Consider this the first of a little series – bad solutions to the Fermi Paradox. I have issues with the idea of that framework but as it’s the way most people think about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, I’ll just go with the flow for now until I get to the end of this series and into what I think.
What I’m criticizing here is the classic zoo hypothesis, the idea that intelligent, high-tech aliens are purposely avoiding humans and the planet earth. Any species that is capable of fast traveling to Earth must be populous and diverse enough that total, 100% compliance with no-contact rules or the Prime Directive is impossible. But it gets even worse the more other species or star systems are involved.
The classic problem with most conspiracy theories is they posit a level of total and widespread cooperation that is impossible. The lack of evidence for the conspiracy theories are explained by total cooperation in hiding the tracks. The simpler explanation is always that said conspiracy simply isn’t happening. Conspiracy theorists may motte-and-bailey with their belief and something in the real world that is weird or evil, but there are always deep differences with the real world events not having total widespread cooperation. In most cases, there isn’t a successful cover-up where what’s being covered up matched what conspiracy theorists believed prior.
But it’s not simply that it’s wildly implausible but in the real world, these beliefs are usually sinister. Conspiracy theories tend to be associated with hate movements because their worldviews require a substantial detachment from reality to work. It’s hard to justify genocide to yourself until you believe that whole population is jointly conspiring against you. We must reject that logic because it’s bad and it’s the kind of absurdities that makes one do atrocities. Space geeks aren’t a bunch of deranged bigots and they should know better than to copy the logic of those who are.
But there’s another moral repugnance hidden in some versions of this idea – the idea that aliens that are capable of visiting us are simply waiting for us to mature first. If any aliens are capable of seeing what’s happening on our planet and fast traveling but choose not to, that means that they saw the Holocaust happening and chose not to intervene.
I’m not an interventionist but you don’t have to be that to say allowing a species to commit heinous crimes against members of their own species is the sort of thing that warrants intervention. Now, this can’t by itself be an argument against the existence of said aliens, just like the problem of evil can’t be an argument against theism. They exist, they just suck is simply a possibility. But whatever you think of what theists have written about the problem of evil, what applies to a supernatural deity cannot be applied to aliens, who can and must be judged by their actions.
If aliens are paternalistic enough to require things of us before they bestow their knowledge on us, but also chose against using their knowledge to prevent calamity, then the feelings are mutual. I want nothing to do with said aliens. So if anyone gets warm fuzzies from the idea that we’ll be saved by enlightened aliens, note that they were either powerless to prevent the Holocaust or, worse, chose not to. I’ll charitably assume the former if we ever do discover high tech aliens. Powerless is understandable and possibly enforced by the laws of physics.