of elementary tool use, into something which can accumulate knowledge of a technology nature. Perhaps the first tool use is fire, or stone, or something else on some exo-planet. But after some use of this, the species starts to live in groups, and then to live in fixed sites.
An economic system that works very well for a village, with a clan living within it, may not be the best system for a society where technology has advanced beyond the handiwork stage. First consider how village economics works, or at least might work. There would be a village boss, whose role was to make decisions, along with some other influential people, and to ensure the whole clan was taken care of. He needed to make sure the food supply was adequate, in all seasons of the planet's year, and that everyone received a sufficient share. He was also responsible for safety, from invasion or physical catastrophe, for making the largest decisions such as the choice to migrate to a more favorable location, for regulating trade, for encouraging skill improvement in whatever handicrafts were present, for following the rituals of the clan, such as might be related to death and burial, and more. The economic system was not communism, as some people were rewarded with significantly more than others, and was not capitalism, as there was a strong current of compassion, meaning those too old, infirm, disabled, young, or whatever were taken care of.
Work motivation is a critical requirement for a large village or larger urban region. There are only two ways in which individuals can be motivated to work, and one is for personal gain or the gain for those closely associated with the individual, and the other is for altruistic reasons, for the benefits of all clan members. In a small village, where everyone knows everyone, these two reasons partially merge.
In general, individuals of any intelligent species can be happy and content either from two causes, one, because they produce a large amount, or with a high degree of skill or, two, because they consume a large amount, or consume things of higher value or quality than others. It doesn't seem it would be too common that a single individual has both sources of happiness in high degree. The productive individual is often somewhat indifferent to the distribution of his production, as long as it is appreciated by the whole clan. This type of personality is what is encouraged by the clan and its leaders.
Those who care mostly about consumption find themselves without much support in a small clan. They certainly can exist, and serve some role in the clan by creating a demand for better quality products, more carefully done, and with attributes which might be unique. A productive individual can also create such demand, however, so there is a little utility within a village for a solely consumption-oriented individual. When the size of the habitation increases, however, from the level allowed by improvements in technology, things can change.
One of the first results is factionalization. A brain, in any creature, is not infinite and not uniform. Some sort of division of other individuals must occur, and there would be a preference relating to them. This translates into a preference for some to have benefits more than others. Contact frequency might affect this, of which the strongest is familial relationships. The alien civilization in each small town would gradual factionate, and at least at first, into families. Members of one family would seek benefits for their family, at the expense of others. There are a great many benefits possible in this division, both tangible and intangible ones, such as opportunities to take positions, learn skills, occupy areas, and so on.
Factionalization can expand beyond families, either in such a way that the population of the town is divided into sub-clans, or in different directions, that is, based on different types of divisions, like profession or something even more arbitrary, like groups formed in regions of the town. The point to be made is that the village economic system had universal compassion as a component, and as growth in population continues, this becomes stretched beyond its limits and breaks down. We have instead compassion and benefit-seeking divided into competing factions.
As this continues and becomes more rigid, one might have castes or classes forming, and furthermore, the rules or customs which controlled the village are rewritten so that the more powerful factions can create even larger discrepancies between benefits for individuals. The village boss role is fractured into multiple heads of family and other groups. Possessions are not freely divided and shared with those in need, partially because the level of production is higher and fewer individuals are near minimal sustenance level, but also because the feelings inside each individual no longer tend to compel this. We have a different economic system.
Production fractures as well among the factions, so that any technology items are made by one or more of the factions, and there is no conduit for an individual to become expert in a technology if he does not belong to the appropriate faction. Professions are likewise divided. The skills needed for defense of the town are concentrated, as well as the equipment for this, and this may be turned inward instead of outward, meaning force now can replace volunteerism. The rules by which trade is conducted can be changed. There is little left of village economics in a larger town, although there may be facsimiles within some factions.
This 'town economics', as it might be called, is something that can linger as technology continues onward and onward. The principal derivation from this is that factions become an integral part of an alien civilization, and it would be important to see if they can also be a limiting factor in the progress of the civilization up to the level needed for space travel. A little more subtly, the goals that individuals gain in their upbringing under town economics is different that those in village economics. In town economics the goal is to get a larger share of the benefits for your faction. In village economics, the goal is to increase the overall amount of benefits to be shared within the village. Factionalism may or may not lead to technology progress and utilization, and this question needs to be explored further.
