Sol economy: What is optimal for production on earth?

Follow-up-question to this scenario:
~ 2750 A.D : Quite a few asteroids/celestial bodies have been move to a stable earth orbit and are beeing mined for ressources. I am currently designing the economy (cycle).

The economic situation in orbit:

• Gold-rush style (deregulated, hypercapitalistic 'wild west')
• Freelancers and a wide range of corporations mine the asteroids.
• At the same time there is a big supporting industry for the miners. (from my research the safest way to get wealthy in the historical Gold-Rush)
• The orbit is connected to earth by a number of industrial space elevators. There are many orbital facilities and production sites.
• Much of the orbital resources are needed on earth.
• Food is synthesized via modified algae and stem cells (for meat). Basically full taste, no environmental impact and optimized nutrition and can be produced in orbit, too.
• With the availability of fusion reactors, even in micro-size (in the range of today's stove), energy is cheap.

Question: What commodity will be capable of competing when produced (or refined) on earth? Why does the orbital economy still need the earth? (economical, not for gravity and so on)

posted about 9 years ago

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