BUILDING FREE SOCIETIES IN THE COSMOS

Abstract

AbstractFaced with the tyranny-prone conditions of space we can consider how to minimise despotism and maximise the chance for liberty to take hold in extraterrestrial settlements. Largely this involves institution building, including the development of constitutions and checks and balances within government branches, even in the smallest space settlements. However, it also involves encouraging the development of culture and customs that are conducive to open societies, while recognising that societies in space will necessarily be more collectivist than many communities on Earth. All aspects of the extraterrestrial society, but especially political and economic institutional arrangements, are considered in this light and suggestions made on how to construct a polity that tends towards the preservation of liberty in space.