"Star Trek" Economics

Discussion of the economy

Moderator: Super Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
Riddick
Pirate
Posts: 15703
Joined: 11-01-2002 03:00 AM
Location: Heartland USA
Contact:

"Star Trek" Economics

Post by Riddick » 08-19-2015 02:55 AM

One big, obvious thing is absent in the future society depicted in ST:TNG. No one is doing business.

There is nearly no buying and selling, save for a few species for whom commerce is a form of traditional religion. Food and luxuries are free, provided by “replicators.” Recreation, provided by virtual reality, is infinite in scope. Scarcity - the central defining concept of economics - seems to have been eliminated.

Is this really the future? Is it possible? Is it something we want? When we talk about Star Trek economics, what we’re really talking about is how to get to economic utopia. It’s an important question economists and economics writers struggle with.

One theory is as society gets richer and richer, capitalism and free markets will still exist, but will simply recede into the background. Others describe Star Trek not as a socialist paradise, but as a libertarian one. The future may have a far more radical transformation in store for us - technological advances will actually end economics as we know it, and destroy scarcity, by changing the nature of human desire.

FULL STORY
Last edited by Riddick on 08-19-2015 02:59 AM, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
fos
Pirate
Posts: 467
Joined: 01-18-2006 07:18 PM

Post by fos » 08-19-2015 08:50 PM

One of the keys to the Star Trek economy is abundant energy. Energy to produce warp speeds. Energy makes the replicator work. I suspect converting energy into matter: "Energy = mass * (speed of light)^sqr. Or mass = Energy / (speed of light)^sqr, hence a martini, shaken not stirred. The holodeck must take quite a bit of energy, it sure looks like fun as long as the safety locks are operational. Who needs a Lambo when you can fly a space version of the speeder?

Even today, energy is one of the primary keys in our economics. Everything has some sort of basis in energy.

Maybe some day we will harness fusion and become a Type 1+ society. (Or discover dilithium crystals). Isn't it interesting that the best batteries so far are based on lithium? ;)

Dr. Huebner, my favorite undergrad physics professor thought that fusion might become possible around 2025. Maybe he won't be far off.

fos
Last edited by fos on 08-19-2015 08:54 PM, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Riddick
Pirate
Posts: 15703
Joined: 11-01-2002 03:00 AM
Location: Heartland USA
Contact:

Bernie Trek

Post by Riddick » 11-03-2018 03:44 PM

Riddick wrote: 08-19-2015 02:55 AM what we’re really talking about is how to get to economic utopia.
Image
A mind should not be so open that the brains fall out; however, it should not be so closed that whatever gray matter which does reside may not be reached. ART BELL

Everything Woke turns to Image
-Donald Trump Image

Post Reply

Return to “Economy”