Money In Star Trek EXPLAINED

7. New World Economy

The New World Economy was an economic system that was developed on Earth during the 22nd century. According to Tom Paris, this was when “money went the way of the dinosaur.” While the specific term “New World Economy” is rarely referenced, it describes the new mindset that humanity has evolved through all of its past conflicts. Gone were the days of competition and struggle just to survive, in favor of cooperation towards the betterment of all.

Money was gone, as were poverty, hunger, and homelessness. Of course, this didn’t happen overnight, but ideas spread and cemented themselves in society. Cooperation was born out of the shared struggle and mortal danger that humans had faced. Material needs and commodities no longer seemed as important. The idea was more or less for everyone to work together to ensure humanity would never reach such a point by its own hand again.

Because of these new ideas, the need for currency was eliminated. People worked because they wanted to better themselves and those around them. And taking care of each other in this way is how everyone’s basic needs were met, which then allowed them to make a greater contribution to the whole. Adopting this philosophy was a process that took time. There were some, like Pelia, though not a human herself, who didn’t think the new system would be sustainable and opted to try to wait it out. However, the system never failed, and most of humanity proudly proclaimed they had “grown out of their infancy.”

This time period is featured most prominently in Star Trek: Enterprise. During this pre-Federation time, United Earth focuses on expanding humanity's technological potential and building diplomatic relationships with other races. Currency is not forgotten by this point, as evidenced by the many "run for their money" lines, but it is no longer a part of everyday life. The founding of the Federation then stabilized and entrenched these ideals.