[jandrese]

I'm not concerned about commercially viable space colonies in my lifetime.

The real reason for fusion was that fission is not a renewable resource. In a few thousand years there will be a fuel problem with fission and we would be forced to switch to fusion if we had a fully nuclear power system.

[BobaFloutist]

I'm entirely content on relying on sci-fi energy production for a few thousand years from now.

This might sound like the same attitude that put us in our present climate crisis, but that was on the order of decades to centuries. Thousands of years include such unbelievable potential of technological development that there seems no point in trying to predict the actual challenges we'll face.

[surfaceofthesun]

Interestingly enough, some of the advancements in fusion research and lasers may help with fission waste fuel recycling. [1] Though breeder reactors might end up being more economical.

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/4912/chapter/20

[s1artibartfast]

Who said anything about concern? Im not in charge of making global decisions about fusion research, and I doubt you are either.

That leaves low stakes idle speculation.