I doubt this. In fact I doubt the idea of interstellar trade.
Beyond a certain point of post-scarcity, everything stops being scarce, including invention and innovation.
We're already at that point with artefacts like music. Aliens could turn up tomorrow with centuries of unique music, and after the initial decade or five of novelty the music would end up as yet another playlist on Spotify, among countless others - so many no individual human could ever listen to more than a tiny fraction of them.
That's a rather silly example, but the point is still valid: if you imagine the same trend occurring in physics, biology, and technology, you end up at a place only a few centuries from so much novelty and invention is being produced that it's no longer a scare commodity. External sources might add a few minor tweaks to the generation system, but when even game changer technology stops being scarce, what is there left to trade?
> I doubt the idea of interstellar trade [...] Beyond a certain point of post-scarcity, everything stops being scarce, including invention and innovation.
Right but wouldn't you need interstellar trade to reach this milestone of post-scarcity? Otherwise you'd have to assume all forms of invention are achievable with the resources you start with.
Wouldn't game theory make you want to limit the resources and capabilities of your neighbor in case they try to do the same thing to you? So this idea of post-scarcity is never met because the uncertainties of attack from any number of other space-faring civilizations requires that you invest a significant chunk of your resources into your military. You could also have internal turmoil - the human race splits into distinct civilizations with different political, social and technological goals.
Beyond a certain point of post-scarcity, everything stops being scarce, including invention and innovation.
We're already at that point with artefacts like music. Aliens could turn up tomorrow with centuries of unique music, and after the initial decade or five of novelty the music would end up as yet another playlist on Spotify, among countless others - so many no individual human could ever listen to more than a tiny fraction of them.
That's a rather silly example, but the point is still valid: if you imagine the same trend occurring in physics, biology, and technology, you end up at a place only a few centuries from so much novelty and invention is being produced that it's no longer a scare commodity. External sources might add a few minor tweaks to the generation system, but when even game changer technology stops being scarce, what is there left to trade?