Money In Star Trek EXPLAINED

How did all of this work within the Federation? As a founding member, humanity carried its economic ideas forward into the alliance. Many of the other Federation members, including the founding races, held similar ideals. But that isn’t to say that money was outlawed. The Federation commonly dealt with societies that relied on currency and would procure the requisite resources when necessary. By and large, though, it was pretty uncommon to see currency exchanged on Federation worlds. The economy of the Federation was one of resources and technology to be shared.

Citizens were not prohibited from engaging in capitalistic practices like business or trade. They were free to start an enterprise of their own, and the Federation often traded with other cultures. What separates this from the society that we know today is its core philosophy. The Federation had no state currency within its borders. It collected no taxes. These things were not necessary. Resources were shared freely. Much like humanity on a smaller scale, the citizens of the wider Federation were not driven by the need to acquire and accumulate wealth and power. This was a societal mindset that almost everyone bought into and believed in, and it wouldn’t work any other way.

But again, that’s not to say that money was nonexistent. The Federation and its citizens often traded in gold-pressed latinum with races like the Ferengi. Many Federation worlds actually still used currency of some kind even after becoming members. Even the Ferengi who revered Earth’s Wall Street with its investment markets eventually decided to join. Harry Mudd also bragged about having robbed a bank on Betazed using a time crystal during Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad.

Federation credits did exist as the closest thing to a universally accepted currency besides latinum, but they were used only outside the Federation or on its bleeding edge. This type of currency is mostly referenced in The Original Series, but it does come up a few times in subsequent shows. Credits were generally used to provide some kind of equivalent value in an exchange, often as a tool of diplomacy, though there was little indication of what the recipient of the credits would be able to do with them.

Because currency and private enterprise weren’t outlawed, many individuals were permitted to run businesses. The most prominent example of this was Quark’s Bar on Deep Space 9. Other examples of what we would traditionally think of as business existed as well, such as Sisko’s Creole Kitchen and Ten Forward, but these were not profit-seeking ventures.

Money was not a common sight in the Federation because it was not needed. Technology and societal shifts in mindset had made it redundant. Everyone was given what they needed because resources were more than plentiful enough to support them. Replicators, transporters, and warp-capable ships made it possible.

This did change somewhat in the 32nd century after the Burn. Scarcity came roaring back in following the loss of much of the Federation’s infrastructure and the destruction of entire worlds. Membership dipped to a tenth of its former number, and Starfleet was set back to a time when it was unable to provide for everyone. Borders became messy, resources were stretched thin, and unrest was everywhere. Starfleet was forced to ration dilithium as it tried to develop other means of transport, and it could no longer share things like food with anyone who asked. Many took to stealing what they could to survive because they felt they had no other option. It is unknown if any former Federation members reverted to older economic systems during the fallout from the Burn, but the Federation itself did not. The same ideals were carried forward, though without the ability to make them all possible as they had been.

However, once Theta Zeta was discovered, and with Su’kal safely back on Kaminar, the Federation began to rebuild to its former glory. Starfleet Academy was reopened alongside a host of member worlds, new and old, joining the Federation. With technology and ships being rebuilt, and with resources now being shared once again, everyone began to prosper anew.