"Star Trek", in all 500 incarnations, states Earth is united.

[Deja Q]

Do you think Earth should become united? One global government? (not to be mixed with "globalization", which is the corporate screwing countless economies for their selfish gains)

If so, how should it be handled?

We do know that the current "structure" (if you can call it that) of nations has only led to headaches, heartaches, all out wars, et cetera.

Or is "Star Trek" simply being too progressive?

[anti_shrub]

1. I'd like to think so

but we have people screaming about the UN taking away national sovereignty, I'd hate to see what the freeps would think of a United Federation of Planets....

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

2. In The Next Genration, didn't Picard say that MONEY had been abolished?

Christ. How would a person show that he/she is better than other people without money?

[Deja Q]

7. That's one of the few things I liked about the movie "First Contact"

A society without money, rather implying that society has matured to the point where it does things to better itself and the individuals who compose it, rather than the selfish capitalistic bushit we're living in today.

If we survive the next oil crisis, such a society might be possible. The greedy oil barons (amongst others) are proving that our current system is destructive and unsustainable...

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

8. We can only hope....

I can imagine a group of Freeps watching any of the ST movies yelling "Commies!"

[Deja Q]

5. Quite

National soverignty is proving to be more of a pain up one's rectum rather than anything useful at this point.

The US exploiting its soverignty is pissing everybody else off, that's for sure. There are other examples, but I looooooove picking on the US as they're #1 at lots of bad things.

It needs to be a fair mix. There's nothing wrong in remembering and embracing where you came from (I'm Scotish, British, Norweigan, Danish, and French), but we're all human, shouldn't that have top priority?

I mean, I've got a big aquarium filled with fish. Some fish came from Asia, others from S. America. I don't see them bitching and fighting over their differences and where they came from and that one species isn't better than the other, they just want to live and eat fish food - and they love to swim up to the corner that I've approached; it's their way of telling me they want food, it's so cute! (of course, some fish species you'd never want to mix because they're too territorial for their own good. But, unlike humans, they don't have the intelligence or capacity to live beyond instinct. Unfortunately, many humans prefer not to live beyond instinct either, hence many of the problems that do exist do exist. :-( )

How is it that a gaggle of small fish are acting smarter than the dominant species on this planet?!?!?! (okay, while the different species co-exist and don't beat up each other, some of the individual species fight amongst themselves, though it could simply be playful behavior. I'm not a fish so I don't know. :-( )

[CRYINGWOLFOWITZ]

3. remember, gene roddenberry was a social democrat

in the world of star trek, there is no money. WWIII results in such death and destruction that the world unites. most of the governments have been destroyed along with most cities and 600 million people. in star trek that is what unites the world in a one world govt. I hope that the result happens to this planet eventually, just not the cause.

[Deja Q]

9. Except TOS made mention of money...

Mostly Kirk telling Scotty that he "just earned his pay for the week" but TOS had other moments suggesting Kirk's era (pre-film) used currency as such. ("Trouble with Tribbles" is the clearest example, where the Federation dealt with 'credits'.)

Trek IV did suggest that, between TOS and the film era, money had been (thankfully) abolished. Kirk had to give up the 19th century specs to get the $100 he gave to the crew in 20th century California... But "First Contact" spelled it out most directly, which was most agreeable...

I mean, a moneyless society is not a bad thing. After all, look at America: It's $7 trillion in debt and decides money is still not an issue. If money were an issue, it would take $1,000 just to buy a hamburger without cheese or condiments because we don't have the actual wealth to back up the currency with (note that the same hamburger, today, costs $60 cents or whatever). No wonder we have "In God we trust" written on monetary notes. We have no gold to back the money up on. Hmmm, maybe that's why the rich want more money. They know the system's going to explode and they'll need every penny they can get. (of course, that means death for the rest of us, since the entertainment industry has helped to breed out concepts like insurrection and revolt from the American populace, and people with such traits are often blindly called "terrorists"...)

I just hope it doesn't take a big war for people to wake up though. Surely the lessons can be learned without such a loss in life.

[Kamika]

17. about credits

credits is still used but not on earth. Credits is the most common currency in the federation on the planets that still uses money. Just because earth has progressed away from money doesnt mean every planet has.

[Kamika]

19. no that wasnt the cause

They united after the vulcans came

[Maple]

4. Yup

One world, one race.

Inevitable.

It's just a matter of time.

[Swede]

6. It's a slow painful crawl

But yes,something tells me that reason will win out over tribalism.

