With all the recent talk of a private space race and potential human colonization of the moon and planets like Mars, it got me thinking: what would space politics actually look like?

How would astronauts, and later colonists, vote? What type of government would they form? Who would lead them? And most importantly, how would they interact with life here on Earth politically speaking?

Although this is likely to be decades away from reality, these are the questions that need to be asked and answered before the first wave of colonists set off their new celestial home…

Direct Democracy

Whether you love him or hate him, Elon Musk is undoubtedly leading the charge in the private space race. Through his company, SpaceX, Musk aims to put humans on Mars by the end of decade with the express purpose of establishing a colony on Mars.

Like us, Musk has also given a thought as to what the politics of his Martian colony should look like. And he chose Direct Democracy.

Now, this term is likely unfamiliar to most, as almost every modern country uses a system known as indirect Democracy, whereby we elected individuals (MPs, representatives, senators etc.) to make laws on our behalf, often due to their perceived better education or life experience.

This leads to the emergence of a professional class of politicians.

In a direct democracy, however, everyone is a part of the lawmaking process, and everyone is given the opportunity to vote on laws, just as elected politicians do here.

For someone like Musk, this makes perfect sense. If everyone is able to propose, debate, amend, and vote on legislation, it should in theory represent what the majority of actual people want, not just self-serving politicians.

And for a small colony of only a few hundred people at most, this is the most simple way of doing things. Debates can be scheduled when the majority are free, and everyone can fit in a relatively small venue.

Sadly, for larger colonies, say, more than a few thousand, this poses a number of issues, chief among them security and capacity ones, which would be difficult enough to sort here on Earth, let alone another celestial body!

Space Parliament

Space Republic

Intergalactic Federation

As a fan of movie franchises such as Star Wars, I have to admit that this one is by far my favorite.

Assuming that humanity one day colonized dozens of planets, moons and wherever else can sustain life (space stations like the ISS for example)

Colonial Government

Whilst I doubt that this form of government is likely to happen, I would be remised if I didn’t mention it.