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Talk:Star Trek franchise (view source)
Revision as of 07:50, November 10, 2014
, 07:50, November 10, 2014→The Quark video
I would interpret [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hdiuRMK3UQ this video] as Quark expressing love-hate feelings toward the Federation. There nothing in it clarifying what kind of government or economy the Federation might have. It’s just one of many scenes where these issues are evaded. The Federation represents “the good guys,” not an ideology like big government that would make it divisive with viewers. If the show presents the Federation as above ideology, then it is. There is no class warfare issue in Trek, so it is misleading to describe the Ferengi as “evil capitalists.” The Ferengi are usually depicted simply as unpleasant money grubbers. There are even several episodes where they are depicted sympathetically. In the Trek universe, the epitome of evil is the Borg collective, which is clearly socialist. [[User:PeterKa|PeterKa]] 09:55, 6 January 2014 (EST)
I would interpret [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hdiuRMK3UQ this video] as Quark expressing love-hate feelings toward the Federation. There nothing in it clarifying what kind of government or economy the Federation might have. It’s just one of many scenes where these issues are evaded. The Federation represents “the good guys,” not an ideology like big government that would make it divisive with viewers. If the show presents the Federation as above ideology, then it is. There is no class warfare issue in Trek, so it is misleading to describe the Ferengi as “evil capitalists.” The Ferengi are usually depicted simply as unpleasant money grubbers. There are even several episodes where they are depicted sympathetically. In the Trek universe, the epitome of evil is the Borg collective, which is clearly socialist. [[User:PeterKa|PeterKa]] 09:55, 6 January 2014 (EST)
:The scene has always bugged me. Feel free to disagree. People argue it's about assimilation, how everyone wants to live in America, but I see sermonizing about how the Ferengi (undeniable capitalist caricatures) will inevitably want to give up their way of life. [[User:JohnBD|JohnBD]] 11:41, 6 January 2014 (EST)
:The scene has always bugged me. Feel free to disagree. People argue it's about assimilation, how everyone wants to live in America, but I see sermonizing about how the Ferengi (undeniable capitalist caricatures) will inevitably want to give up their way of life. [[User:JohnBD|JohnBD]] 11:41, 6 January 2014 (EST)
:Sisko demands that Quark remain on the station. Regardless, the Feringi are more swindlers than capitalists. True capitalism relies on the principals of fair business, ethics, consumer understanding. In the technological world of Star Trek, energy is basically unlimited and furthermore seems to be able to be converted directly into structured matter through replicators, additionally, the capacity to travel beyond the speed of light makes land and resources virtually unlimited as well. If such technology were actually to exist, then the fundamental underlying principle of economics would be changed as scarcity would simply not really be relevant anymore except when it came to holodeck time, sex, and pet animals and other non-material commodities that otherwise can't be replicated. With scarcity pretty much non-existent, money would simply pretty much cease to be. The Borg isn't socialist - it's simply the embodiment of anything and everything that swallows humans through complete domination of the mind. They could be compared to some Communist countries, some religious movements, and even Ancient Rome (Rome might be one of the better comparisons - extremely imperialistic, conquered any and all cultures and brought them into compliance with the Roman state, forced them through violence to submit to Roman culture, believed that some people were inherently suited only to be used as slaves and needed overlords to guide them). I don't think the Borg are meant to be compared to any real political systems. They are an ant/bee colony - there's one episode of Voyager where a man whose world was destroyed by the Borg is upset that Janeway made a deal with the Borg and he's infuriated at her because he says she had a choice but that hating the Borg is like hating a hurricane - comparing them to a force of nature. The Borg represent any and all philosophies and ideologies that conquer and function by destroying the individual and that's not limited to Communists. [[User:Tollerson|Tollerson]] 02:50, 10 November 2014 (EST)