Comment by bnpxft

Yes, the economy of Earth in The Expanse is an extractive colonial one not unlike what we have now in the US. It is the logical extrapolation of the current neo-liberal economic model we have now projected into space.

The people of Earth live relatively cushy lives at the expense of the belters. The UN and corporations extract resources from the belt, they overthrow democratically elected leaders to prop up corrupt puppet leaders to do Earth's bidding. All the while, the belters see little of the riches that they're force to extract. Also, unfortunately for the poor of Earth, that wealth also doesn't trickle down to them.

It is a pretty accurate analogy of the current state of affairs of Earth today, but the divide is between the Global North and the Global South.

The people of Global North live relatively cushy lives at the expense of the belters. The governments and corporations of the Global North extract resources from the belt, they overthrow democratically elected leaders to prop up corrupt puppet leaders to do Global North's bidding. All the while, the working class of the Global South see little of the riches that they're force to extract. Also, unfortunately for the poor of Global North, that wealth also doesn't trickle down to them.

The Earth of The Expanse is a warning, not an aspiration.