This article comes from: the polar body of the brain, and the title picture comes from: Visual China
Faced with a long list of network service terms and user privacy agreements, few people on earth will read it word by word. Even if we find that there are many unreasonable points, in order to be able to use the services provided by the platform, we will still swallow and agree.
But in the future, if you encounter the terms of service of Musk’s products, I am afraid you can no longer be as careless as before. Otherwise, you may affect your “earthman” status. Of course, there is a premise that if you live long enough and have the opportunity to immigrate to Mars, you can really witness history and become a “Martian”.
This is how it is.
Recently, SpaceX, Musk’s space travel company, sent an invitation to test American users who participated in the Starlink project’s small-scale internal test. Article 9 of the terms of service involved regulatory laws, which said:< /p>
For services provided on Mars or services delivered to Mars by Starship or other colonized spacecraft, the parties recognize that Mars is a free planet, and no government on Earth has jurisdiction over Martian activities Power or sovereignty.
What does this mean? That is, if you agree to the terms of the control law, it means that after you step on Mars in your lifetime, whether you land on Mars through SpaceX or through other spacecraft, you must recognize the autonomy of Mars. That is to say, you want to transform from an earthling with a nationality to a Martian. Isn’t it very magical to “live for a long time”?
Although Musk’s plan to colonize Mars is still only a stage of “painting a pie,” he has already begun to worry about the legal order of the planet after colonizing Mars.The careful thought hidden in the terms of consumer service exposed his big ambitions. No wonder someone exclaimed that Musk wanted to be “President” on Mars.
Of course, SpaceX’s declaration of sovereignty is still a question of whether it is located in California, the United States. Whether Musk, who is still on the earth, can be recognized by the US government is also a question.
Looking at it now, SpaceX’s declaration of “Mars autonomy” is more like a “public relations” before the U.S. election. A few words can successfully attract the attention of the public. Musk supports it alone. The strength of a public relations department is really not covered.
While eating melons, we may wish to “seriously” talk about whether Musk’s “Mars autonomy” is possible.
The Mayflower sailed into Plymouth, and there was a meeting before landing
In September 1620, a “Mayflower” cargo ship carrying 36 Puritans, 66 bankrupts, homeless people and a crew of 102 people left Britain and was going to Virginia in the United States.
After two months of sea turbulence, severe weather and rough seas, the ship deviated from its course and came to a desolate place on Cape Cod in the United States, which was later Massachusetts. Plymouth.
The people on the “Mayflower” are not like the immigrants or gold diggers who came to America before, eager to get ashore to seek land and wealth. Instead, a group of people stayed on the dirty ship and held a serious meeting. The 41 adult men on the ship negotiated and signed a document. This document is the famous “May Flower Convention” since then.
These people are mainly the Puritans mentioned above. A large part of their original intention to come to North America is similar to otherThe difference between the colonists is that in addition to earning a living, they have a particularly strong political motivation. It is to establish an ideal society in mind in the New World of North America and realize the new rights of freedom and autonomy.
Therefore, this “May Flower Convention” is a written contract made to achieve such a goal. The biggest feature of this contract is the equal legal effect formed by procedural justice. That is to say, this short 200-word contract was negotiated by all people (At that time only adult men had political power), it was stipulated that these people voluntarily Form a political group of citizens and formulate its legal system under the principle of justice and equality.
This contract actually establishes a principle that in an independent area that has not yet had political power, people living here can, on a voluntary basis, have the natural power to exercise autonomy and the rule of law.
Be aware that Virginia, the first colony established by the British in North America in 1607, was still dedicated to the Queen of England and required the authorization of the King of England. Now, Americans regard the “Mayflower Convention” as the “birth certificate” of the United States, because the Americans recognize the principle of autonomy established by the “Mayflower Convention,” rather than the colony of Virginia established earlier.
Since this treaty can become the root of the legitimacy of political independence in the United States, can Musk now imitate the spirit of the Mayflower Convention to colonize Mars?
