Star Trek Economics 888
An anonymous reader writes "Rick Webb has an article suggesting we're in the nascent stages of transforming to a post-scarcity economy — one in which we are 'no longer constrained by scarcity of materials—food, energy, shelter, etc.' While we aren't there yet, job automation continues to rise and the problem of distributing necessities gets closer to being solved every day. Webb wondered how to describe a society's progress as it made the transition from scarcity to post-scarcity — and it brought him to Star Trek. Quoting: 'I believe the Federation is a proto-post scarcity society evolved from democratic capitalism. It is, essentially, European socialist capitalism vastly expanded to the point where no one has to work unless they want to. It is massively productive and efficient, allowing for the effective decoupling of labor and salary for the vast majority (but not all) of economic activity. The amount of welfare benefits available to all citizens is in excess of the needs of the citizens. Therefore, money is irrelevant to the lives of the citizenry, whether it exists or not. Resources are still accounted for and allocated in some manner, presumably by the amount of energy required to produce them (say Joules). And they are indeed credited to and debited from each citizen's "account." However, the average citizen doesn't even notice it, though the government does, and again, it is not measured in currency units—definitely not Federation Credits.'"
Re:Wow (Score:3, Funny)
Let him live in his dream world. I'd prefer to live there, too, but too many facts get in the way.
Judge Dredd says "hi" (Score:4, Funny)
Mega City One, too, had a "post-scarcity" welfare system where few worked. It worked out rather differently.
You have violated copyright by posting this. (Score:5, Funny)
Your penalty is 15 bars of gold-pressed latinum.
You've Bought Into Federation Propaganda (Score:5, Funny)
All we see are the pro-Federation propaganda. All those pro-Starfleet shows with their fictional "Prime Directive" and an emphasis on exploration are just propaganda to paper over the federation's relentless military buildup to support their imperialist expansionist policies.
They show Starfleet and the rich nomenklatura, but never the vast backwater gulag planets where slave laborers work tirelessly to keep the military and party elite in Saurian Brandy and Starships.
Why do you think so many crew members wear redshirts, comrade?
Re:You have violated copyright by posting this. (Score:2, Funny)
And 5 quatloos, oh damn I dated myself.
Re:Wow (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Rule of acquisition 18 (Score:2, Funny)
I mean, we can't all have 6-digit Slashdot IDs
Who would want a six digit Slashdot ID? How dreadful!