Illustration by Susanne Gold/ text by Ted Ganten
In this clip you will get more information on “Terraism”. Download the full book

Who should be able to join the terraistic association? What would be the rights and obligations? Certainly, the highest number of members will be indivduals around the globe.

At what age may they join?

I suggest that natural persons should be admitted from the age of 16. At this age they are already expected/allowed to work in most jurisdictions. Who contributes to society should already have voting rights – at least in our association? Furthermore, puberty is largely completed at this age on average. From an evolutionary point of view, this is when they should take responsibility and challenge parents and older people. In many industrialized countries no changes happen after puberty. Education and training of a young person extends nowadays usually into the twenties. To counterbalance we should strive for an early effectiveness of young people in the association. In addition, inclusion from the age of 16 onwards prevents an ageing of the structures.

Until what age should they be entitled to vote?

People above an age limit should no longer have a say in decision-making. This suggestion is certainly controversial. However, even today, most people above a certain age cannot (or do not want to) understand the possibilities and dangers of new technologies such as cyber-currencies, block chain and big data. The natural reaction is fear of change. This is already true now and everything indicates that technological changes will accelerate. So, despite some exceptions, I think it is healthy to exclude generally very young and very old individuals from direct influence due to a lack of comprehension with respect to current topics or willingness to change. Moreover, almost all older people are in the industrialized countries of the northern hemisphere because in developing countries medical care, nutrition balance, education, and hygiene is not yet good enough that a comparable average age is reached. In so far, my proposal would also promote equal opportunities in a global comparison between developing and developed regions.

Next week we will look into rights and obligations of private organisations as members.