In the original series, the military nature of Starfleet combined with the need for adventure and dramatic conflict to limit the influence of Roddenberry's left-wing views. These episodes were recorded prior to the feminist era, so gender relations are according to nature and tradition. The early seasons of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' suffered severely from the Roddenberry vision. For example, the character Q was used to parody God. Roddenberry’s skeptical view of religion was detailed in several dialogs between Q and Picard.<ref name=walker /> As Roddenberry’s health declined, Rick Berman's influence grew. He was promoted to executive producer during the third season of TNG. ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'', a Berman creation, broke with the Roddenberry vision in several ways. It included various flawed human characters, and we learned that Starfleet has a secret agency called Section 31 that was responsible for various atrocities.<ref name=walker />
As the citizens of the Federation have access to goods in unlimited supply, it does not have a conventional economy. However, various characters are depicted as running small businesses such as vinyards or restaurants, presumably just for the fun of it.<ref>Yglesias, Matthew, “[http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/11/18/star_trek_economy_federation_is_only_mostly_post_scarcity.html The Star Trek Economy: (Mostly) Post-Scarcity (Mostly) Socialism]", ''Slate''. Nov. 18, 2013.</ref> On the issue of money, the show is inconsistent. Some episodes claim that the Federation has abolished money, others depict Federation citizens bartering for latinum, the Ferengi currency. The Ferengi are traders and businessmen, free marketeers unfettered by taxes and regulationhave an unfettered free market economy. Although it is never made clear what kind of economy the Federation itself has, the Ferengi and other races are depicted as envious of it.<ref>See e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hdiuRMK3UQ</ref>
== Relationship views ==