Tenebrae Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 I was thinking about it and I realised that the Star Trek universe doesn't seem terribly democratic - not even the supposedly utopian Federation. So, I wrote a little article about it at my blog. Do say what you think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TetsuoShima Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 As long as there is plenty to go round and nearly everything is basically free and available, people have little need for democracy. Democracy basically is way to improve the way everything is devided between the people in a nation imo. btw, Democracy itself is a utopia, there is no way a true democracy will ever exist on this earth. Current spin-offs behave very poorly when it comes to the true ideals of democracy imo (or what I believe those ideals are). In any case, if 75% of the people vote lets kill the other 25%, then that would be quite democratical, if you look at it without a deeper perspective. Indeed there is little show about democracy in action in the series, there is some more info about it in some pocket books though. Mostly the lack of featuring democracy in action in visual star trek is the fact that series/movies focus on starfleet, which is obviously anything but democratic. That combined with the huge differences in star trek over the different movies/series/erras, makes that there really isn't much usefull to say about democracy in star trek. There simply isn't enough unbiased footage to cover it yet. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GorunNova Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 I think the democracy is hidden behind the central focus of the various Star Trek series... the military branch known as Starfleet. We occasionally get glimpses of it (the President of the Federation, the myriad diplomatic conferences, etc. etc.), but for the most part the focus is on the military because they're doing the 'interesting stuff'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenebrae Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 The real problem is that for the most part Star Trek exists in a vacuum of religious and political context... But as I said, you'd think that there'd be SOME political context at some point. Diplomacy doesn't really mean there's more than diplomats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vystral Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 I see the federation as communism in its purest form. No money, everyone works for the betterment of mankind, a high command that no one is supposed to question or defy... I could be totally wrong, but that has been my observation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amnot Borg Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 Other than fewer than half a dozen or so scenes in the various series and movies, politics of the Federation government isn't what we got to see on screen. We saw the various things Star Fleet was ordered to do to support the government as a whole or to protect a planet. It was more exciting and related to what we saw in TOS. In the novels, I'm sure someone has probably discussed politics more often but I haven't read every single ST novel like I used to try to do and they mostly aren't canon material anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megalith Posted May 27, 2007 Share Posted May 27, 2007 I see the federation as communism in its purest form. No money, everyone works for the betterment of mankind, a high command that no one is supposed to question or defy... I could be totally wrong, but that has been my observation. My thoughts too. Certainly the pilot episode of TOS shows a civilian ship with no ranking structure (it has a captain and #1 but other than that they were all equal) my belief GR wanted to portray a view of a communist future at a time when communism in the US was a witch hunt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenebrae Posted May 28, 2007 Author Share Posted May 28, 2007 Yes - as I mentioned in the article, it's not as if the idea of communism and Star Trek hasn't been drawn. It certainly does SEEM to be communist. You rather get the impression that everyone seemed to pretty much what they wanted. After all, energy is cheap, plentiful and by the time TNG rolls around, (in Picard's own words) matter and energy have become interchangeable. Hence, you can take something and change it into something else pretty easily... so really, in terms of day to day living - it becomes easy to provide for people while all but eliminating the basis of traditional economies (that is to say both the primary and secondary type jokes - the collection and refinement of natural resources and their manufacture into usable goods). Sometimes you get the impression that people just join Starfleet as a way to pass the time between finishing school and buying the farm - and let's face it, what would Harry have done if he wasn't on Voyager striking out with girls and getting horrifically mutilated on a weekly basis? I think they may have moved PAST the point of "from each their ability, to each their need"... simply because their technological infrastructure made it possible to provide for all... this still doesn't explain why they didn't have "shake and bake" colonies... they managed it in Aliens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDad Posted June 2, 2007 Share Posted June 2, 2007 I see the federation as communism in its purest form. No money, everyone works for the betterment of mankind, a high command that no one is supposed to question or defy... I could be totally wrong, but that has been my observation. It was more socialist than communist. There was money but it wasn't necessary for basic living. That would allow significant flexibility in choosing a career path. When they used money, it was mainly for unreplicable materials, luxuries and specialty services. Not everyone worked for the betterment of others (Harry Mudd and Kivas Fajo, for example) otherwise it would have been a long, boring story. There was a elected civilian government, though the series dealt with it very little. It would appear this elected civilian government had authority over the military arm (see A Taste Of Armageddon). A civilian official had authority over Starfleet personnel in this episode. There has never been any indication that the civilian government had absolute authority over it's citizens. On the other hand, Starfleet, a military organization, has a strict hierarchy and a clear, inviolate chain of command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centurion Posted June 2, 2007 Share Posted June 2, 2007 I agree. There was also a DS9 episode showing the Federation gov and so on. The Coup d'Etat one... I don't remember its name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenebrae Posted June 5, 2007 Author Share Posted June 5, 2007 Yes, Starfleet is clearly a military institution that is very similar to those that exist today - taking its orders from the Federation Council. It's all rather indicative of the "state" of the Star Trek universe, really. We've so little of an idea of how things work. In fact, we've probably got a better working knowledge of the Klingon system of government than the Federation. We don't really know how trade works when things can so often be replicated. We've no real idea of how the economic infrastructure works or anything. I think someone said - Star trek doesn't have a continuity, it just has a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bones2097 Posted June 5, 2007 Share Posted June 5, 2007 a contract, is a contract, is a contract..... the ferengi had is sorted ages ago...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenebrae Posted June 7, 2007 Author Share Posted June 7, 2007 A contract, is a contract, is a contract... but only between Ferengi. They never really explained the system of governance for the Ferengi... I mean, it just seems a bit improbably EVERYTHING could be resolved by money... well, maybe not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjnave Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 "This isnt a Democracy. I cant run this ship by consensus" - Janeway, Season 2 "Alliances"[br]Posted on: June 11, 2007, 06:11:18 AMThe Federation is a Technocracy. Those with the technology rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TetsuoShima Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 The Federation is a Technocracy. Those with the technology rule. Errr, no! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjnave Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 The Federation is a Technocracy. Those with the technology rule. Errr, no! ;) how bout those with cool com-badges? B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TetsuoShima Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 LOL, what about the scientists and engineers? ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenebrae Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 To be honest, it's complicated even just for the ships... because it seems as if everyone goes to the Academy to be trained. Trek continuity being what it is though, even that isn't hard and fast... I think Chief O'Brien is the only person who was a main cast member in Starfleet who WASN'T at the Academy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GorunNova Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Actually... that rather suggests that it's only command officers that go to Starfleet Academy, while the 'average crewmen' have ... lesser training? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjnave Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Actually... that rather suggests that it's only command officers that go to Starfleet Academy, while the 'average crewmen' have ... lesser training? Im pretty sure everyone goes through the academy. Some however go through the command track. Voyager has an episode about "interns" or something like that.. basically those who just graduated from the academy. Miles O'Brien was granted a non-commissioned officer status. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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