Zubrin and sovereignty

Zubrin said... [Emphasis mine]

I think there need to be reasonable laws for claims of sovereignty on Mars. In other words, I don't think you can have one power go there and say, "Well, we landed here first, so we can claim the whole thing." I think there ought to be possibility to claim certain territories based on your activity in those territories. Without that, without there being some national sovereignties, there can't be private property.

Private property can only exist in the presence of government. You own your house because there are police there to make sure that you do. If there were no police, anybody stronger than you could throw you out of your house. In order for us to establish mining claims on Mars, there has to be someone with whom they are registered. So, I do think there needs to be national sovereignty in space, but I think that agreements need to be reached on criteria for establishing national claims on Mars territories.

But it doesn't have to be any existing national governments. The people living on mars can get a fresh start by establishing their own local government in the form of a settlement charter. Agreements only need to be reached by those making claims by possession which is what the settlement charter achieves. It does not require the blessing of any existing governments. Martians need to assert the rights they've had since before any government existed.