It seems that we can’t agree on anything.

I guess it’s involuntary to look again at Mr. Musk, not because he’s one of the richest people alive, but because he puts himself in situations that trigger pondering. His vision, or ambition, is to help humanity reach planet Mars; somehow, everything he’s doing is more or less linked to this aim. But how feasible is this interplanetary endeavor? And I’m not talking about the technical part…

From a certain perspective, there are 2 choices of human behavior: collaboration and competition. Some of us are more hawkish, more prone to fighting, more prone to aggressive entrepreneurship in the extractive sense, more territorial, so we engage in a win-lose game. Others, apparently a minority, engage in cooperation, in team-work and partnership, as we value harmony and perhaps a steady growth. The 2 behaviors are not mutually exclusive, but we tend to think in this way. Some people are “wolves”, others are “sheep”. But… there is wisdom in being a sheep… And many people can play both roles.

Mr. Musk wants to get to Mars. Getting there requires, apparently, a lot of effort on the technical side. And, a lot of failures, a lot of tests, a lot of optimization and a lot of exploded rockets in the process. A wolfish attitude seems to be the best if we want to get to Mars. However, so as to make those rockets fly in one piece, the teams behind those projects need to combine forces, to collaborate. So, there is a mix.

Let’s imagine that one day we make it to Mars. Mr. Musk has this objective of “escaping” from the Earth or “escaping from the problems of this world”; he stated on several occasions that “escaping” might be the only chance for the survival of humanity. A humanity that, for the moment, is in the grip of a wolfish mentality of competition for resources, money, experiences, you name it… And here seems to be a problem.

We cannot run from ourselves. Even if an elite – an intellectual elite or a rich elite – makes it to Mars, the same problems found on Earth will also erupt on Mars, as we carry ourselves with us everywhere we go. I mean, we carry our psyche and we carry our genes, our DNA. We carry our genetically inherited temperaments, our personalities, and we also carry our private monsters, our nightmares and our personal darkness with us. From a strictly engineering viewpoint, Mr. Musk is right: we can make it to Mars, eventually; his work is valuable and needed. But from a psychological viewpoint, we will also export our wars, our conflicts, in the extraterrestrial space.

Just think for a moment: people are currently fighting in Ukraine and Gaza for a piece of land. Literally, they are fighting for the ground under their feet, a ground that has no value if people can’t cooperate. We are in a state of such a collective psychotic rapture that we kill each other for an idea, in the name of one ideology or another, in the name of completely absurd constructs (in the context of this discussion) such as religion or ethnicity.

There is in English an expression that has no equivalent in my native language: to get one’s sh*t together. This roughly means (in this context) to leave one’s divergent opinions aside, stop the conflicts and become one team for the benefit of everyone. In a word, to collaborate. In the psychological realm, we know that after the teenage period, young adults “get their sh*t together” and get a job, start a family, assume responsibilities and regulate their emotional life. The world I presently see is not having its sh*t got together properly; this world is still indulging in its teenage era. And this kind of world is not ready to get to Mars… Creating a colony on Mars is like giving birth to a new “baby world”… and teenagers are never emotionally ready to assume proper responsibilities. They need to grow. Children (teenagers) do not give birth to other children (metaphorically); young adults do.

So… how on Earth does Mr. Musk believe that we can resist (and flourish) on Mars when we seem to not be able to agree on anything!?! For some months now it seems that we fail to agree what a woman is, which is something very basic… painfully basic, dare I say…. On one hand we have biology (science) that tells us what a woman is, and on the other hand we have childish (or teenage) phantasies that “we can be what we desire to be”, which is pure denial of reality and creates a trend and a religion-like ideology that aims to reinterpret the truth according to one’s a priori decided convictions.

Now imagine a world like ours on Mars!…

We need to cooperate if we are to survive on Mars. We need to learn to live with each other knowing that there is no return back to Earth, to mum… This means that we need to put our qualities together in common and leave our “sh*t” outside; otherwise we will kill each other in more stressful situations, like the ones we’re going to encounter on the prison-like Mars. Just imagine the Martian landscape and the entertainment possible there… If there’s not going to be a flight, it might lead to a fight…

A leap of emotional maturity needs to be taken before going to Mars. I don’t see another way. And this emotional maturity involves being able to be wolfish when we must (excellence, meritocracy), but also dovish when is needed (teamwork, empathy). It requires a certain flexibility. Also – bad news for those concerned! – requires agreement on what is real and true. This means a clear separation between our desires and who or what we truly are and… a certain wisdom so as to understand that we can’t move on otherwise…

Among the failures of my professional life (or at least this is how I see it) is a defunct project of creating a training company focused on psychological, leadership and financial education. At that time there was need for both personal development and entrepreneurial proficiency in my native country, and I still believe that this is still lacking, although it’s too late now to do this, after many years. We were several in this project but everything was eventually shattered into pieces because each of us was a “lone-wolf” and was thinking about his/her own personal profit and gain, while doing as little effort as possible for the common good of the team. At that time I could have played the binding role (like a connecting piece or a cement designed to keep the team members together) but I was myself too independent and too short-sighted. I should have sacrificed myself and my time a bit, hence being an effective leader. It’s exactly what Mr. Musk does, by personally managing everyone, a tiresome role that gave him the label of workaholic. But for me, it was a lesson learned too late…

Mr. Musk’s companies manage to put rockets in the sky and build electric cars because he is personally behind everyone. He is forcing the “wolves” to be “sheep” and collaborate when needed. And everyone agrees because he keeps them in check with money (most likely) and a positive “can do” attitude (also likely). As a result, there are no disputes on “the interpretation of reality” or “what a rocket is” or whether the Earth is flat or not. But in “real life” – where there is nobody in charge – the playground is open for everyone’s phantasies… and viewpoints… Is an enlightened tyrant necessary so as to rule efficiently the Earth? I have no idea but I feel it’s bad. Is the Earth’s population capable to rule itself in an effective way and compromise in a smart way for everyone’s benefit? I don’t know but I doubt. We seem to be very far away from a decent solution… or I can’t see it yet…

What is to be taken from what I wrote above:

1. We need to agree to disagree, but we also need to agree to… agree. Grasp the nuance!

2. Some sacrifices are needed in the adult life. A world in its late childhood (or puberty) is not a world ready to go to Mars… or anywhere else, really…

3. A lone wolf can’t go too far by himself. He either cooperates or goes nowhere.