It is possible in principle. According to the Western political tradition, they adhere to the principle of “the new territory, whoever discovers it, will occupy it.” Unlike the despicable historical act of “Indians’ priority discovery and possession of North America” that the Europeans deliberately erased, Mars can be described as a new colony with no historical burden. As long as whoever can set foot on the planet Mars first, whoever seems to have the right to declare the colonization of Mars.
Obviously, what Musk wants to establish is not a colony in the sense of “Virginia” on Mars, but a colony in the sense of “Mayflower”. As long as you set foot on Mars, everyone will be Martians, and then you should not follow the legal system of the earth or the legal system of your country.
Regardless of what the legal system on Mars will look like, let’s first talk about the immigrants who have joined SpaceX to Mars. What should they think of different nationalities and cultures? So, what should the later landers, especially those who landed on Mars as a country, or those who did not agree with this principle, come? Is there going to be a “Martian War of Independence”?
Considering this, we might as well look for precedents on earth. That is the Antarctic continent without a country.
The fragile Antarctic Convention, a tragedy of the commons coming at any time
Before the 18th century, the Antarctic continent was just a legend that humans could not see with their own eyes. In 1773, the famous Captain Cook was ordered to visit this “unknown southern continent”, but it was only the first time that he sailed into the Antarctic Circle, but he did not see the shadow of the Antarctic continent. In the 19th century, several expeditions from Britain, the United States, Russia, and France successively discovered some islands near Antarctica.
At the beginning of the 20th century, several expeditions began to attack the geographic poles of the Antarctic, and they returned without success. It was not until 1911 that Amundsen and his team from Norway completed this challenge. British Scott’s expedition was completely wiped out.
With the development of the peak showdown between Scott and Amundsen, the world’s major powers have also begun to grab Antarctic sovereignty at the national level. In fact, this battle has already begun. From the earliest British crews who only saw the islands of Antarctica, they began to declare the British sovereignty over the small Antarctic islands. By 1908, the British took the lead in officially requesting the exercise of sovereignty over parts of Antarctica. Since then, the United Kingdom has brought in its younger brothers New Zealand, France, Norway, Australia, and even Chile and Argentina in South America have also announced their sovereignty requirements for Antarctica, and delineated their own divisions based on the “fan principle” formulated by the British.
The dispute between these seven families continued until after World War II. How was this matter resolved? The United States and the Soviet Union at the time both stood up and refused to recognize these countries’ claims on Antarctica’s territorial sovereignty, and also reserved their right to make territorial claims.
How do you say it? HooligansWhen encountering a big gangster, everyone had to put aside the dispute, and no one could do it first.
In 1959, under the cooperation of the United States, the seven countries with territorial requirements and the 12 countries including the United States and the Soviet Union formally signed the “Antarctic Treaty”. The treaty stipulates that since June 23, 1961, the Antarctic Territorial requirements.
The treaty just put the problem on hold and did not solve the problem. Powerful countries can still plunder natural resources in and around Antarctica. To this end, more than one hundred treaties including the “Agreement Measures for the Protection of Antarctic Animals and Plants”, the “Convention for the Protection of Antarctic Seals”, the “Final Documents of the Conference on the Protection of Antarctic Marine Living Resources” and “Antarctic Environmental Protection Protocol” were born. class=”text-remarks” label=”Remark”>(For example, the “Environmental Protection Protocol” requires 50 years from 1991) to suspend the exploitation of various resources in Antarctica.
At this stage, countries can carry out scientific research for peaceful purposes in Antarctica, which is the way we are familiar with the establishment of Antarctic scientific research stations for Antarctic exploration and research, such as the Great Wall, Zhongshan, Kunlun and Taishan established by my country Test station.
But Antarctica’s “world stability” will not last forever. Now, Australia is taking the lead. Some countries are using the “United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” signed in 1994 to obtain a definition of the seabed in the Antarctic territory. A quiet battle for Mimi’s sovereignty and resources is underway. The harmless Antarctica may still become another “tragedy of the commons” for mankind.
