Stepping stones to sister worlds
New possibilities for space commerce
Public interest project about de-risking the uncertainties of off-Earth commerce. Creative Commons and public domain imagery. Educational public policy comment. Fair dealing use.
Plan B Themes – Bootstrapping Treaty Rule-making to De-Risk Space CommerceConcept Video– Plan B – SOLCO – Solar System Colonization Treaty : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nff2CiAydTo |
a) Alliances of States-Party: Nations organize into Alliances that meet through a Treaty administrative agency (here, for discussion purposes, designated “SOLCO”), to bootstrap (Note 1) our civilization to the Moon and sister worlds:
b) Negotiating Territory Privileges: Alliances negotiate territorial divisions (Note 2) to organize solar system geography.
c) Negotiating Alliances’ Internal & Treaty Law: Alliances organize the common law of their territories (property law, contracts, etc.), to aid creation of commercial treaties managed through SOLCO treaty administration agency:
Each citizen has an obligation to their nation and its alliances. In this context, the proposal helps create the means for like-minded States-Party—and their citizens—to practice commonalities of interests, methods and values.
For example: CANZUK is the proposed terrestrial trade alliance of the 125 million people of Australia, Canada, UK and New Zealand. These nation-states are parliamentary democracies that have common legal frameworks, political cultures, and business cultures; and share respect for individual and property rights, commercial rights, and transparent adjudication of such rights. CANZUK would translate well to a distinct Plan B territorial alliance. States-Party Alliances can reasonably be expected to congregate into larger Alliances. CANZUK-Space would control its own territories and can be expected to partner with like-minded Alliances on most files.
d) Common Assets: Alliances work through treaty organization to create a common assets ownership & capital pool:
• Creating the legal means to bootstrap (step-by-step creation of) common management of certain off-Earth assets:
o Planet and moon geographies subject to international law (Polar caps, Prime Meridian, over-flight zones, etc.)
o Biomarker Zones subject to international law (managed by treaty-designated public science agencies)
o Impactor Threats to Earth and off-Earth infrastructure and colonies
o Gas Giants
• Creating legal structures to bootstrap the organization of territories that are designated as not common assets:
o Territorial divisions of planets & moons of treaty-designated size and stability (video animations start at 8:12)
o Public-Private Partnership (P3) ownership of moons & smaller objects with treaty-designated characteristics
o Tumbling bodies (comets and asteroids) with treaty-designated characteristics
• Creating frameworks to bootstrap risk management, to aid creation of the business case for rapid P3 innovation:
o Alliances internally negotiate property law regimes for their own territories
o Alliances internally negotiate subordinate law as technological advances bring issues up for consideration
o Example: Negotiating bounties’ compensation for salvage of space junk and space-borne threats
e) Treaty Administration: Organizing national ‘Space Commerce Agencies’ to:
• Enable national governments to properly manage ‘public science’ and ‘commercial trade’ portfolios, by:
o Managing Alliance Treaties created by States-Party
o Jointly managing Alliances’ representation to SOLCO Treaty Agency
o Creating the means to future-negotiate commercial treaties that are in force and enforced, off-Earth
o Creating the means to help commercial venturers speak with agencies that ‘speak’ the language of commerce
o Incentivizing commercial innovators to create profitable tools and technologies to bring trade into force
o Creating digital systems to help off-Earth teams and settlers resiliently adapt to the rigours of space settlement
Note (1): Here, we apply the business concept of Bootstrapping (building a company from the ground up) by creating an Off-Earth Treaty that organizes the division of States-Party into Alliances which: (a) collectively own international assets and zones; and (b) own and manage their own territories within the framework of the Treaty.
Note (2): In this concept, The Moon is designated as a common asset and international zone; however, perhaps it could be a test-bed for design of territorial allocations?
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