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willpittenger
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Kim Stanley Robinson likes to have as a theme in his books Earth as an overbearing government dealing in a uncaring manner with residents of Mars and the outer solar system. Same thing with Babylon 5. How do we prevent that?<br /><br />One problem in Robinson's <i>Red Mars</i>/<i>Green Mars</i>/<i>Blue Mars</i> trilogy was the "mega-corporations". We already have some companies capable of demanding terms from governments. Witness the fight between localities of how many tax incentives and other items paid for by the government they can offer those who build a new plant. Now some are even trying to do the same with major nations like the US. This is taking form in the continual movement of jobs.<br /><br />In Robinson's trilogy, mega-corporations could demand terms from the UN. When the residents of Mars got in the way of the corporations (which were mining Mars), they died. Entire cities were wiped out and the "investigation" was quick and blamed a convenient "accident." The problem was then shelved and ignored.<br /><br />As I see it, it will be quite some time from when the first Martian Colony is formed and we can quickly get people back and forth. Communications may be faster, but in all other regards, it will be like England attempting to govern 13 colonies in America. Will we be able to govern justly and fairly from such a distance? Or will we be just as unfair as the British? As I understand it, the British had all the best intentions. They just failed to listen and paid dearly for that.<br /><br />We must find a way to learn from history and not make the same mistake. Those that fail to learn from history... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>