By Jonathan Channing
“STARSHIPS were meant to fly,” lyrical genius from Nicki Minaj. This sentiment rang truer than ever, as President J. Trump stood in Texas on 19 November, witnessing the test flight of SpaceX’s Starship. The rocket, SpaceX’s latest innovation, outshines any Boeing counterpart by a significant margin of multiples. You can’t help but cast your mind to what this commitment from the President and his Chief DOGE Officer might mean for the wider world and, in particular against the backdrop of the new DOGE age of cutting the superfluous functions with a renewed focus on sustainability of humanity and moving the dial forward for space exploration, building unity around our ambition to be something more, travel further, and open up our perception to new possibilities. This is against the very real backdrop of NASA selecting SpaceX to play a pivotal role in its Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. This mission will lay the foundation for sustained lunar exploration and pave the way for future missions to Mars.
The blueprint for a Martian society
If that doesn’t only convey the literal sense of us becoming a space-faring civilisation it also evokes images of human potential and how we can soar to new heights and new levels of consciousness. From Neanderthalic times, we have incremented on what has come before, creating imperfection by virtue of having no book or bible to follow and guide us as to how better societal foundations can be forged. History tells us a great deal about what can go wrong and, as such, we can get things right.
The occupation of a new planet, such as Mars, opens the possibility of a new society, one that can start with all the knowledge, both the good and the bad, of the civilisation we’ve built on Earth. This history gives us the tools to understand the human psyche, the moments that have shaped it, and the warning signs of ideologies that led to turmoil. We now possess a blueprint – what has worked, what hasn’t, and what we must avoid. With this knowledge, we can construct a society built on the principles of awareness and self-mastery. By selecting individuals who have mastered their inner demons, not been ruled by them, we ensure a civilisation rooted in knowledge-seeking, compassion, moral integrity, and conscious awareness. This shift will permeate the very foundation of our institutions, redefining relationships within our communities, families, workplaces, and beyond, and fostering open-mindedness across all aspects of life.
In short, we have a chance to hit reset – take all that is good about our planet and build something utopian. This Mars-faring society might be hallmarked by the following:
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Education and relationship to thinking
The education book can be thrown out the window, replaced by an expansive, self-guided form of education supported by AI. This system would focus on relational interests and end the era of putting people in boxes and crushing them until they fit. The AI-assisted age will demand very different skills, such as creativity, originality, and synthesising new thought. The ability to think critically will far exceed the need for regurgitating information, which is the sum total of our traditional education system’s approach.
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Self-awareness and mental robustness
No one should be permitted to attain citizenship who hasn’t first engaged in controlled psychedelics or psycho-dissociative sessions to understand their resolve. They must demonstrate that they have overcome and mastered the base human conditions of ego, jealousy, and rage. A person who is not master of their own condition is not someone you want in a new civilisation. These base insecurities and the traumas that underpin them must first be firmly addressed.
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Societal-level mechanics
Democracy isn’t perfect. Philosophers, particularly Aristotle, have much to teach us on this. As he remarked: “If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, they will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost”. Serious thought must be given to what a new democracy or meritocracy looks like, what structure an economy should take, and how to move away from the age-old mentality of “It’s so complicated, and if we make it more complicated, we can do whatever we want.” The foundations and accompanying bureaucracy must be accessible, with the mantra of the new society being one of not unnecessarily complicating the simple.
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Ambition and orientation
Ambition and orientation are among the most important factors. For a prosperous society, joint principles and a collective will for prosperity are necessary, coupled with an orientation to look after the holistic whole and be kind to fellow citizens. Joint success should be the goal, where everyone plays to their strengths and intersects without hierarchical mentalities.
A new hope for humanity
With Mars, we have a chance to create a balanced society and plant the seeds of some of humanity’s best human capital. When I speak of human capital, I don’t mean brains alone.
With Mars, we have an unprecedented chance to build a balanced society, cultivating the best of humanity’s creative, intellectual, and emotional capital. By “human capital”, I don’t mean just intellectual brilliance (the Fallout game series has shown us what happens when not enough opposition exists for one prevailing belief in a small community). I envision a society where thinkers, creators, and challengers of the status quo co-exist, constantly questioning and refining the system for greater efficiency and fairness at every step. Recent years have often felt like a poorly chosen path in a “choose-your-own-adventure” book. Yet, the possibility of a sister civilisation on Mars offers hope – a chance to hedge our bets and create a utopia that represents the best of all of us. This writer will be awaiting the day applications open for the opportunity to move to the stars.
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Jonathan Channing works with businesses to better understand neurodiversity and bridge the communication gap that is often present in organisations. In addition to this Jonathan has a keen interest in stoicism, broader philosophy and Jungian psychology. Jonathan also stood for election as Deputy of St Saviour in 2022.
