Buckminster Fuller as Captain of Spaceship Earth
Buckminster Fuller’s experiences in the Navy became a model for his ecological design projects and suggestions for the global management of ‘Spaceship Earth’. Inspired by technocratic ideas of the 1930s, Fuller envisaged, in the 1970s, an elitist world without politics, in which designers were at the helm, steering the planet out of its environmental crises.
Skip to main content Log in Menu Find a journal Publish with us Track your research Search Saved research Cart Home Minerva Article Buckminster Fuller as Captain of Spaceship Earth Published: 25 October 2007 Volume 45 , pages 417–434 ( 2007 ) Cite this article Save article View saved research Minerva Aims and scope Submit manuscript Peder Anker 1 970 Accesses 21 Citations Explore all metrics Abstract Buckminster Fuller’s experiences in the Navy became a model for his ecological design projects and suggestions for the global management of ‘Spaceship Earth’. Inspired by technocratic ideas of the 1930s, Fuller envisaged, in the 1970s, an elitist world without politics, in which designers were at the helm, steering the planet out of its environmental crises. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. Access this article Log in via an institution Subscribe and save Springer+ from 39.99 /Month Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals Cancel anytime View plans Buy Now Buy article PDF USD 39.95 Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Instant access to the full article PDF. Institutional subscriptions Similar content being viewed by others Second Intermission: Why the Existence of the Past Makes a Difference for Life on Earth, Too Chapter © 2025 Despite Repeated Warnings: A Multidisciplinary Approach of the Shortcoming of Numbers in Indigenous Knowledge and Climate Change Chapter © 2024 Epilogue Chapter © 2022 Explore related subjects Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning. Ecocriticism Literature and Space Fullerenes Law of the Sea, Air and Outer Space Rhetoric of Science and Technology Transcendentalism Geopolitics and Cultural Narratives of Outer Space Author information Authors and Affiliations Forum for University History, Department of History, University of Oslo, PO Box 1008, Blindern, Oslo, 0315, Norway Peder Anker Authors Peder Anker View author publications Search author on: PubMed Google Scholar Corresponding author Correspondence to Peder Anker . Rights and permissions Reprints and permissions About this article Cite this article Anker, P. Buckminster Fuller as Captain of Spaceship Earth. Minerva 45 , 417–434 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-007-9066-7 Download citation Published : 25 October 2007 Issue date : December 2007 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-007-9066-7 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy shareable link to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Keywords World Game Human Family Naval Academy World Planning Spaceship Earth Access this article Log in via an institution Subscribe and save Springer+ from 39.99 /Month Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals Cancel anytime View plans Buy Now Buy article PDF USD 39.95 Price excludes VAT (USA) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Instant access to the full article PDF. Institutional subscriptions Advertisement Search Search by keyword or author Search Navigation Find a journal Publish with us Track your research Footer Navigation Discover content Journals A-Z Books A-Z Subjects A-Z Publish with us Journal finder Publish your research Language editing Open access publishing Products and services Our products Librarians Societies Partners and advertisers Our brands Springer Nature Portfolio BMC Palgrave Macmillan Apress Discover Corporate Navigation Your privacy choices/Manage cookies Your US state privacy rights Accessibility statement Terms and conditions Privacy policy Help and support Legal notice Cancel contracts here 162.200.117.185 Not affiliated © 2026 Springer Nature