Mars may be called the red planet for its colour, but perhaps it might be red for its
political system: Communism.
When humankind finally reaches Mars and decides to set up a permanent base, who would be in
charge?
That answer is uncertain.
It could be the government or space agency associated with the mission, the United Nations,
or somebody else entirely.
Part of the International Outer Space Treaty states that no person, country, or organization
can claim any land outside of Earth.
It has been proclaimed the common heritage of mankind.
Although this could be subject to change in the near future.
This is extremely similar to Communism and associated ideas.
The land is owned by nobody and everybody at the same time.
In the early stages of humans on Mars, people would only be there for 3 productive purposes.
Make scientific advancements, prepare for others to arrive, and improve the local quality
of life.
Seeing as people are confined to a few rooms, not much else is possible.
Without an economy, everyone is working for the state or common good if they are able
to and in exchange they get the basic necessities of life.
Sure, they might get paid, but what use is money on Mars.
Nobody on Mars has much of anything to sell.
They are struggling to stay alive.
Whether you are a rocket scientist or a botanist, you would be paid the same: nothing.
Communism in practice works the same way.
A nuclear physicist and a factory worker make the same amount of money.
In addition, a Communist society requires the state to own the means of production.
The equipment needed on Mars would be so expensive no astronaut would be able to afford it.
Everything would be owned by the state.
Another feature of Communism is that the lower class must revolt against the upper class.
That certainly won’t happen any time soon since it’s not possible to overthrow the
upper class if the upper class was never there to begin with.
Communism is a very authoritarian style of government.
The government makes many decisions for the general public.
They essentially control the livelihoods of the citizens.
This is not part of Karl Marx’s Communist theory, just an inevitable result of giving
total power to a small group of people.
The people who participate in a Communist revolution don’t revolt for the sake of
establishing a tyrannous dictatorship.
We also don’t colonize Mars for the sake of creating a dictatorship, but the circumstances
might allow it.
Because Earth and Mars rotate around the sun at different rates, Mars can only be reached
once every two and a half years.
All it takes is one power-crazed maniac to seize control.
That might sound outlandish, but put any group of people in a room and naturally, someone
will take charge.
On top of that, keep them in the same room for years.
That is a recipe for someone to grow just a bit too restless.
If help is more than two years away, then good luck.
This is why screening candidates is so important to find the appropriate people and eliminate
those who are prone to mental illness and other health issues.
Prior to Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church was heavily integrated
with the Russian monarchy.
This type of religious influence is extremely common around the world.
Since the monarchy was seen as the oppressive enemy of the people, so was the church.
This resulted in the link between Communism and Atheism or irreligion.
Many of the people on Mars would be scientists and those with similar views.
Scientists are notorious for taking a secular approach to the universe, which is part of
the reason why we’ve come so far.
If someone is sick, we attribute it to bacteria strain, a virus, or fungus, not because somebody
angered the gods and will forever be tormented in the depths of tartarus.
This minimizes religious thinking, similar to the Soviet Union.
Both science and Communism are somewhat obstructed by religion.
At the beginning of humankind’s adventure on Mars, candidates would be heavily screened
for vulnerability to mental illness, disease, genetic defects, unfavourable personality
traits, and other issues.
Assuming we have the best candidates on Mars, everything should go smoothly.
Then, once the public knows it’s safe, and people take up Elon Musk’s offer to sell
everything on Earth and live on Mars as ordinary citizens, we get all sorts of characters,
including those with the ordinary problems of anxiety, depression, narcissism, and many
other issues.
These conditions would be magnified with the factors of isolation and limited mobility.
After the pure scientifically minded cream of the crop has been diluted with common citizens
and the natural human tendencies of greed, power, and glory, problems begin to arise.
The anthems of the Soviet Union represent this perfectly.
From 1922-1944, the anthem The Internationale, which has been in the background this whole
time describes Karl Marx’s vision.
A society where the workers take control, humanity will rise up, and humanity’s salvation
is in their own hands.
All part of the potentially desirable Communist end goal.
From 1944 to their fall in 1991, they used a different and more familiar anthem which
is far more Nationalistic.
It promotes Lenin’s party, the red banner, and the triumph of Communism.
An ideology which removes the focus from actual people, and onto a select group of politicians.
Perhaps the story of humankind on Mars is no different.
Originally, a great triumph of humanity; an unprecedented leap across the cosmos, but
then into another case of human greed, politics, suffering, and corruption.
Hopefully humanity will learn from its mistakes.
And until next time, thanks for watching.