Once humans eventually make it to the Red Planet permanently, the residents are going to need some rules and regulations to keep things running smoothly. So, what form should that government take?

While speaking at ReCode’s Code Conference, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said he believes the best form of government for an eventual Martian colony is a direct democracy, with the people all getting a vote on new (and old) laws, to minimize the chances of corruption. He took it a step further, too — noting that all laws should have an expiration date and need to be approved again after a period of time, and that it should be easier to ax a law than to create one.

Here’s an excerpt from his comments:

"Most likely the form of government on Mars would be a direct democracy, not representative. So it would be people voting directly on issues. And I think that's probably better, because the potential for corruption is substantially diminished in a direct versus a representative democracy … I think I would recommend some adjustment for the inertia of laws would be wise. It should probably be easier to remove a law than create one. I think that's probably good, because laws have infinite life unless they're taken away."

What governmental system do you think we’ll eventually use in space?

Check out some footage of the interview below:

Video of lBfi2AcGrTY

(Via ReCode)