Several times in Star Trek, they mention that there is no money in the future. Hunger, poverty, homelessness have all been removed.
Yet, there are times they do mention some sort of currency. During the TNG episode where everyone was bartering for the rights of that one wormhole that led to the Delta Quadrant, Riker was offering several thousand Credits. Janeway had the price of an item doubled by a Vulcan when he saw her starfleet badge. DS9 crew had to pay at Quark's somehow!
So, I was wondering, what is the economy like in the future. Then it hit me like a car slamming into a brick wall. Right now, we are in a pay to play economy. The future is going to be free to play/ pay to win!
Sure, you can play for free. Get housing, food, etc, but if you want the gooood stuff, get a job and earn some credits!
And for those who don't know what an Energy Credit is, it is like this. Everything costs energy to produce. Power, replicated goods, etc. An energy credit is literally what it sounds like, a credit of energy.
money gets complex in star trek, and things often dont add up.
it should be said that its mostly humanity that does not use money. other races even within the federation, do. so its not gone entirely. having no money is not a requirement of joining the federation.
its also shown that while humans dont need money, thats not to say they dont own some money. many of them win at dabo for example. they can then use that money to buy extra stuff. its just not something that drives them any more.
i can only imagine the federation keeps a currency of sorts, lets call them credits, for dealing with other races.
"Energy is the currency of the future." - CEO Nwabudike Morgan
Fictitious as the above quote is, the truth of it has never been more real. It's something Star Trek got right, society just hasn't caught up with this concept yet. It's why money has gone from a standard to paper to electronic.
Notice the countries with the largest energy consumption also have the largest economic impact. That's no coincidence.
"Energy is the currency of the future." - CEO Nwabudike Morgan
Fictitious as the above quote is, the truth of it has never been more real. It's something Star Trek got right, society just hasn't caught up with this concept yet. It's why money has gone from a standard to paper to electronic.
Notice the countries with the largest energy consumption also have the largest economic impact. That's no coincidence.
Which makes you wonder we are spending so much money on "green" energies when that same money could provide proven nuclear energy.
Its really a utopian ideal that the Federation pushes an an example to others. It much easier uphold these ideals if you are serving for Star Fleet where all your essential needs are met. It worked really well n TNG .... not so much in DS9.
Nuclear fission energy is good, but has one major potential problem. There have been a couple of incidents, though human failure was part of each one.
GIVE ME NUCLEAR FUSION ENERGY! The only trick is getting it started, but once it does.... safe and nearly unlimited power.
But according to Star Trek, do one better. We go from the evils of nuclear energy to the positives of matter/antimatter reactions. Now, tell me which one is more likely to leave the planet behind when there is an oops.
If we really want to get down to it, the only power source that comes close to being infinite in our solar system is the sun. All of our alternate power sources depend on its existence.
Its really a utopian ideal that the Federation pushes an an example to others. It much easier uphold these ideals if you are serving for Star Fleet where all your essential needs are met. It worked really well n TNG .... not so much in DS9.
Fusion is easy to start difficult to maintain on the small scale. Thermonuclear weapons are fusion weapons that are set off be a fission device. We know how to start it, keeping it going and controlling it are where we fail.
Matter/Anti-Matter are excellent for ships where extremely high energyu density is required, but not a good system fro actually providing power. The energy required to produce the anti-matter exceeds the amount of energy released from the matter/anti-matter reaction. Thusly, matter/anti-matter systems would be considered energy storage not energy creating.
As far a fission systems, there are things called breeder reactors, which not only provide energy but create more fuel.
Fusion is easy to start difficult to maintain on the small scale. Thermonuclear weapons are fusion weapons that are set off be a fission device. We know how to start it, keeping it going and controlling it are where we fail.
Matter/Anti-Matter are excellent for ships where extremely high energyu density is required, but not a good system fro actually providing power. The energy required to produce the anti-matter exceeds the amount of energy released from the matter/anti-matter reaction. Thusly, matter/anti-matter systems would be considered energy storage not energy creating.
Not to mention storage of the antimatter - we haven't actually found a way to keep more than a few particles of antimatter at a time, and only for a short time. An antiproton was kept from annihilated for almost half a minute once, but it inevitably hit the wall of the particle accelerator and annihilated.
Antimatter might never be a viable energy source. If you gathered up all the antimatter we've created in particle accelerators and dropped it in somebody's lap, they'd survive. They might even still be able to have children. We've made billionths of a gram of the stuff, and at fantastic expense. The sheer energy required to do so is staggering - even looking at it from a purely mathematical basis and not the inefficiencies of our colliders.
As far a fission systems, there are things called breeder reactors, which not only provide energy but create more fuel.[/COLOR]
Breeder reactors still have limits. Instead of producing nonfissionable radioactive waste almost immediately, they add a few useful steps to the reaction, getting less energy per step but more per fuel input. The end result, however, is still useless radioactive waste that has to be stored for so long as to be permanently.
It's like producing charcoal - if you burn wood one way, you get a lot of heat and a pile of ash. If you burn it another way, you get less heat but a pile of charcoal, which can be burned again to produce more heat than burning the wood outright. You still end up with ash in the end.
There is money in the future. As stated Humans though do not have a set currency.
