Star Trek Communist

Sonic74205 · **Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:28 am Star Trek Communist**

Does anbody think that the closest thing in this world to the Star Trek Universe and the Ideals of Star Trek is actually communism? Or is it just me?

Founder · **Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:20 pm**

Other people have made this connection as well, but I don't agree. Just because the monetary system no longer exists, doesn't mean they are communists perse. The Federation seems too tolerant to be communists. For example, religion. The Federation does not discriminate against others' religion. I think people still have faith in certain religion's, its simply just not mainstream. Not to mention, the Federation is not run by a dictator.

Also, the Federation HIGHLY prizes individuality. The first thing to go with communists. Borg=communists would be a more accurate comparison I think.

Omet'Ikilan · **Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:30 pm**

i agree 200% with founder.....The Feds are actually pretty Democratic....but the Borg are commies...and the Dominion are kinda comunist too...

Valathous · **Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:32 pm**

I think that the Federation would be closer to Democratic-Socialism than communism. It offers rights, freedoms, tolerance but a lot of the money goes to the government to help out everyone, which seems close to the Federation ideal of everyone working just to better mankind.

The Borg are the ST realms Communists. The show was made in the midsts of the Cold War when the Soviet Union was "assimilating" as many nations as it could into the Iron Curtain. They did so by military force and would force you to conform, much like the Borg.

Sonic74205 · **Thu Mar 23, 2006 4:23 pm**

I partially agree with you guys but i think the Federation would be more of a balanced perspective of Democrat/communist. I was discussing this with my lecturer last week (It was great for two hours i talked about it and did no work at all hehehe) and she thought that i wasnt exactly a communist but rather i have found the right balance and in a way i think that the ideals of star trek are the same. Both Democrat & Communist have there good and bad points and you cant really say which is better so are both put together and then the federation pops out

DeltasVoyager · **Fri Apr 14, 2006 2:21 pm**

yeah ive always thought that, but as we all know is that it is good in theory but when it comes to pratice it fails every time. Good example of when its failed - Cold War! And its weird too cause if Starfleet is in America then that would mean that America would have to be communist which is never going to happen!!!. Capitalism will always triumph.

Republican_Man · **Fri Apr 14, 2006 5:37 pm**

I agree with Val here, I would say. It's Democratic Socialism more than anything. Not communist, however.

Lynx · **Mon Apr 17, 2006 10:11 am**

I think what we see in Star Trek is a society where the best parts from old ideologies has developed and melted together to a new way of thinking which is more beneficial to those who live in that society. I think that the people living in the 24th century would consider both Communism and Capitalism as primitive, inhuman and obsolete ideologies from a dark past.

Birdy · Socialist Joined: 20 Sep 2004 Posts: 13502 Location: Here.

How I see it: The borg are a reflection of Communism. The unity, the idea of no personal views, .. I see it that The Federation is a reflection of America, and The Borg is acutally Russia.

Republican_Man · **Mon Apr 17, 2006 4:36 pm**

Or, rather, the USSR. Russia is supposedly a Democratic state, though that's pretty much a falsity...But communism ended there in '91. But anyways, yes, I agree. Minus to no-money aspect of the Federation (not Trek, of course, but the Federation).

Sonic74205 · **Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:38 pm**

Republican_Man · **Mon Apr 17, 2006 5:44 pm**

Oh, I can see, but I don't quite agree. Democratic Socialism is more fitting, because I can keep what I make and what not--it's not all shared.

Founder · **Mon Apr 17, 2006 8:47 pm**

Sonic74205 · **Tue Apr 18, 2006 4:17 pm**

ehem....i was actually talking about the idea of communism. Most people agree that communism is a great idea. It just always seem to go wrong when actually used though. I wasnt comparing star trek to russia in the 80s. I was comparing star trek to the ideals of communism

djlazerx · Lieutenant, Junior Grade Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 71

cardassia before the dominion war

Republican_Man · **Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:23 am**

I think that if anything in Trek is close to actual communism it would be the Borg. That collective mentality just jumps right at me. Not to mention the idea of bringing others into the collective. It just seems so based in communism to me.

chaotica · **Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:42 pm**

Communism was hijacked in the 20th century by power-hungry opportunists and egotists (maybe even sadists), and warped and twisted into something that was in many ways the opposite of the original ideal.

We all know the Soviets and Chinese lied about most everything, so why does everyone believe them when they claim to represent Communism? They were true Communists just about as much as they were true Democrats.

Sonic gave a pretty accurate summing up of the best version of it, as it would have to be for it to deserve to exist. Communism is a sort of all-encompassing system, though, and I see the Feds as fairly loose. It seems like a sort of technologically-created socialism, made possible only because of technological advances that made it feasable to feed everyone. Of course, some claim we could do that now, but never mind.

I sense that they could never afford to show us very much of life on Earth, because it would look more and more socialist the longer we stayed there in a story, and a present day audience would balk at that.

Founder · **Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:44 pm**

Republican_Man · **Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:46 pm**

Founder · **Mon Mar 05, 2007 11:53 pm**

lionhead · **Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:55 am**

Communism is not Marxist Socialism.

Karl Marx thought up the idea of Privatizing every aspect of property by making a government that would first take it all away. All the way to slaverty, then revolution after revolution would finally make the government obsolete and everybody would recognize eachothers private sectors. forever.

Lenin made it all less democratic and based of Revolution. His view was the only way to defeat Capitalism is by Revolution and then after the revolution install a Dictatorship. The communist part must then educate the Dictator(the leader of the communist party) to ban all other forms of free thinking. A little democratic part of it is that the workers still have political power through local councils(soviets).

Then, there is Stalinism. Stalin changed Marxism even more by proclaiming a total Dictatorship, social submission and propaganda. But this is not what is meant when we say "Communism", not officialy.

Of course you also have Trotskyism and Maoism, but its all based on Marxism.

But, yes. I do believe the Federation of planets is loosely based on Marxism. But not fully, there are clear differences, like the non-existance of money and the fact the Federation wasn't created by means of Revolution.

chaotica · **Tue Mar 06, 2007 3:54 pm**

Founder · **Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:47 am**

lionhead · **Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:10 am**

This thread is not meant to show the great benefits of Capitalism and Communism. its about comparing the Federation political structure with ones we know.

Come on, someone say how the political and social structure works in Star Trek.

Founder · **Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:16 am**