Can the status quo of Antarctica be repeated on Mars in the future? Although the tragedy of fighting for land sovereignty should not happen, because Mars does not have the resources of the occupied territory.
However, unlike the huge mineral fossil energy that may be found under the Antarctic ice sheet, humans may not be able to obtain the actual benefits that are visible at the moment on Mars. Instead, how to build a base for human survival on Mars and how to cultivate and multiply animal and plant life on Mars is the most important task.
Therefore, the greater significance of colonizing Mars is to establish a symbol of a country’s leading position in science and technology, and an outpost to colonize more distant space in the future. As long as there is still competition between countries on the earth, then this round of competition will continue to Mars, just like the expedition first and then the real game of nations.
Although private aerospace companies such as SpaceX may develop Mars first, the bases developed on Mars are also constructed on a national basis like a space station in space. It is only commissioned by a few companies, and SpaceX may only be a larger one.
There is an old saying that “Although science knows no borders, scientists all have their own country.” When used in this scenario, “Businessmen still have borders, even if you run to Mars.”
Why is it difficult to realize the “Mars autonomy” that Musk wants to pursue?
In order to colonize Mars, Musk has actually been worried about a lot of things. He once said that the first people on Mars may not be able to return to Earth. To put it bluntly, as the first batch of pioneers to land on Mars, they will encounter various unprecedented challenges. It is not that these people cannot afford the return ticket.(Musk said), but this group of builders has a high probability of taking various health and accident risks.
He had already thought about “Mars Autonomy”. In an interview in 2018, he stated that he would promote a direct democratic system in the cities colonizing Mars, that is, all base residents act as direct managers to determine the city’s major and minor affairs, instead of electing a representative government to exercise various Political power.
This vision should be possible in a city with a million people and highly developed communication facilities. But technically feasible does not mean that it is possible in reality.
First of all, although the people who may immigrate to Mars may be rich people, they are not all Puritans on the “Mayflower” with the same beliefs and values. They must bring nationality, identity, religious beliefs and special preferences from the earth. Life on Mars will naturally continue the conflict on Earth. Although there is agreement on the issue of ensuring the survival of mankind, in the future, once the future competition for different cultures, concepts, beliefs and other preferences, there will still be various conflicts, and it is likely to return to the scene of fighting between different races and communities. , The system of referendumIt is very likely to go to the opposite of oneself.
Second, the national game behind the “Antarctic Convention” may also continue to Mars. At present, it is difficult to imagine that disputes between countries on Earth will not continue to Mars. For the colonization of Mars, the technological power behind it can also be used in the game of science and technology and military power between countries. Under the Cold War mentality of a zero-sum game, it is difficult to say that the major powers are based on complete “integrity” and “trust” technology. Cooperation.
Thirdly, if people can really establish a new sovereign state after landing on Mars, it means that the colony on Mars is a new country. Then the people and organizations on this planet must continue to establish with the earth. A steady stream of cooperation and contact. Then, in the future, this group of Martians will establish a brand-new cross-planetary diplomatic relationship with humans on Earth. Once the kinship and geographic relationship between the first few generations of colonists and the Earth disappear over time, the Earth and Mars will become two completely different races. In the future, Earth and Mars will likely have unpredictable conflicts due to all possible crises of trust and survival.
This time, it is a very clever strategy for Musk to secretly throw out such a “Mars autonomy” clause through such an opportunity to provide services for Starlink test users. After all, it is still a long time away from actually providing Starlink network services to Mars users. He can test his loyal users’ choices first, and he can also test the US government’s attitude towards this proposition. Take any legal risks.
Although most of us view this kind of “nonsense” declaration with the attitude of “watching the excitement is not too big”. Although I personally look at Musk’s idea of sovereignty and autonomy with great appreciation, we must also seriously point out the terrible consequences of “dividing mankind” implied by this idea.
Of course, few people now seriously think about the actual consequences of this initiative, and our “speculation” is also a bit unfounded. However, stillI hope that our worries can go beyond the time period and see the choices of these colonists when humans land on Mars. I wish we all “see you a long time.”