Open Left

I agreeish (4.00 / 1)

While I generally liked how most of the ethical puzzles were resolved in Star Trek,* and I liked what little I saw of their civilian society, the hierarchies of the ship and Federation always rubbed me the wrong way back when I was a kid watching the show, particularly The Next Generation.  I know, I know, just like a liberal to object to the captain-centric organization and prefer, I don't know, a ship steered by committee -- but still, the flow of information up the hierarchy and decisions down it, and the invisible and expendable crew actually doing the work of making the ship go, bothered my budding lefty sensibilities.  But as I said, civilian society seemed pretty good, I guess, given that they were eternally at war and al.

(* That said, they rarely confronted what would have really been the hardest and most common problem, what to do about the Prime Directive in the face of hundreds of worlds with billions of people dying from, say, easily-curable diseases.)

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by: Lester @ Fri May 08, 2009 at 19:12:43 PM CDT

The Fourth Reich (0.00 / 0)

I think your instincts are correct. Star Trek struck me as a proto-fascist universe where everybody is under the dictates of the quasi-military. They're able to come in at any time and pull rank on civilian colonies. There's no voting or opt-outs. If the "captain" decides the ship needs to dive into that black hole then everyone including the nanny is going with. "Make it so!"

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by: hidflect @ Sat May 09, 2009 at 05:33:40 AM CDT

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