the Martian Meritocracy

Moving millions of people from overcrowded Earth to an alien environment could not be trusted to anything as slap-hazard as a democracy....what we have here is a strict meritocracy....there are no politicians or lawyers..... stupid, vain, power-seeking people don't get power....the good public service jobs go to the people with the highest test scores....and they pay well, to attract these smart people.....no judges either, it's all spelled out so anybody can read what the law says....when you get here, they give you plenty of time to read the social contract.....look at the FAQ all you want...if you don't want to sign on the dotted line, you can go back to where you came from....if you've got the bucks for passage......what you do if you flaunt the law is spelled out in great detail, so don't look for any probation or plea bargains, chump. It's been working great so far....we have a fantastic degree of civil participation, and a damned low crime rate.....well, we don't let many fools or reprobates down to the surface in the first place....I like it here.