Management & Politics

Humanity is on the cusp of the technological ability to reliably and cheaply travel to other celestial bodies including our own moon. The advent of the SpaceX platform of reusable rockets and spacecraft has been a boon to not only the exploration of, but also the potential colonization of our moon and other solar system planets (Mars).

Although we are not yet there, the possibility is within our grasp and what you read here can be applied to the moon or one of our neighboring planets.  From habitat design to the reevaluation of self and society, there are many parts of the human experience that will need to change if we are to succeed.

The current concepts of management and governance will need to change as the numbers to support such hierarchies will not be available in the early colonial stages. As time progresses and the more developed the colony becomes, the more independence from Earth it will seek.

To properly govern or manage a colony safely the day to day decisions will need to be made by people resident at the colony. Guidance from Earth based governments or business leaders will become less effective over time as daily operations become more complex to accommodate colonial growth.

There will of course be a “puppet” leader propped up by an Earth government or business, followed by subordinate supervisors and then everyone else. This is the typical Earth format but unfortunately this will not work in a bottle living society.  The management structure, like the society and culture will grow from the example utilized by the first colonists.

When you think about what it means to be living in isolation and confinement, the supposed leader is not always the one who becomes the actual leader. Remote filed crews will attest to that. The leader may retain the corporate or government title but crew functioning often reverts to the more capable individual. This person is neither elected nor able to deliberately take the lead; it is simply given to them based on merit to lead.

A colonial government would best be designed around this reality. It is called Meritocracy and businesses conducting colonial operations would be subject to the operational requirements set up by this meritorious government.

Although it may be true on Earth today, the science fiction models of corporate wars and mega corporations ruling space are just that, science fiction. Although we may try, carrying our current human nature and status icons into space will ultimately fail because these Earth based masters will simply be to far away to maintain hold.

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