Money In Star Trek EXPLAINED

3. The Next Generation

When the time came for a new ship and crew to take us back to the Star Trek universe, the writers and production designers made a statement from the very beginning. Diplomacy, at least for Captain Picard, was much more centered. Not that the other captains didn’t try; they were just in much rougher situations. Everything about the new show, down to the design of the Enterprise-D, emphasized a clearer interpretation of the utopian ideal. And Q popped in to ask us if this version of humanity had truly advanced as far as they liked to believe.

Throughout the entirety of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager, money is only referenced in situations of time travel, holodecks, or when dealing with those outside of the Federation. Dr Crusher informs a Bandi merchant to charge the Enterprise-D, wherein she presumably has a ledger of Federation Credits, though this is a rare reference. In fact, many statements are made on the holodeck, and when travelling back in time, about not having money. In The Next Generation, especially, given that Deep Space Nine had a Ferengi as a main character, and in Voyager to a lesser degree, the focus was on mercy missions and diplomatic trade. Well, and the whole exploring strange new worlds thing too, I guess. But this does bring up an interesting parallel to our world.

The Federation is widely seen as a benevolent force (unless, of course, T’Kuvma is speaking), but it is still a galactic power. It has the military might to sustain a war with the Klingons and a cold war with the Romulans. And it seeks to colonize and spread its influence. Though it doesn’t have coffers overflowing with riches to support these endeavors, it does have resources and technology. This comes with control of planets and regions of space, which makes sense, but what gives the Federation power is what it decides to do with these things. On many occasions, Starfleet is shown to offer up resources or bits of technology to secure alliances or to get new worlds to join the Federation. However, it is also shown to withhold those things at a captain’s discretion. Through this, it could be argued that the Federation tries to act as an arbiter of morality for the galaxy. But it also raises other questions.

Starfleet and the Federation have the resources and technological might to eliminate poverty and economic struggle on their member worlds, so why don’t they do that with others? Ferenginar may not be a part of the Federation at this time, though it will join later, but the Federation could theoretically remove the need for the Rules of Acquisition. There are also those examples where Starfleet refuses to share. All of these are for both a very simple and an insanely complex reason. The Prime Directive, or the non-interference directive, lies at the center. While most would apply it to developing societies that have not yet achieved warp, it also extends to the natural development of warp-capable societies. This philosophy prevents Starfleet from stepping in when it has not been asked for help, and from collapsing the existing structure of a people who have a different way of life. As with the example of the Ferengi specifically, any evolution away from their ultra-capitalistic tendencies would have to be natural.