[Nikia]

10. I don't know

While there is a push for globalization and international cooperation (the UN and related agencies), there are also all these separtists like the Chechyans and Kurds that don't want to be part of the country(s) that they are part of. There are also conflicting values. There would be major protests and civil disobedience with the passage of some laws, which we would find progressive, in some areas of the world. Racism and ethnicism is much wores in some parts of the world than the U.S. and I think that this might be a problem in a united world. I suppose that it might happen eventually, but for now I see resistance to the idea.

[Maple]

11. Of course there will be problems

For one thing, people are trying to globalize and tribalize at the same time.

So there will be conflicts along the way.

But people will find they can still keep their culture and history, and yet travel and learn and trade as well.

And they will discover that other people share their problems and concerns and ideas....and gradually the shells and walls will disappear.

Time.

[lynndew2]

12. And I am a BAD PERSON...I travel to your country

I see that you can easily be taken over if I find a lot of others of similar mind to me. DONT KID YOURSELVES!!!!!! There will always be people who want power and they will be ever more encouraged by a government that is basically nonexistant. The only way a true globalization could happen is if there was a threat by Aliens. It is nice to dream but, Thats all any of this is. There is and will always be Evil People and thats just a fact....sorry to f@ck up your dreams.:(

[Maple]

13. I'm sorry....the caves are in the other direction

And DON'T KID YOURSELF...when the majority of the people in the world move towards unity and globalization....war mongers will be imprisoned for the raving loonies that they are.

Sorry to fuck up your slathering.

[Swede]

14. The will to power was in every tyrant in history

But there is progress in the world

[Swede]

15. Start with literacy

Which leads to education which leads to democracy. In a democracy the psychopaths and truly evil will get weeded out before too much power is placed in their hands.

[lynndew2]

16. Majority doesnt mean a shit!!!!!

One bad person willing to destroy you and anyone you agree with will rule. You can live in your fantasy if you want. But evil is always here and flowers and peace signs will only make them laugh. Just study history and you will understand. I dont like it either but it is the truth!!!

[Kamika]

18. well it took an alien race to unite them

Remember they were still at war until the vulcans came.. im pretty sure they are right.. until we get some "outer" visitor or enemy we will never unite


whilei like the idea alot, i still cant buy it though. Picard said that instead of money peple aim to better themselfes. Now ok i can understand why a starship captain is ok with that.

But what motivates a bartender for example to go work for nothing.

My theory is that he gets a house and a replicator by the goverment as pay.

But what would motivate someone for eample to open a business a store for example? kinda nothing.. so there must be very few jobs around

[amazona]

22. motive

Even if money did not exist, many people would be bartenders, chefs, waiters because serving food and drink is a very intimate way of being an entertainer and interacting with lots of people. Think of the senior who takes the greeter's job at WalMart not because he needs the money -- he doesn't in many cases -- but because he likes meeting and talking to new people all day. Makes him feel important with relatively little effort.

Some people love the interaction and stimulation of doing business, working a farm, etc. A strawberry farmer was interviewed in my area. He admitted that he lost money on his farm every year. But he enjoyed the whole process of raising them and selling them. There will always be people like this, who like to "do" real things instead of fake things like watching TV, going to Disneyland, etc.

In an advanced robot/computer operated society, there will be very few jobs compared to numbers of people, and it will be a status symbol to be a bartender or an artist. Money will be an irrelevance when food, shelter, etc. can come out of the magical machines for all -- but probably the majority of humans get their self esteem through their status in society and those people will seek out "jobs" as a measure of their own self-worth.

Those of us who prefer to be idlers may have trouble understanding those people...truth is...they are likely the majority. No money does not mean no pay -- the pay will be intangibles like the admiration and envy of society, as we see in the case of the Federation troops who explore the galaxy and are seen as elite and who grieve over being relieved of their jobs even though they are not receiving cash dollars.

[HydroAddict]

20. Two things in the way, IMO

Fundi-Religion and Efficient Transportation.

It's been said that the Printing Press was the most influential invention since the dark ages. The next one will be the "molecular transporter", just wait, you'll see.

[baldguy]

21. The fundies stand in the way, I agree.

But I'm with McCoy on the transporters - being ripped apart molecule by molecule, then reassembled bit by bit thousands of miles away would be disconcerting.

[AntiCoup2K4]

23. One of the few Ronald Reagan quotes worth remembering....

"With our obsession with antagonisms of the moment, we often forget how much unites all the members of humanity. I occasionally think how quickly our differences, worldwide, would vanish if we were facing an alien threat from outside this world."

[baldguy]

24. I wonder who wrote it for him.

And how it got past his handlers.

[Swede]

25. Damn it ,Jim

I'm a doctor not a seer.