in my previous post, explained why Star Trek's Federation, despite striving for peaceful diversity, fell just short of that goal. In this post, we switch gears from culture and ideology to economics.
In the Commonwealth, most goods and services are produced by reproduction. The necessity of production and trade through division of labor is greatly Diminished (However, there is a demand for premium, artisanal, non-reproduction products, as demonstrated by culinary companies such as: Chateau Picard and Cisco's Creole Kitchen, (Same goes for physical books and other objects). Therefore, it appears that the Federation has overcome many challenges. knowledge problem It is important to satisfy dynamic, subjective preferences and efficiently allocate scarce resources to competing uses.it is economy of abundance beyond even numbers Dream of most economists or SF writer. This is coupled with egalitarian values and an arrogant assurance that the Commonwealth is populated by virtual saints interested only in self-realization and universal brotherhood.
But by contrast, outside (and sometimes inside!) the Federation's utopian planetary core, people often fight over inadequate replicators, scarce machinery, food, medicine, and other resources. Supply ships are essential for transporting rare items to distant worlds and goods that cannot be duplicated, such as dilithium and rare medicines. Mining appears to be an important industry throughout the galaxy.
The role of Benjamin Cisco admit bitterly:
There is no poverty, no crime, no war on earth. When you look out the window of Starfleet Headquarters, you see paradise. Well, it's easy to be a saint in paradise, but the Maquis don't live in paradise. In the demilitarized zone, all issues are still unresolved. There are no saints, only humans. Angry, frightened, and determined, these people are willing to do whatever it takes to survive, whether they receive federal recognition or not.
In particular, while a replicator can recreate almost anything, a replicator can themselves It cannot be easily reproduced. Trek will never tell you whether there is a cost to create a replicator. However, it is clear that replicators cannot be easily provided to everyone. Contrary to Jean-Luc Piccard's assertion that „…the acquisition of wealth is no longer the driving force in our lives,“ the Federation do not have Overcoming self-interest, greed, etc. constraints of humanity.It's just changed transaction costs of conflict By leveraging technology that significantly reduces scarcity. When scarcity returns, conflicts over resources also arise.
The assignment of duties further supports the view that the Federation relies on more advanced technology than a sci-fi version of a nation. new soviet man or rawls ideal theory. It is unclear how the federation encourages people to take up less desirable jobs or jobs whose social importance is less understood. Considering that the choice of work is determined by the individual's will, recognize Being public-spirited and whatever they think will help them achieve self-actualization (two goals that are potentially in tension) without being judged by the price mechanism.
And it's never explained how people (particularly non-Starfleet civilians) are motivated to choose menial and relatively unrewarding jobs that are also socially necessary, like cleaning. However, it remains a mystery why such highly technological and egalitarian societies even need jobs like bartenders and cleaners in the first place. Notably, Starfleet personnel's dedication to their mission precludes them from seeking ways to limit their workload or avoid unpleasant missions, whether through trade missions or by any other means. isn't it. Create buffer time.
Ferengi (qualified) defense
The Ferengi have an advantage here that the Federation rarely acknowledges. Ferengi are routinely portrayed as a sexual and selfish species; A cartoon satirizing capitalists (And at the same time as being real) vicious misogynist). However, they single-mindedly pursue profit and gratitude, economic thinking It opens up possibilities to them that would otherwise be closed to the Federation and Starfleet.
consider Dispute resolution with quarks Between Maquis Rebels and Cardassians Using some simple game theory, he provided a solution that was opaque to his „rational“ Vulcan interlocutors. His attentiveness to gains and losses recognizes that the successful conclusion of any conflict requires a relative sacrifice of peace over war.
Qwark: You want to have peace. Okay, peace is a good thing. But how much are you willing to pay for it?
Sakonna: Whatever it is.
Quirk: This kind of irresponsible spending is what causes so many business ventures to fail. You forgot the third rule! Peace may be cheap to buy right now, but you don't realize it.
Sakon: …I think this is very difficult to understand.
Qwark: (sighs) Well, let me explain it simply so that even a Vulcan can understand it. Central forces were caught red-handed smuggling weapons to the settlers. Therefore, all ships approaching the demilitarized zone will be searched. Without the support of the Central Forces, the Cardassian colonists would not fight as hard.
Sakonna: You're forgetting the weapons they already have.
quark: They have weapons, you have weapons, everyone has weapons. But at the moment, no one has a clear advantage. The price of peace is therefore at an all-time low. This is the perfect time to sit down and come to an agreement. Don't you understand? Attacking the Cardassians now will only escalate the conflict and make peace more expensive in the long run. Now, I ask you: Is it logical?
