One could say that eventually the NCR would look up to improve the lives of the inhabitants of the Mojave, same for the Legion. Doesn't mean they will actually do it, and all of them gives us reasons to doubt that they will actually do it.
That is..... some pessimism you got there, mate. Among the NCR and the Legion, there were exceptionally professional and resourceful individual. The Courier can be one of them. For example, the NCR has Chief Hanlon, and also Boone and Cass. The NCR's fault lies in their upper echelons, whom you refer as to corrupt. I won't deny when you called out NCR's corruption and decadence in that regard, but should the NCR find a way to get rid of those fuckers like Kimball and Oliver, they would eventually find a way to provide mankind a salvation. The NCR only need a kick to their ass so they return back to California and solve their internal problems first, before they would be ready to prove themselves worthy for mankind's salvation.
The Legion have Caesar, but the guy needs your help. From the way he wanted to make New Vegas his New Rome, he wanted his Legion to finally have a place to settle down. From there, we can assume he wanted to finally get rid the Legion's slaver lifestyle, and begin to treat women more properly, especially if you play as female Courier. This might be not really apparent in the ending slide, but.....eh, how I again wished that Obsidian had more time to flesh out the Legion.
The Legion also have Lanius, but the guy was really a monster. See the difference in the ending slides between whether or not you let Caesar die. However, if you face Lanius as an enemy, you know you can at least try to change him. No matter how monstrous he is, if you have the right skills, you can convince him he can't win Hoover Dam that day, a proof that at least a Legion would listen to reason, and the way you can see it he probably wanted to return back to where he came from and mend himself and the Legion.
As I answered to Mr. Goon, I think that if he is really worried about mankind, he would be worried about how other places on earth are doing. He would try to join forces with other people like him that probably did the same thing he did for Vegas, there are probably other strong organizations around the globe that could even help him with his space program "for mankind".
But he doesn't do any of that and don't show interest in doing so, to me it looks like he wants to turn New Vegas into a technological country where he is the absolute master. Who gives a damn about what happens outside of the Mojave? I don't really think this posture is something you would see from someone really engaged in the cause of restoring mankind.
To be fair, he did admit it would take quite sometime for his plan to work. Like many said, he's realistic. For a time being, he would focus mostly on improving the Mojave. And since his plan is big, like I said, he would eventually look up to begin expanding out of the Mojave. There's no reason for him to just keep everything in the Mojave. Money? That's no problem, the Strip is essentially his money making machine. You also said that eventually he would need working force. Well, that's why he probably would want to expand; or at least, establish a new contract/treaty with the NCR, maybe the Legion, heck with whatever major power out there in the post-apocalyptic North America, or eventually other places on Earth. Again, his plan is big, no way he would or could just keep it all in the Mojave, let alone in the Strip.
I can see why you think Mr. House would want to become the absolute master of the Mojave, but if you follow
this thread, I'm going to agree with Ragemage when he said that the Free Economic Zone of New Vegas would most probably be ruled by a dual dictatorship, since the Courier having a say in pretty much all of Mr. House's plan. But for that to happen, you gotta be more specific when you play, and also has Good karma. And by specific, I mean you gotta prevent the NCR from intervening too much in the infrastructure of the Mojave (like letting them bring law and order to Primm and reconciling with the Kings).
Technological progress by itself is nothing, people need to have access to them so they actually means something. Will his technological progress alone going to help mankind overcome this post nuclear war situation? No. He needs to affect a lot of people, I mean, A LOT of people with his technological progress, if he did that then you could say that he helped mankind. Otherwise he is just building a insignificant technological country of ultimate gambling. Something like the Brotherhood of Steel, but with more alcohool and prostitution.
Well, I don't see Mr. House preventing access to technology. When Mr. House reformed the Three Families, he also allowed access to many of his resources he possessed in the Lucky 38, that includes whatever techs he stored in there. Hence why you see the Three Families live a life like that, from where else you thought the Three Families get access to the techs that helped them run the casinos?
If he didn't want to use techs to help people, while would he look up to, in 20 years, reignite the hi-tech development sector, and then in 50 years, have
people living in the orbit?
Oh no I'm not saying they are evil, I'm saying that they don't really care about mankind, none of the three. None of them are thinking on the majority of the people: poor as hell, with radiation, dying for weird animals and old time government experiments, under the rule of really unfair social economical systems etc. They say they do care about it, perhaps they even believe that they really care about humanity, but their practice and world view is way to limited to do something that would revert the situation.
At best, what they can do is make a big stupid class divided society that will eventualy clash with other big stupid class divided big society until we have another nuclear war. We need a class abolished society to end this circle! Like the Master suggested in F1.
Again, that's a pessimism you have there. Both the NCR and the Legion has many exceptional and resourceful, if not really good-natured and kind, individual who wanted to see mankind rebuild and genuinely care for the people of the Mojave. Albeit flawed, they need some time to mend themselves.
Mr. House is but one man, but his genius and vision for mankind is something you wouldn't see in others. Hence why I and some here would argue that the FEZNV with Mr. House in the picture would most probably be the best ending for New Vegas, but you gotta be more specific in your playthrough when you support Mr. House.
Edit: Also,
@Izak you were right. Hanlon did seen the Mojave as a lost cause. But he didn't word it exactly like that. It was mostly how he would say about the war with Vietnam. Good man and woman died every year for nothing. He also did have a not-so-high opinion of Mr. House, that New Vegas bleed the NCR's money and spirit dry, with the Legion bleed their blood. However, he did recognized the monstrosity of the Legion. I predicted that, fearing for the safety of NCR as a whole, he would rather help New Vegas stop the Legion right there in the Dam instead of seeing the Legion cross the river. The Legion was so big in comparison to New Vegas, that if the Legion also manage to mend themselves and get rid of their internal problems, they would be a force to be reckoned with even against New Vegas and Mark II Securitrons.
