Orion Digest №22 — Eco-Socialist Federation: Colonies

It’s been many years, and we have managed to keep population and economic growth within manageable enough levels that the human race did not go extinct. We’ve put resources and focus into research into how to both keep this planet alive, as well as how to reach others, and one day, we crack the code. We send a ship full of colonists out to a new planet, with the right conditions to develop a new civilization full of people, waiting to explore their new home, and humanity’s backup in case Earth ever meets its end. But as one problem is solved, another is created — how does our future federation handle space colonies politically?

In the past few centuries, colonialism has often resulted in inevitable revolution or abdication of the territory, as we have realized the inherent immorality in one nation domineering over another people without granting them the same measure of authority and representation. Large superpowers have maintained their connected stretches of land, but the tendency of a nation to retain territory separated by hundreds (or even thousands) of miles has decreased due to the logistical difficulty in management and coordination. Though the advent of the Internet has made communication easier across the globe, when looking at interplanetary or even interstellar distances, the time it would take signals to travel would extend days, weeks, months, even years, intensifying the issues colonialism brings about.

A world federation that already has to manage Earth likely would find great difficulty in repeating that job across multiple planets — the more you expand a nation, especially when communication is an issue, the more unstable it becomes. If the needs of people within your nation are not met due to resources and attention being stretched thin, they may secede and focus on their own problems, ripping a federation apart. New lands, far from our own world, would be incredibly difficult to govern from Earth in peacetime, and if crime or revolution were to break out, policing or waging war would consume more resources than it would be worth, especially as potential interstellar colonies would potentially stretch journeys into the decades. (Current estimates put our fastest ships that we could produce as taking many years to make it to other star systems; while the possibility of finding a way to circumvent our limitations is something to keep within consideration, this hypothetical scenario deals with a time before the Federation developed anything close to Faster-Than-Light travel.)

However, this does not mean the creation of colonies in space is worthless — on the contrary, exploring the stars is the next step in human innovation. Even with difficulties in the way, the distance and effort required to discover new worlds is simply the next obstacle we must face as a species, in the same way that uniting our world proves an issue now. From a practical perspective, the acquisition of new territory means that we can acquire new resources for Earth’s economy without the difficulties of conventional imperialism — before, expanding a nation’s territory was an issue because of the existence of other nations; the two had to fight to maintain their property. Now, as far as we know, the rest of the universe is an empty frontier, free for respectful use.

But whether or not we can actually use those resources for a federation of Earth is questionable, given the issues laid out above. The travel to and from a colony planet will be expensive and will require ample time for transportation, to speak nothing of the balance between carrying capacity and speed. The space between Earth and the colony would make the harvesting of resources difficult both practically and ethically, as the colonists would have little reason to become workers for a faraway nation, especially given they have other problems to deal with. In the midst of starting a new civilization on an empty planet, having to put aside resources for transportation back to a different world could seem illogical to people trying to use those resources to live.

If there exists a surplus of resources beyond the scope of a colony’s needs, it could be used as a means of trade with Earth, because while currency and payment from the Federation would have little use, practical goods used as barter would be immensely valuable on a frontier planet. Machinery and technological advancements would be well worth the quota of raw resources, and thus, a trade between planets could be established, with the colony becoming it’s own separate entity, and the Federation focusing on Earth. In the beginning, after Federation colony ships are sent out to new planets and the seeds for civilization are sown, this could work out to ensure that Earth still received enough influx of resources to maintain its economic growth.

From a political point of view, independence would serve a colony well in its early stages of growth. While the Federation would develop and send out the original mission, they could be sent to live not under the command of Federal jurisdiction, but simply under a trade charter on the other planet, provided with a investment of resources sufficient enough to set up civilization and begin harvesting the resources, if possible, of another planet, and trading back with Earth once the foundation is established. Until the point at which the colony is capable of producing more than it needs, it can send surplus back to Earth in exchange for technological aid and benefit, and would at this point act as its own, independent state, as disrupting the trade would hardly be in the interest of Earth, nor in the interest of the colony while it relied on Earth-built technology. The Federation’s tenets of democracy and equality, as well as overall structure could be replicated by the colonists of the state, making every colony a miniature replica of the original nation.

However, the phase of societal development where the colony will rely on Earth to produce machinery will not last forever, and there may be a point at which the colony stands nothing to gain in trade with Earth, while Earth would still stand to gain from trade with the colony. This would not mean an automatic shut-off of trade, but the option would be there, and from then on, we’d be back at square one in terms of separation of nations. When we are in the dependence phase, it is less of a risk, but when a colony is truly independent and self sufficient, how does a Federation morally manage the situation?

As our capability to travel large distances increases, so will potential contact between both colonies and Earth, and we could see history begin to repeat itself if the lessons of today do not stick tomorrow. An increase in mobility could spell the formation of a Galactic Federation, or it could spell a new era of war. On the other hand, if our capability to travel the stars remains forever limited by the speed of light, the physical distance will mean that we rarely come into contact with other colonies, and therefore, conflict could easily be avoided, as there would be little point. Any changes made through violence could not be enforced, if violence was possible in the first place. However, at any rate, we must always seek peace, and while we must honor the sovereignty of planetary colonies, we should strive for unity and democracy whenever possible.

History tells us a cautionary tale of what happens when we use other people in other lands like resources. While maintaining democracy as our world expands is crucial, the flipside to being united is to also ensure everyone’s needs are met, everyone’s opinions are heard. Space colonies could provide the promise of new resources, but we must remember that they don’t come for free, not when we rely on others. Equity and diplomacy will always be necessary, even in the far reaches of space and the future.

- DKTC FL