Op-Ed: Polaris Needs to Industrialize
By Dr. Meisho Doto
Published May 19, 2026
The mark of a successful society is economic prosperity. On Earth, the best countries, with the highest quality of life and great power over the world, are the most developed as well. Their development is what gives them power and resources; since the Industrial Revolution, the countries able to mechanize have been the ones who won out on the world stage. Expanding this to Mars, the first thing that our colonies must do to assert dominance is industrialize.
Money is power. In our capitalist society, the one with resources and capital is the one who has power over others. On Mars, no one has really gained an advantage over the others. Sure, they are all backed by Earth’s nations and companies, but what happens if this support falters? The colony collapses. To truly dominate Mars, a colony first has to become economically independent from those who started it. Consider the American colonies, when they were under the control of Britain. They were able to become somewhat economically independent, having great manufacturing and agricultural sectors which could sustain themselves. Eventually, they were sustainable enough to no longer need England, and they split off. They had become one of the most powerful forces in America, having defeated France and going on to defeat Spain and Mexico. While I’m not arguing that Polaris or any of the Martian colonies should or would seek independence, I am arguing that they need to become a regional power like the thirteen colonies became.
So, we need to build factories on Mars. Sustenance agriculture already exists, and could be expanded into selling crops to other colonies. But, what’s more important is producing manufactured goods. We could become independent from the US, no longer needing to spend so much on shipping goods from Earth, and we could even trade with other colonies to make a profit. Imagine Polaris transforming into a lowly colony into an industrialized Martian superpower. We can become the most powerful colony on Mars, all through an investment in manufacturing.
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