Yeesh sounds like you are down on humanity generally, referring to the growth of our civilization as “metastasizing” like it’s a cancer. I don’t expect that expanding into space will solve any big metaphysical problems or anything, but you shouldn’t turn your nose up so quickly at the benefits of growth. The first space settlements beyond little research outposts probably will be some kind of resource extraction, since any human settlement needs to be economically viable and that’s what they’ve got up there. I’d be very happy to make the world a lot richer with cheap raw materials while reducing the need for environmentally damaging mining on Earth where there’s an environment to damage.