Administrative Law, Space Law Thought Experiment, Sociology
Today I thought I'd take a break from our scheduled programming. Every week I try to write something informative explaining why robots should have rights. There's no doubt that that's still what I believe. However, limiting yourself to one very small topic can be draining. I needed a change. I needed to branch out. As you've probably noticed, this week's title doesn't have the word 'robot' in the title. That's because I'm not talking about robots today. No. Instead, let's talk about Mars.
Now sending people to Mars has become something of obsession for the extremely rich and powerful lately. Honestly, I don't blame them. Whoever actually pulls it off will have earned their place in history for all time. Even better if they can set up a successful colony. Given the current situation on Earth, humanity having a backup plan isn't exactly a bad idea either. It looks like COVID isn't going anywhere soon so it looks as if reaching for the stars might be the only way we can start living normal lives again. Unfortunately, I'm not rich. It's a real bummer I know. That means I won't be setting up the next NASA in my backyard. So to fulfill my space fantasies, I'm going to have to just write an article about humanity's next big step.
Presumably we want to be sending the cream of the crop to go live on the red planet. Really it's just commonsense. There's the potential for so much to go wrong, so much to be discovered that our fledgling colony doesn't need to be carrying around dead weight. If life beyond Earth is to have any chance of success, we have to make sure everyone we send out their is in tip top condition. That means that not everyone will be American. Shocking I know. However the US does not hold a monopoly on brilliant minds. Genius is spread across the entire world. Nor will everybody speak English, at least not as their native language anyway. As much as it dents my national pride to admit, English is not the universal language of diplomacy it once was.
Why do I mention this? Well as much as billionaires won't to send us to Mars, none of them actually won't to have the headache of running society when we get there. After all what's the point of having all that money if you're going to bugger off to somewhere you can't buy things. As a result, the logistics of governing Mars are a bit hazy. I'm not talking about how they'll grow food or breathe. Scientists have long been working to solve those problems. There's a reason that Elon Musk owns solar arrays, electric cars and massive drills. No, I'm talking about the social science of it all. How do you stop a fledgling population without the oversight of a central government from killing each other?
Mars is any constitutional lawyer's dream job. That's because there are very few chances to write a constitution from scratch. Seriously, I've checked. Unless you want to found the next Sealand, you'll have to be content interpreting and occasionally amending old documents here on Earth. Still, that doesn't explain why I've said we'll all be speaking elvish on Mars. I'm getting to that. Promise.
Let's start with what most people treat as obvious. Law's should reflect society as a whole. That means several things. Firstly, it means that our laws should reflect how the population at large feels about a certain issue. That's why gay marriage was such an important issue. It was basically the world's way of saying that we agree that people should be free to enjoy love, in whatever form it may come. Sex before marriage, women's rights, these are all former taboos which are now permitted under the law of the land. That's because opinions change. We've progressed, developed as a people. It's the same reason why the death penalty is no longer a widespread penalty. Society throught killing people was barbaric, so the whole thing got axed.
Take that premise a bit further though. It is not only the content of the law which should be representative but how the law is written. Under the rule of law, the law should be such that it can guide individual conduct. That means statutes should be intelligible and legible. Basically, that means that you should be able to read the law without too much difficulty. In part, that means the wording used should be fairly straightforward. However, it also means that it should be written in a language most of the population can read.
For our little Martian colony, that's something of a problem. Unlike established countries, Mars hasn't got a national language. You don't have a native population learning Martian from birth. The first colony ships will be carrying people from the world over. That means whatever language is used amounts to a conscious choice. Suddenly the issue has become a whole lot more important.
So why pick elvish? Well, as bit of a nerd, using an imaginary language certainly appeals to me. Tolkien was an incredible linguists, so to see his work push humanity forward one final time would be simply incredible. More than that though, it's the idea elvish represents which is so important. Nobody speaks elvish as a first language. Literally nobody. Some enlightened individuals learn it in their spare time. Dnd games across the globe benefit from the added flare of magic curse words. Seeing that it's the nerds which are sending us into outer space, keeping on their good side wouldn't be the worst thing.
I've managed to get off topic again. My point is that because nobody speaks elvish, everybody is on a level playing field. Whether you're from China, America or Pakistan, you'll all have to go through the shared trauma of learning, nay creating, a new language. It's this sort of thing which will pull our fledgling colony together. Without the benefit of hundreds of years of shared history, it's essential that whoever gets to govern Mars starts building bridges as soon as possible. That means getting a sports team, a national anthem and yes, a language. Rather than reminding the colonists of their differences, a common language focuses on the future. What better way to symbolise that new beginning than by writing a constitution in the language which your grandchildren will grow up learning. Hopefully putting it like that will help you to see my point.
The fact that next to nobody can currently read elvish is irrelevant. True, there will be a time where the Rule of Law is breached. Nobody will be able to read the constitution without a translator. The long term benefits however override this concern. In one, maybe two generations, the education system will kick in and rectify the mistake. Then everything will be hunky dory. Considering that the only other option is to pick an existing language, thereby stating that one class of citizen is superior, I for one feel the temporary inconvenience of becoming bilingual is a price worth paying. In fact, whether we're speaking elvish or some other fictitious language is irrelevant. So long as nobody already speaks it as a first language, the system works. Still, using elvish is cool so why not.
So there we go. That's why I think we should be speaking elvish on Mars. I know— it's a bit of a strange idea. Hopefully you see the allure. Seeing as we're sending mankind across the solar system, we might as well go all out. If we're going to become Martian's, we might as well get the language to go with it. Why not make it elvish?