For federal citizens, opportunity cost Their selection is not a regular practice. Coddled by material affluence and idyllic forms of deliberative democracy, they further limit their thinking about trade-offs by adhering to simple, inflexible rules such as Prime Minister's Directives. When they choose to violate ordinances like the Directive, they rarely follow up on the societies they were involved with, leaving indigenous peoples to deal with the large-scale social changes they brought about. (This is especially noticeable in series like TOS, and even TNG). The non-interventionism of this directive may often reflect a certain ethos. Implicit Hayekian or Austrian However, a thorough comparison by federations rarely reveals the existence of different types of engagement. There is a big difference between trade and cultural exchange. collapse and reconstruction of educational institutions in their home countries by Elite from above.
Federations are also poorly equipped to recognize the costs and trade-offs in areas where they are experiencing shortfalls. do not have Particularly excluded at certain times. Here the Ferengi came to the rescue.when Chief O'Brien cannot obtain the stabilizer. Nog managed to obtain it by creating a complex barter system throughout Starfleet. Similarly, Nog leads Jake in series of trades You will then be able to obtain an antique Captain Cisco baseball card. In doing so, they take on tasks that Starfleet personnel (who are presumably happy with their jobs and are purely altruistic) are reluctant to do. improve everyone's situation in the process.Unlike the Federation, the Ferengi entrepreneurial-minded To satisfy people's preferences and utilize resources efficiently.Ferengi dedication to even profit encourage them to abandon sexismactually Gary Becker's Spirit.as Grand Nagus points out: Discrimination is bad for business and wastes valuable human capital.
The Ferengi were also well-positioned to help the Bajorans during the occupation of Cardassia. The Ferengi served as arms dealers for the Bajoran rebels, offering Bajoran workers relatively better employment opportunities than those forced upon them by the Cardassians. Although the Ferengi were driven by profit, their status as neutral merchants allowed them to engage in entrepreneurship that at least marginally improved Bajoran conditions. In contrast, the Cardassians' enemies, the Federation, despite their brave warriors, were unable to do much and were slow to recognize Bajor's plight. Ensign Law's efforts others.
Between the Federal Constitution and Ferengi Acquisition Regulations
The Ferengi undoubtedly represent the long history of humanity. cultural antipathy to merchants, businessmen, and economic intermediaries, often; held by a despised minority of Similar to Ferengi Island. How we think about the Ferengi reflects the extent to which we understand the challenges of cooperation, especially with outsiders, and the costs and trade-offs inherent in every part of life. I am. Of course, the Ferengi have many flaws, from a Gordon Gekko-like pure love of greed to ugly sexism and speciesism. But they are often a useful corrective to the Union's idealism and failure to coordinate. The Federation may hate the Ferengi, but they have many valuable lessons to teach.
But the Ferengi also have something to learn from the Federation. What is missing from the core of Ferengi values is the Federation's respect for Ferengi values. equal freedom and dignity People as sentient beings. The Ferengi are good at recognizing the costs and benefits of their actions, but a commercial culture without a larger philosophy of how people should be treated, in the words of Deirdre McCloskey, „depletes the soul.“ „destroy''.as McCloskey points out: There is a very real danger, both theoretically and practically, that a worldview focused solely on self-interest, costs and profits reduces people to crude calculating subjects, constantly seeking to exploit and deceive each other. I am holding. We are not, and should not be, what McCloskey calls „Max U'' or „Mr. U'' simple profit seekers in our relationships with others. Maximum utility. ”
In this respect, Trek may teach us something important about the inherent limitations of different worldviews. The Ferengi's main flaw is that they are selfish profit-maximizers to the point of gross immorality, whereas the Federation is an imperfect society full of self-interest, scarcity, knowledge problems, and trade-offs. It's not taking the world into account enough.Ferengi relativism poses Quark's dilemma of whether the Ferengi really have a problem being an arms dealer (Thankfully his conscience won the day). As a result of Federation absolutism, Starfleet was unable to save billions of lives. Because nothing is allowed to violate the Prime Directive (though thankfully some officers' consciences can override their obedience). In a very complex world, conflict of values, we need both the ferengi alliance and United Federation of Planets. It's a messy mixture, to be sure, but it's more in tune with the universe we actually live in, even if it's fiction.
Akiva Malamet is a master's candidate in philosophy at Queen's University (Canada). He has been published on Libertarianism.org, Liberal Currents, Catalyst, and other outlets.