Both the U.S. and (the People’s Republic of) China are trying to establish the first lunar outposts, and it is possible that we will see lunar colonies within our lifetimes. When that happens, do you think there will be a movement towards independence, just as the colonies of Britain, France, Spain, etc. vyed for freedom? Would this be peaceful or violent, and how would either work? How realistic is an independent lunar nation, given the hostile living conditions? What would lunar culture look like? Would it be a mix of American and Chinese culture, or something new entirely?
Or do you think the Moon and other bodies in our Solar System will become internationally run (and protected) areas, a bit like how Antarctica is on Earth?
To me honestly the idea of non earth colonies are an amazing potential, IE I feel like most of the good in the initial US founding came from basically being able to start later in the game with knowledge others didn’t have, and thus make a better government than currently existed faster, thanks to not having the centuries of red tape and “tradition” to deal with. Of course after that head start I think they set themselves up in a way that made them progress slower than the rest of the world.
Now it feels like the actual true start needs to be another form of that, and best part of a non earth civilization is, it would be perhaps the first recorded history of expanding into an area, that we aren’t actually just killing off and replacing an existing civilization. So true governance from zero is actually on the table.