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Mars Colony Governance

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woof

Fluffy Member
Supporting Member
Apr 30, 2009
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So, I truly believe SpaceX will get a colony to Mars. That's just rocket science...simple stuff.

But the hard part would, I believe, be Governance. So, Mars fans, please discuss the form of Government for the Mars colony should have.

Will Elon be King?

Perhaps a pure democracy, one person one vote? (Do the robots get a vote?)

Or a classic corporate structure, with a board, CEO, everyone as employees.

Will it be aligned with any particular country (or countries)

What about stuff like Money? (And inevitable taxes?)

Laws? (Everything from property ownership to "murder bad", etc.)

Who decides this form of govt.? How? When? (before launch, while on the way, after the 10,000'th baby, etc.)

Stuff to ponder while we wait.
 
good thoughts, but you're about 20 years too early to worry about it.
It's likely to be a colony of earth, probably with alegiance to whichever countries and companies that made the colony possible.
Certainly SpaceX, Tesla (ground transportation), the United States and most likely China, Russia and Japan will be involved.
 
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(mod edit to add source attribution: Das Marsprojekt, by Werner von Braun, ca 1952, English 1953)
The Mars Project - Wikipedia
 
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It will probably slowly develop as government is needed. It will likely start in a more military/corporate fashion with a single leader and a board/council and then develop from there. Although the very first people will likely make it a unanimous voting type system. Since you are only talking about like 10 people max for the first few years. As things grow a leadership structure will form and I am willing to bet it will present itself in a similar fashion that the colonies grew up in the US as this country was slowly taken over. Eventually mars will become its own independent system, but in the early days loyalties will likely lie with the countries that people originated from.
 
(mod edit to remove link to a scanned book -- Das Marsprojekt, by Werner von Braun, ca 1952, English 1953 -- I don't think this book has been officially released to the public domain. Search online and you can buy it from Amazon, or perhaps find it elsewhere, but please don't post the link here. Thanks!)

Yeah... spooky co-incidence.
 
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i once read the first book maybe a third in, before i gave up cuz of how boring the writing is.

but if you're into the dry politics of governance in a new colony, then you may like it. may.

I read the Mars trilogy as fast as I could because I found it fascinating and very imaginative while still remaining grounded in reality (mostly). Loved it and will likely reread it someday.
 
At first I thought wow, how interesting that WVB happened to choose the name Elon as the title of the elected leader in his rather obscure book written over 50 years ago.... but the more I think about it, the more this creeps me out.

It's just that Elon hasn't announced his time machine yet.
 
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Obscure book written by arguably the father of rocket science 50 years ago proclaiming the name Elon (which in no derivation translates to leader, ruler, etc) as the leader of a Mars colony
Elon buys the car from The Spy Who Loved Me

Is Elon orchestrating the plot from Moonraker (but on Mars - Marsraker?)


Time to put the tin foil hat back on.
 
good thoughts, but you're about 20 years too early to worry about it.
It's likely to be a colony of earth, probably with alegiance to whichever countries and companies that made the colony possible.
Certainly SpaceX, Tesla (ground transportation), the United States and most likely China, Russia and Japan will be involved.
I don't think 20 years is too long to start getting stuff in place. This stuff works on UN time, not Elon time. And if the super powers are involved then you can be sure all the old biases and grudges will come along as well, along with all the baggage of history that is the Middle East or even more local rifts such as the Greeks and the Turks. Is there anyway to start clean?

Read Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. Lots of interesting ideas in there.
Yep, read that a while ago. That's what got me scared! That and books like The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, or Caliban's War or even Macroscope all end up pitting the colonists against Earth, or the various pre-existing factions of Earth messing up the colonies. I think its wise to avoid this fate if possible.