From Anarchy to Utopia
At some point, we have all asked, as The captain of the USS Magellan did in an interview in the June issue of Tricorder …
The details were always kept suitably vague so as not to get the program boxed into ideological corners. When you try to work out the specifics of Federation society you are faced with all sorts of philosophical and ethical possibilities. Is it a benign socialism or a gnostic democracy? With the introduction of Star Treks' current incarnation, "Star Trek Enterprise" we could be forgiven for expecting some answers as to how they achieved it, but, true to form, they have consistently dodged all the hard questions. Questions, as mon capitaine so rightly points out, that we should be addressing.
Much has been said about how Star Trek has always included social commentary in its' plotlines. It might not be Shakespeare but it has been a popular forum for ethical and moral questions. I'd like to build on that tradition and take Star Trek to the next level - how would you create a world government, the first step towards Federation?
To this end I have decided to create a personal Fanzine centred on the period of Star Trek history when mankind gets from anarchy - the Post-Atomic Horror of 2079 - to Utopia - The incorporation of the United Federation of Planets after the Earth-Romulan War in 2161. This is a mere 82 years, a single lifetime!
In fact, the critical period is even shorter, for in "First Contact" we are told that "poverty, disease and famine" are gone from Earth within fifty years, ie. 2113. This makes it less than 34 years after our only firm date for the Post-Atomic Horror! How could society change so drastically in just over a generation?
[originally published in Tricorder No9, Dec 2004 as part of "Star Trek - From Barbarism to Utopia"]
Do you believe that what we saw on Star Trek in every series about a society with no money, no war, no racial discrimination, etc., that this is truly a possible future for we who are alive today?This was - and still is - the "Roddenberry Dream", evident right from the start of the Original Series. An optimistic view of the future, where appropriate technology and a philosophy that valued life above property. Where the people in charge used diplomacy and compromise in a desire to help, yet had the strength of character to leave primitive societies alone.
The details were always kept suitably vague so as not to get the program boxed into ideological corners. When you try to work out the specifics of Federation society you are faced with all sorts of philosophical and ethical possibilities. Is it a benign socialism or a gnostic democracy? With the introduction of Star Treks' current incarnation, "Star Trek Enterprise" we could be forgiven for expecting some answers as to how they achieved it, but, true to form, they have consistently dodged all the hard questions. Questions, as mon capitaine so rightly points out, that we should be addressing.
Much has been said about how Star Trek has always included social commentary in its' plotlines. It might not be Shakespeare but it has been a popular forum for ethical and moral questions. I'd like to build on that tradition and take Star Trek to the next level - how would you create a world government, the first step towards Federation?
To this end I have decided to create a personal Fanzine centred on the period of Star Trek history when mankind gets from anarchy - the Post-Atomic Horror of 2079 - to Utopia - The incorporation of the United Federation of Planets after the Earth-Romulan War in 2161. This is a mere 82 years, a single lifetime!
In fact, the critical period is even shorter, for in "First Contact" we are told that "poverty, disease and famine" are gone from Earth within fifty years, ie. 2113. This makes it less than 34 years after our only firm date for the Post-Atomic Horror! How could society change so drastically in just over a generation?
[originally published in Tricorder No9, Dec 2004 as part of "Star Trek - From Barbarism to Utopia"]
posted by Kirok of LStok at
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