Earth in STar Trek is a Communist Society (done right). The needs of the individuals are met, and any "currency" is handled by the Government. This currency is only used hen dealing with other races. The Federatoin created by humans, pushes the Communist ideals to other races, some have adopted, others have not yet. But Federation citizens dont recieve pay or anythig like that. But the vast amjority of Starfleet personnel are always on a Federation posting, so the need for money is not that great.
On a place like DS9 though, would be different. DS9 was NOT a Federation OR Star Fleet outpost. It was a Station under the control of the Bajorians. And the Federation was asked by the Bajorians to help them out. Therefore, Star Fleet personnel most likey got money one of 2 ways..
1. They are paid by the Bajorian Government. Much like Bajor pays its people that on on the Station, funds could also be diverted for accounts for the Star Fleet personnel on the station.
2. The Federation makes an expense account for the Star Fleet personnel, and pays people like Quark on a weekly basis for all debts accrued. This could even be setup for places like Quarks, that services are paid in advance, thus allowing each person time per week in holosuites, and certain amounts of food / drink.
Though humans dont use money on an individual scale, the Federation does on a governmental scale. And it consists of over 100 races. There is money changing hands, but the vast majority of it never touches a persons hands.
Comments
it should be said that its mostly humanity that does not use money. other races even within the federation, do. so its not gone entirely. having no money is not a requirement of joining the federation.
its also shown that while humans dont need money, thats not to say they dont own some money. many of them win at dabo for example. they can then use that money to buy extra stuff. its just not something that drives them any more.
i can only imagine the federation keeps a currency of sorts, lets call them credits, for dealing with other races.
Federation credits. We don't accept federation credits here. only money. ( PS wiki page on Federation credits in link )
Fictitious as the above quote is, the truth of it has never been more real. It's something Star Trek got right, society just hasn't caught up with this concept yet. It's why money has gone from a standard to paper to electronic.
Notice the countries with the largest energy consumption also have the largest economic impact. That's no coincidence.
Which makes you wonder we are spending so much money on "green" energies when that same money could provide proven nuclear energy.
GIVE ME NUCLEAR FUSION ENERGY! The only trick is getting it started, but once it does.... safe and nearly unlimited power.
But according to Star Trek, do one better. We go from the evils of nuclear energy to the positives of matter/antimatter reactions. Now, tell me which one is more likely to leave the planet behind when there is an oops.
1. This 2. It's not like Nuclear Power comes from infinite magical Fairy Dust, it's just another very finite resource ... called Uranium ... doubtful if there is enough of it, to keep Nuclear Plants running for more than 50 years ...
http://www.marinebuzz.com/marinebuzzuploads/SpecialEditionIndoUSnucleardealToBeorNot_B71B/fossil_energy_reserves.jpg
If we really want to get down to it, the only power source that comes close to being infinite in our solar system is the sun. All of our alternate power sources depend on its existence.
They keep referring to Earth as paradise...
Matter/Anti-Matter are excellent for ships where extremely high energyu density is required, but not a good system fro actually providing power. The energy required to produce the anti-matter exceeds the amount of energy released from the matter/anti-matter reaction. Thusly, matter/anti-matter systems would be considered energy storage not energy creating.
As far a fission systems, there are things called breeder reactors, which not only provide energy but create more fuel.
Not to mention storage of the antimatter - we haven't actually found a way to keep more than a few particles of antimatter at a time, and only for a short time. An antiproton was kept from annihilated for almost half a minute once, but it inevitably hit the wall of the particle accelerator and annihilated.
Antimatter might never be a viable energy source. If you gathered up all the antimatter we've created in particle accelerators and dropped it in somebody's lap, they'd survive. They might even still be able to have children. We've made billionths of a gram of the stuff, and at fantastic expense. The sheer energy required to do so is staggering - even looking at it from a purely mathematical basis and not the inefficiencies of our colliders.
Breeder reactors still have limits. Instead of producing nonfissionable radioactive waste almost immediately, they add a few useful steps to the reaction, getting less energy per step but more per fuel input. The end result, however, is still useless radioactive waste that has to be stored for so long as to be permanently.
It's like producing charcoal - if you burn wood one way, you get a lot of heat and a pile of ash. If you burn it another way, you get less heat but a pile of charcoal, which can be burned again to produce more heat than burning the wood outright. You still end up with ash in the end.
Earth in STar Trek is a Communist Society (done right). The needs of the individuals are met, and any "currency" is handled by the Government. This currency is only used hen dealing with other races. The Federatoin created by humans, pushes the Communist ideals to other races, some have adopted, others have not yet. But Federation citizens dont recieve pay or anythig like that. But the vast amjority of Starfleet personnel are always on a Federation posting, so the need for money is not that great.
On a place like DS9 though, would be different. DS9 was NOT a Federation OR Star Fleet outpost. It was a Station under the control of the Bajorians. And the Federation was asked by the Bajorians to help them out. Therefore, Star Fleet personnel most likey got money one of 2 ways..
1. They are paid by the Bajorian Government. Much like Bajor pays its people that on on the Station, funds could also be diverted for accounts for the Star Fleet personnel on the station.
2. The Federation makes an expense account for the Star Fleet personnel, and pays people like Quark on a weekly basis for all debts accrued. This could even be setup for places like Quarks, that services are paid in advance, thus allowing each person time per week in holosuites, and certain amounts of food / drink.
Though humans dont use money on an individual scale, the Federation does on a governmental scale. And it consists of over 100 races. There is money changing hands, but the vast majority of it never touches a persons hands.