If we have a self-sustaining Mars colony as a given then wouldn’t it be more likely they have at least artificial substitutes for such things? I find it hard to believe we’d have total war erupting over what would essentially be artisanal foods. This is especially true if they’d only get delivery once every 26 months or so, and, if they were advanced enough that the relative position of the planets were no object then they’re even less likely to need anything Earth had or for Earth to have a monopoly on anything worth waging total war over.
> I’m thinking more along the lines of a Martian Hitler scenario.
Hitler got started in his conquests by securing land and resources lost or unavailable to Germany. What would motivate a Hitler in a self-sustaining Mars colony?
I don't think I stipulated to that. Sorry if I did, I didn't have that in mind.
> Hitler got started in his conquests by securing land and resources lost or unavailable to Germany. What would motivate a Hitler in a self-sustaining Mars colony?
That particular Hitler did, but others through history came to power through different means and circumstances. All that's required is the right mixture of psychopathy and narcissism, mixed with power and you've got yourself a budding Hitler. I think psychopathic narcissists are very good at finding power, so it's not really a question of "if" but "when" a psychopathic narcissist becomes in charge of Mars colony, and whether or not the guardrails of the society would hold (as they have in some Earthly societies when Hitlers have come to power) or if they would crumble and yield to an authoritarian dictator (as happened in Germany and other places where Hitlers took over).
Yes, going out into the stars sounds great and all, but one of the implications of that is that we spread human pathologies, which includes fascism and Nazism. That's basically the Empire in Star Wars. I just think that we have to be realistic and recognize that could happen sooner rather than later. What if Mars colony goes full fascist and decides they want to ethnically cleanse Earth for no other reason than they believe them to be inferior and impure? It's not like it hasn't happened before.
Wouldn't just buying stuff they need from Earth be much cheaper than exterminating all people on Earth and then repopulated with some new genetically engineered human species?
Moreover, wars and conquest are not rational endeavors that are undertaken after a careful cost/benefit analysis. WWII wasn’t exactly cost effective for anyone who started that war.
Anyway, the way I see it playing out would be that Earth, realizing they are Mars’ one and only lifeline, will do its best to squeeze Martians for everything they’ve got. It won’t be a mutually beneficial trading relationship between peer nation/planets, but an exploitive one where one party has much more power than the other. Probably a lot like Africa’s place in the world. Unfair and exploitive deals will be cut that reflect the power imbalance, which will brew resentment and envy, and ultimately conflict. This is how you start irrational wars.
Depends on the resource. If they want milk and chicken for example, it might be better to get that from Earth.
> It’d be enormously uncomfortable for Mars adapted people to spend any time on earth.
They could breed a race of human slaves to work on Earth.
> I guess if it’s possible for a 007 style mad scientist scenario
I’m thinking more along the lines of a Martian Hitler scenario.