mijan | META: Star Trekonomics

Hello loves! This is going to be something between a rational explanation and a rant. If someone reading this fears that this might be about them and their fanfiction specifically, NO, it's not. I've seen this is so many fanfics... almost ALL the fanfics that even mention anything related to money, cost, income, paychecks, or anything economic... that this applies to almost everyone who is writing Star Trek fanfic but who doesn't have a life-long grounding in Star Trek philosophy.

Here are a few things you need to know about economics CANON in Star Trek. This isn't a judgment call, nor a decree of whether it's the right way or the wrong way to structure an economy. I'm NOT telling you that this is the way the future WILL be or SHOULD be. I'm not even saying that this would ever work. No, this is just telling you how it is in CANON:

Capitalism is dead. That's right - on Earth, in the very least, in Star Trek canon, Capitalism is DEAD. This is a post-scarcity society. Nobody hungers, nobody goes without the basic necessities. And yes, it's pure socialism. That's canon.

BUT! I hear you scream, they use credits! That's money!
BZZZZT! Wrong. Credits are not money in a capitalistic sense. They can't accumulate wealth. They can't amass interest. They're not used for necessities like food, clothing, and shelter. "Credits" are a system based on the Federation's trade agreements with other planets, so that they can barter and "purchase" things directly from other societies. In other words, for those societies that still use money, the Federation (which has abundance of goods) uses itself as collateral for its citizens (not just humans) to exchange goods and services.

Then who does the shit work?
Menial tasks are automated. Yep! All the boring stuff is done for you. Yay technology! And that frees sentient beings to take on the true challenges - science, art, exploration, creativity, self-improvement, and the improvement of society. You are now free to tend a 200-year old vineyard and decant the perfect wine (like Picard's uncle). You are now free to have the log cabin in the woods and raise horses (like Kirk). You are free to pursue the next great discovery in medicine without having to worry about grant money, supply shortage, or college loans! You can move to a farming colony for an "old-fashioned" life. You can design the next great innovation in trans-warp travel for the sheer joy of seeing IF YOU CAN! You can do what you want with your life, and make it your own. Those who join Starfleet don't do it because they're poor and need to "enlist" in the military. They do it because they have a passion for exploration, discovery, and adventure... and it's hard as hell to get in.

Then what's the point of living? you might ask. Or doing anything productive?
Uh... maybe because you like what you do? If the only point of living you can imagine is the acquisition of wealth and mere subsistence, and you can't imagine working unless you HAVE TO, then you really can't understand the Star Trek universe. Do you mean to tell me that if someone was going to feed you, put a roof over your head, and give you all the basics, you'd just sit in your house and never see the light of day? You'd do NOTHING in the interest of self-improvement? Or the improvement of society? No creative ventures? You wouldn't pursue the arts? Sciences? Anthropology? History? You would have NOTHING to do in life if you didn't have to work to feed yourself? Damn, that's sad.

And fuck, if you're reading this, you're probably part of fandom, and it's very likely that you've read some of my fanfiction. Think about this for just a moment, would ya? WHY do we write fanfiction? We don't get paid. The only return we get is the applause and recognition of our peers if we write something good. No profit, no revenue. We do it because we love it, right? For the thrill of creating something new, telling a story, expressing an idea.

Competition still exists in Star Trek canon - the determination to learn something new, to accomplish, to create, be the first one to try something, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Yeah, That's what the future society of Star Trek values - the constant quest for self-improvement and societal-improvement.

Seriously, you're saying you'd keep working if you didn't have to?
You bet your ass. In fact, if money was no object, I would have gone to med school - a far more labor-intensive endeavor than my current occupation as a biologist working in safety at a research hospital. I wouldn't care about making money. As long as my needs were met, I'd WANT to work in research, cure diseases, heal the sick, and so on. Why the heck am I staying in my current job? Because I need health insurance and steady income right now, and in this fucked-up economy based around scarcity, my primary concern is ME.

So I'm assuming there's still competition though, ya know, to get into med school, or Starfleet, or any of those things. What do the non-genius types do?
You know, one of my other dreams was to create a greenhouse and tea shop with a reading room. I've also wanted to make my own wine. Or fancy cheese from goats that I'd raise myself. I used to work with horses (had my own for a while), and I'd love to train horses again. I love to cook - maybe I'd be a chef.
And then there's my wife - she'd love to costume and do old-fashioned seamstress and tailoring work. She likes brewing wine, too. And while I haven't interrogated her about her personal ambitions (money aside), I'm sure she's got things she'd like to do if money were no object.

