Posted on 10/22/2014 10:26:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Everyone knows that the Ferengi are the go-to guys when you need something.
These Utopian movies maybe fun to watch but only if you are capable of suspending your critical thinking. I frequently am not and get irritated a particular movie or TV program.
I frequently annoy my wife when I can’t help myself and blurt out one of the fanciful flights of fantasy that the screen play author utilized to create a Utopian civilization.
What got me about the first new one was them building the Enterprise on the surface of Earth. How were they going to get something into space that has a warp drive, and apparently has a Bussard ramjet as its main propulsion? How the heck do you get that thing into orbit?
Any time I get pulled into this subject with a Trekker, I point out the guy in the background in Start Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, who is vacuuming the floors as Kirk and Spock walk down a hallway. If there is no money, why would he be vacuuming the hallway, as that is something people only do for money, not the thrill of it.
Federation credits is mentioned frequently as the form of payment. Bartering was another. The economy was supposed to be more like the bitcoins we see today. That is to say credits not backed by a govt or a world, but still accepted for payment of tribbles and such. So if there was no govt-backed “money”, Picard was correct to some extent, but he also wasn’t telling the whole story that can be gleaned from many other episodes.
I think towards the end all their talk of utopia was proven false. Just cause a communist believes he is right doesnt make him so. Picard just believed everthing was cool.
Towards the end the federations evil underbelly started to show. Like the incident that nearly ruined rikers career. also look at what happened to the baku.
Also i dont think everyone got all the toys. That was mainly starfleet.
i think had the series continued we would have seen the federation crumbleand a free republic of planets appear.
Boomark
“The acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives,””
IF you are in Starfleet, or work for the Federation Government. Then you get stipends and full retirement, (IF you live that long).
For the rest of Humanity, it is likely not so much.
As is often noted, the remote colonies are made up of people wanting to escape the rigid life in Sol/Earth. Some are even acknowledged to be based along religious, or even racial lines (The American Indian “Maquis” Colonies in DS9, for example).
IMO, if you don’t fit into, or accept the rigid hierarchy of Federation control, you are basically left to sweep the floors, take out the trash, or seek a new life for yourself in the Colonies.
Speaking of Starfleet, how mad would you have to make a superior to get a 3 year posting on a remote, 3 man monitoring post on the Romulan Border?
Don’t try to think about the problems with Faux Trek I, it’ll drive you nuts.
Dilithium can be found in small quantities within the Federation, but the trade in it is largely controlled by the Orions, who have large quantities within their borders. Which is why, despite the smuggling, sometime piracy, and slaving, Orion trade is allowed in the Federation.
Yeah, I’m remembering the really geeky stuff.
“How the heck do you get that thing into orbit?”
Balloons lots and lots of ballons.
It's either the vacuum or the red-shirted uniform and security detail with the landing party.
“...young James T. Kirk activates the computer system of a car he swiped for a joyride, and the Nokia logo comes up. It’s nice to see Nokia’s still in business in the twenty-third century.”
That’s called product placement.
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