Posted on 02/24/2015 9:34:40 PM PST by Citizen Zed
As an example, Sisko's father runs a restaurant. Seats at that restaurant have to be a finite resource (because they require labor), so they would not be “free” to everyone—the owners get to choose whom they give it to. (That brings up the interesting question of whether the Federation would have anti-discrimination laws, but I digress.) Let's say Sisko chooses to feed people in his neighborhood; choosing to live in that neighborhood is the “price” his customers pay for his food. Similarly, Picard's brother makes real wine; since that requires real grapes and, again, labor, that would also be a finite resource (as opposed to synthehol, which is free to everyone). From the context, it seems likely that Picard the elder distributes his bottles to friends and family; a relationship with him is therefore the “price” of a bottle. However, he would likely also distribute bottles in “reputation trade,” so if you run an outstanding French restaurant, Picard would like choose to supply you with bottles. In return, as a courtesy to a great vintner, the Picards can likely get a table at every great restaurant in France whenever they like.
So in the Star Trek universe there are motivations to “make something of yourself”—you demonstrate that you are a worthwhile person, which would make others more inclined to befriend you (and thus give you the fruits of their labor) or jump you to the top of waiting lists for things like real wine, spots at a restaurant or a theater show, pieces of art, human-designed clothing, etc. It's clear that Starfleet personnel are very high status and thus are cosseted in most places and given first access to things of this type; this would be a huge motivation for joining Starfleet.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Thanks for that reminder. I have shared that story at Thanksgiving with my kids.
Two of them get fighting mad when at school people think that “fair” and “equal” is the same thing.
Yes. They’d be back with an attack as soon as they could get it organized, if they thought they had a prayer of winning. :-)
And if you refused the higher ambitions?
To be fair, the Ferengi are atavistic capitalists, like with their famous Rules Of Acquisition:
“Free advice is seldom cheap.”
“The riskier the road, the greater the profit.”
“Every man has his price.”
“Compassion is no substitute for a profit.”
“Whisper your way to success.”
“There is no substitute for success.”
“Ask not what your profits can do for you, but what you can do for your profits.”
“Only fools pay retail.”
“It’s always good to know about new customers before they walk in your door.”
“There’s nothing more dangerous than an honest businessman.”
“A smart customer is not a good customer.”
“Greed is eternal.”
“Never trust your customers.”
“Never trust a beneficiary.”
“Never give away for free what can be sold.”
“Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don’t hesitate to step on them.”
That’s where capitalism comes in. You could be a schlump and have to take a freighter that would take a few months to get to Vulcan or you could have some valuable talents and be allowed in a galaxy class starship and be there in three days.
Star Trek is a Western; Star Wars is a Swashbuckler.
It’s a fantasy. And it wouldn’t work.
Bingo.
You’ll notice in the show, unless your skills were military or science or medicine or engineering, you generally didn’t go gallivanting around the galaxy. You either stayed home or you did go to space, but your trips were much more local.
It’s probably the same with technology. For example, the replicators, if you were considered valuable then you could create almost perfectly replicated foods. If you were common, you could probably only create those geometric shapes that only tasted something like food but met your nutritional needs. If you were important, you could use the transporter. If unimportant, the shuttle.
On the other hand, they were also strictly meritorious. You didn’t get included in the will because you happened to be the offspring. You had to show that you could wisely use what would be given to you.
>>Shop that idea around the US Navy. The Submarine community will be especially amused.<<
Having not had the privilege of serving on a Submarine (or any other vessel), I don’t know if that was irony or an observation that children do indeed man the helm...
The experience that was had in this common course and condition may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God.This lesson was taught again at the cost of hundreds of millions of lives lost to communism.Let none object this is men's corruption, and nothing to the course itself. I answer, seeing all men have this corruption in them, God in His wisdom saw another course fitter for them.
Yet still the lie of communism, the lie of Satan appealing to mankind's arrogance, is sold. And bought.
When will humanity learn?
And given the number of people on that ship, there were very few people - a very small percentage - that could maintain and run it, and even fewer that could do real repairs on it if significant damage/breakdown occurred. And if they ran out of crystals for the warp engine, well....
There were a lot of smart people on the ship in their own fields but not a great many they could lose and still maintain and run the ship as normal.
Actually it's a potlatch culture, which works in society characteriszed by periodic scarcity.
Remove the scarcity (ie replicators) and the culture becomes toxic.
I’m glad you enjoyed it. :-)
Yeah laughing as they tore limb for limb. :-)
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