You don't understand my point. If you look at human psychology, things connected to power are often fascinating, but not always in the "I'm going to get the other guy and beat the shit of him" way. Young boys are fascinated with toy helicopters, trucks, army soldiers, and yes, spaceships, but they aren't being evil/scheming about it. For them, it's just a game. There are two levels of fascination with power: a) the childish "ooh that's cool" and b) the adult "hmm, we would be a pretty powerful nation/team/individuals if we got hold of it".

But the underlying reason why something is fascinating -- because it is connected with power -- doesn't change. So it is hypocritical to claim that "I want this and that, and my intention are innocent and sincere" when the object of your desire is a helicopter gunship. Now, something flying at 7.8 km per second is potentially far more dangerous than a helicopter gunship.

In other words, wanting space exploration to be free of politics is essentially wanting power to be free of politics. Which is a bit oxymoronic. As soon as your exploration produces something interesting, be it knowledge, materials, or even location, someone else is going to want it for themselves.