“Star Trek” Socialism by T. Edwin Perry
Before I start, let me just say that I LIKE “Star Trek.” I’ve always been a fan of Science Fiction, those futuristic stories with space ships and aliens and puzzling mysteries. I mean, I don’t speak Klingon or go to conventions wearing pointy ears or anything like that, but I’ve watched the shows & movies, and I generally like it.
But, as much as I like “Star Trek,” I don’t like SOCIALISM. Unfortunately, Gene Roddenberry’s futuristic society is the epitome of Socialism. There’s no money (everyone works for free), everyone wears uniforms (good luck if you’re wearing a red shirt), and alien societies that AREN’T like “Starfleet” are inherently wrong and need to be saved by their superior lifestyle.
And what makes Socialism work in the “Star Trek” universe? One word: Technology. In the “Star Trek” universe, machines make your dinner, clean your clothes, recycle your waste, clean your house, and you don’t have to pay for it because they don’t have any money, anyway. Get sick, and a machine can fix any infection. Need to travel? No more annoying driving. Just use your “Transporter Beam” and you’re around the globe in the blink of an eye with no pesky Carbon Footprint. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Oh, yeah, and there’s one more reason why Socialism works in “Star Trek:” IT’S FICTION! But our Government seems to have forgotten this tidbit of information, and is trying to force us into this “future” at Warp Speed! The truth is that Socialism doesn’t work, at least not in our reality, anyway.
Ask yourself if you would go to work tomorrow if you weren’t going to get paid. Well, in the “Star Trek” world, you don’t get paid, but SOCIETY provides for all of your basic needs. OK, that sounds great, but let me ask you this question: How HARD will you work if you are only provided with your BASIC NEEDS, with no hope of any further benefit? I’m willing to bet that you’d only be willing to work hard enough to keep those basic needs covered. After all, with no additional benefit for harder work, why waste your energy?
Sidebar: Let’s not forget, by the way, that our “Leaders” in Congress have pushed to continually raise the Minimum Wage, and there’s a new “Pay Czar” advisor in the White House seeking to set “Maximum Wage” conditions as well. Is it such a stretch to believe that the next step would be eliminating money altogether?
We don’t have the machines to fix you when you’re sick, but our Government is working hard to make sure that you have THEIR version of health care. But don’t expect any more innovation in medical care, because, without profits, the companies that develop these innovations will have no motivation to do so.
Want to travel? Well, with no money, I don’t know where you’d go, or what you’d do when you got there, but with more and more Government regulation on emissions and fuel efficiency, it’s likely that travel will become a restricted luxury, controlled and taxed by your “Nanny-state” Government. But, hey, once they get rid of money, I guess we won’t have to worry about the taxes, so, there you go.
Our Government, represented by both main Political Parties, seems to be stuck in a perpetual state of ignorance. Not Stupidity, mind you. I’m not accusing any of the members of our Government of being Stupid. They know EXACTLY what they’re doing, but they’ve chosen to IGNORE the existing system and how it works. Most have never worked in any private industry, and have no clue how Capitalism works. Many have lived off the wealth of the Government, sucking at the teat of the American People, for so long that they have no recollection of living “Paycheck to Paycheck,” struggling to make ends meet and trying to better themselves.
Every time I’ve felt defeated and tired from ranting and raving, crying out through the Blogosphere to you, my handful of readers, I remember the final words of our Declaration of Independence: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”
I may be tired, I may feel at times defeated, but I will continue to rant, and to rave, and to point out the continued hypocrisy of our Government. I’ll keep trying to come up with new and creative ways to make my point that we don’t need or want a “Nanny-state” Government telling us what job to do, what to eat, when to sleep, what TV shows to watch, what to drive or how to think. We are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and it is the responsibility of our Government to PROTECT these rights, and not to infringe upon them. And until they shut me down, I’ll keep ranting against them.
Until then, “Beam Me Up, Scotty!”
“Beam me up, Scotty, there’s no intelligent life down here!”
That’s definitely what it feels like sometimes when you hear the different ideas that are proposed. I used to love when Jay Leno would do his “Jaywalking” bit and you’d get to hear the things that people thought. Only in a society where people are allowed to go through life with no requirement to think for themselves could it be possible that the government could tell people “what the majority of people want” even when it’s an outright lie. What I love even more, is how they’ve managed to make people doubt their own beliefs. (Note my post, on this site, about “The Big Lie Theory.”)
One comment you mentioned that I wanted to pick at… “Is it such a stretch to believe that the next step would be eliminating money altogether?” Of course they’ll never eliminate money. With a complete elimination of money, there’s no way to maintain control without the physical threat of violence. More importantly, there’s no way to reward “the people that do what you want” if you can’t reward them financially.
The more likely scenario is that they’ll force a “standard wage” on everyone and then allow the elite to get more. To steal a line from Animal Farm “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”…
Yeah, I realize that the elimination of money is an absurd thought, but it goes in line with the whole “Star Trek” philosophy. Remember, only the ugly “Ferenghis” used any form of currency. (You do remember Quark, don’t you?) And, much like everything Liberals try to make look evil and ugly in our society today, it was their desire to make a PROFIT that made them socially undesirable, not their ugly faces or insanely large…ears….
Sidebar: Have you read the “Rules of Acquisition?” (http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Rules_of_Acquisition) I’m particularly surprised by Rules 45 & 95, which are the same: “Expand or Die.” Sounds like the Government is Ferengi as well.