Without pushing our boundaries and exploring, we are destined to wallow about in our own filth.
Your "vision" of good governance will lead to stagnation, in fact it will lead to a society of limited wealth and advancement. Government will over run everyones lives, shoot we are close to that now.
Exploration leads to innovation and the creation of more wealth, monetary wealth, the wealth of knowledge and it preserves independent thought and freedom to advance.
Your closed system, will eventually fall in upon itself.
You describe the exact system we’re in right now and we’re doing all kinds of ‘exploring’ - can’t be much difference. Here’s an idea: how about we go exploring for a balanced budget, eliminate our debt and go back to an economy that provides its own basics with a modernized industrial base?
Really now, let’s be realistic. We don’t even produce what we need - we buy it from communists. Yet, you think shooting teachers into space to photograph stars is the solution to the near collapse of our civilization?