Then how the fuck do they maintain society if everyone gets to do whatever the hell they want?
This post is about Trekonomics, not government, but in short... if you want to wrap your head around Star Trek canon, you have to accept the fact that this is an improved society. This is a society that went through a war that literally almost destroyed the planet. This is a society of people whose ancestors learned their lessons for them, and they're not about to regress. This is a society where people have personal ambitions, and a sense of order. A world government and socialism... ooooh, all that stuff that scares the crap out of right-wing religious fundamentalists. Seriously, it's amazing that any conservatives like Star Trek, but they do. They must not realize what they're watching.

Wait a minute, then what about the ranks in Starfleet? Doesn't the Captain get better accommodations than an Ensign?
Yes, and with privilege comes responsibility, and privilege only comes from hard work IF you want to work your way up the ranks. Rank doesn't make you more valuable as a human being. You don't "earn" more, although you do get bigger quarters. And you earn your way up... NOT for the money, but for the prestige, and for the sheer exhilaration of leadership and accomplishment. I got out of the Army due to an injury just a few months before I made the rank of Captain. I seriously want to go back in just to achieve that rank. It has nothing to do with the money, even though I would have had a pay raise. I wanted to achieve it.

Oh come on, there's capitalism in Star Trek. Haven't you seen the Ferengi?
Yes, and see how they're viewed by members of the Federation? And when the Federation deals with trade, whether or not the Ferengi are involved, the purpose is to acquire materials NOT for profit, but for the continued pursuit of knowledge, exploration, discovery, and self-improvement. If a Federation trade deal acquires some dilithium, nobody makes a personal profit, but perhaps Starfleet can power some new space ships for deep space exploration and discover something entirely new about the nature of the universe.

I'm sorry, but I can't wrap my brain around this shit. You can't tell me that a society can function without money.
Well, you may be right. I'm NOT saying that this is how it WILL be, or SHOULD be. As I already tried to make abundantly clear, this is JUST a matter of establishing what is known of economics in Star Trek canon. And bear in mind how different of a future this would be. You and I have NEVER lived in a society without scarcity of goods and resources. It's kinda hard to imagine a system that assumes a completely different society structure and set of social values. However, Gene Roddenberry did, and this is his universe. We're playing in the sandbox that he created, and this is what he gave us.

If you want to brush aside canon when you write, go ahead, but please BE AWARE OF IT! Understand what's canon, and realize that certain things we take for granted in 21st century Earth do not apply to Star Trek canon.

Here are some things that should NEVER be said or implied in a Star Trek fanfiction if you're sticking to canon:

1. Starfleet's "budget."
2. Any reference to a person's income or paycheck. Or alimony. Likewise, saving for retirement. Why do you think there are 100+ year old people in Starfleet? I'm sure they COULD retire, but if they love what they do, why should they stop?
3. The "cost" of repairs. (The limiting factors should be listed as "time" and "resources," and the limited resources should be things that are known to be limited in canon, like dilithium.)
4. Talking about people being "poor" or starving on Earth. (Tarsus IV was a disaster of extenuating circumstances.)
5. Any mention of people being unable to afford basic things like food, clothing, shelter, or medical care. (That doesn't mean that people like a young James T. Kirk wouldn't avoid going to a doctor out of sheer stubbornness.)
6. Competition for profit, unless you're talking about a Ferengi. (Now, people will compete for opportunities, prestige, and so on. If you've got, for example, four groups of engineers trying to design a new shield for space ships, they might compete to have their design accepted by Starfleet. That would be canon-compliant. However, a "lucrative" contract is not.)
7. Credits being used for essential things. And no, booze is not "essential," so using credits to buy drinks at a bar is within canon.

However:
1. People still have personal possessions. This is a socialistic society, not a communistic society. It's just that the focus has shifted away from the accumulation of WEALTH. Restoring an antique car for the joy of it? Within canon. Accumulating 100 cars just so you can re-sell them for profit? Not within canon, and that mentality wouldn't be understood by a person of 23rd-century Earth in Star Trek canon.
2. "Menial" is re-defined. Remember Boothby from TNG? The old groundskeeper at the Academy? He loved his plants, and despite the fact that he wasn't faculty, he was highly respected. Maybe we should re-think the concept of "menial labor" ourselves.
3. Maybe some people aren't "productive" by our current standards... but who said they have to be? Tell me how to put a price tag on a painting.

So... there it is. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with the philosophy, but if you're going to write Star Trek fanfiction, you need to be aware that you're NOT dealing with a capitalistic economics system. Love it or hate it, accept it or debate it - whatever you want. But just be aware that in Gene Roddenberry's universe, this is the way the chips fall.

Now, that's not to say there aren't inconsistencies. There's a lovely list of those inconsistencies to be found here:
http://www.ex-astris-scientia.org/inconsistencies/economy.htm
But still... realize that almost none of the contradictions are found on Earth itself. And none of these things involve the price of essential needs.

I'll leave you with this: Live long and prosper. NOW... debate to yourself what "prosper" might actually mean in Vulcan society.