“There are two kinds of men in humanity: those who love and build, and those who hate and destroy”
Jose Marti
In light of recent events within the Twitter social network and its acquisition by tycoon Elon Musk, it is important for us to comment on all these facts.
Both Tesla and Space X have been transformative companies in their respective fields. More than transformative, it must be said revolutionary, since they have radically altered the course of humanity in both fields.
Particularly in the case of Space X, we have commented on previous occasions on the importance of the idea that was the basis for the creation of the company: to create a “salvo” of humanity on Mars, so that, if something happened here on Earth, there would be the hope of being able to save humanity with a “copy” on Mars. The idea, brilliant and supported by all of us, fans of space exploration and knowledge of the cosmos, was a chimera managed by us a long time ago. But no terrestrial government or ideology put us on the path to a space settlement on Mars, not even a simple human mission to that planet.
A pioneer would have to arrive who would finally bring the idea to a near reality, supported by a growing sum of dollars, which, under the current premises on which humanity works, was the only way to carry it forward. Elon Musk became an idol of all those who longed to see a dream come true that came from before the very dawn of the practical part of the space age.
Elon Musk had a dream (which in turn was the dream of all of us) and he was carrying it out. It was more than great news; it was also an awakening of hope that humanity would not succumb to a planetary catastrophe. Many not only began to admire Musk, but also became fans of such a personality and the significance of his future.
But for us, always attentive to the future of humanity and constantly concerned about its development and survival, some interesting signs were beginning to appear on the horizon.
Already on previous occasions we expressed our concern as to what form of government and what kind of society would be founded on Mars. The fact that this planet is physically separated from Earth generated the very interesting possibility of restarting from ZERO any social, political and ideological experiment, opening the door to a whole new humanity, with more creative possibilities, with better ideals of FREEDOM and RESPONSIBILITY, with a more serious confrontation with the present reality and better planning for the future.
The most difficult and sometimes least asked question was what kind of society and system of government would function on Mars. The key reason for asking that question was very simple: it would be an open society, or commanded under the whims of a single individual, which is equivalent to the direction of an entire nation by the one who creates it and who has the greatest financial power, and therefore, politically and ideologically.
Everyone knows that a large accumulation of money automatically leads to a large accumulation of power. It must be very clear to everyone that a great accumulation of both implies a GREAT RESPONSIBILITY towards humanity and its position in the universe.
This couple of conditions (money and power) always go together, and it is generally a matter of time before both penetrate and mark the personality of the one who possesses them. Although sometimes a tendency towards kindness and actions that contribute to the betterment of humanity is still seen in some of these individuals, in most of them there is not only a tendency to favor an even greater concentration of power, but also (and even more critical) to unilateral decision-making, to the use of power in an absolute, megalomaniac and above all abusive way with respect to their peers.
The acquisition of the social network Twitter by the richest man on the planet marks, from our point of view, a radical turning point for humanity.
If at any time we were concerned about what kind of society we would create on Mars, then we are already beginning to see it on Earth. The fact that Musk is not only the main promoter of human settlements on Mars, but also its main monetary creditor, everything that is happening is drawing our attention.
To the extent that the days have passed and new news and actions are coming to public knowledge, the tendency to not comply with the first proposals made by Musk himself, such as that of creating a “moderation council with points of diverse view”. This point has not only been skipped in subsequent decisions fine-tuned by him alone, but they have been in tune with the disbandment of all previously existing communications and moderation departments on Twitter.
The path that Twitter takes will not only mark the path of social networks and humanity in general here on Earth. The path of Twitter (with its chaos and madness) is now a picture of the future of humanity in the still hypothetical city on Mars.
It should be clear to everyone that none of those occasions in which a single individual has taken control of entire populations, a situation widely known in Latin America as “caudillismo”, has never been beneficial to humanity. It is important to be attentive to the development of personality cults, a situation that has been developing around Elon Musk in an almost inadvertent way, but which is undoubtedly happening in his followers.
In reality, humanity has historically confused “leadership” with “caudillismo”. Given that we have not yet passed the stage where we can make ourselves free without threatening that freedom (by choosing to follow warlords who end up suffocating the possibilities we have had to build a better and freer society), it is more important than ever to be attentive to the development of these currents within world society.
We, as members of humanity, and concerned for his future, say to Elon Musk, and to anyone who walks the same path:
“WE DON’T NEED AN EMPEROR ON MARS, NOR MUCH LESS ON EARTH.”